Joseph Calabria

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my name is uh.. Joseph Calabria.

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I am the commander of the Corporal Allan F. Kivlehan Chapter of the Korean War Veterans of Staten Island

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but also any member of the korean war veteran’s association

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this uh… organization has been in effect

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effect since 1990

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it was founded by uh… a fella by the name of Ed Greiger

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who is uh…

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I believe the latest I heard

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was in a  veterans hospital in Saint Albans

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but there was a couple of other commanders

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Richard McNeill

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and a fellow by the name of  James Janes

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uh…

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I got elected into the position in 1995

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I’ve been a commander since that period of time

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up to the present

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and uh…

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we’ve picked up quite a number of members

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what happened is that

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right if the Korean War

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a lot of the  members

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wanted to join the Veteran of Foreign Wars

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and American Legion

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unfortunately they told us, or told them

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that they wouldn’t  recognize them because

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it was the forgotten war

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so they say

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and it uh… it

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it made them feel that they were inferior

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and since the Korean War Veterans uh…

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got together

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we’ve got a lot of more a lot more members

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because they related to each other

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the other way you had

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members from the second world war

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for whatever reason that i cant explain

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make the move through discrimination against us

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Korean conflict

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forgotten war

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in the newspapers the same thing happens

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you hear

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World War II

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Vietnam

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Just recently on July the thrid

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there was an article in the Staten Island paper

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The Staten Island Advance

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and again it mentioned

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World War II

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and Vietnam

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I got quite annoyed with that and called up the Staten Island Advance

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the reporter

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and explain to her don’t you do any research

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before you write an article

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she’s says why

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I say because you skipped a war.

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and speak to the storms we mentioned

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casualty figures and everything

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after the meeting was over

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two teachers approach me

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were not aware

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what would happen what happened

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In the Korean War

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i says well this is the point

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i’m trying to point out

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you as an educator

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should be aware of these things

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should be aware that the children should know what this country has

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gone through and what it has done

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i don’t i don’t think there’s any excuse for that

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you should be aware of that

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well we apologize for not being aware of it

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so you know it’s a never ending battle

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trying to educate the public

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to know what’s happened

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they should also know uh… we told them

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the korean people of very very

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appreciative

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of what we’ve done

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for them and for the country

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i said

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we help them get freedom and democracy

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Their close to being one of the powers in the in the world today

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uh…

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I say now we have the Hyundai and the Kia

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when i was in korea we had to be careful of the honey bucket and papa-son

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but I..I drove a truck Korea

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and uh,

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looking back to read a story where the Hyundai

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when they made that car

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they made it out of fifty five-gallon drums

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they cut the drums up and make a body parts

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today it’s a beautiful car

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last year

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myself, George and

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uh… two other members went to Korea

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totally totally remarkable

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in sixty one years

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what they’ve done in the country

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makes you feel proud

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that what you did what you could help contribute to

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made this country what it is today. They got high-rises

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you got a subway

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you’ve got a highway

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your all kinds of bridges

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and it just

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really really makes you feel proud of the fact

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that hey i was here at i’ve helped do what had to be done and

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the people are very good

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and i did say it would

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we can expect nothing more

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of all the

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wars that the United States has fought

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Koreas

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is the only one

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message that you give us the

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credit were due

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i was twenty one years old

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when i got drafted into the United States army

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and uh…

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i want to basic training and uh… in the course of basic training

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they turn around and that they pulled me out

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it was sixteen weeks basic training

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round the eighth week

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we want to what they call a Bivlack where we would live out in a field

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before we went back to camp

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we had a meeting you want to do

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volunteers for the paratroopers

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after the meeting

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they read off a bunch of names

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my name was one of them

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to report back to the orderly room…

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I had what they call a class c profile

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nobody seemed to know what a class c profile was

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finally found out I wore glasses at the time

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and they said that

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if you happen to be in combat in you lost your glasses

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you would be incapacitated

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so we are not combat

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so report in a truck driving school but i don’t know how to drive a truck

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I also learned to take care of the furnaces to keep the barracks warm

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after eight weeks there

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i wanted to check in with the finance department as he got mine

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records were straight

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if someone overseas the money would be setbacks

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but my mother who was a widow

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they could’t find my records then I saw this fellow walk a mile and a whole bunch of records

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Say you got this fellows records there

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Yeah, just let me put it down

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he’s a he’s a schedule for overseas

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where is he going

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FECOM

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FECOM is Far East Command

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okay

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now Far East Command includes Hawaii

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and all those places…Japan

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so now we turnarounds and say okay

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you’re gone home on what they call delayed route

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so when I got home

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I told my mother

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uh… I was going overseas

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she said where you going, and I said FECOM

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She said what does that mean, you going to Korea

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I said no no. Could be Japan, could be Hawaii

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I don’t know

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when we got there it had been 19 days on a ship

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sick the whole 19 days going

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Coming back, sick the whole 19 days coming back

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my contention

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is that the Korean War was brought on

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was instigated by the Russians

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now, i say

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as an ally you’re not supposed to do this

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as an ally

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but it doesn’t seem that the Russians are our ally

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they instigated the start of the Korean War

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instigated the North Koreans to invade the South Koreans

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fortunately uh… General MacArthur

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was able to

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invade Incheon

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to cut the supply lines

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for North Korea

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I arrived in Yokohama then they sent us to Tokyo

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and we processed

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well we had to turn in all our clothing

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that we brought with us

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and the issues us

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fatigue uniform

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they put us on the train

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took us down

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to the very end of Japan

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Sasebo

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we were there another day or two to get processed

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that it was on the japanese ship

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it took us to Pusan

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when most of it with you and i thought that in april of nineteen fifty two

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fifty-two yet

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i wish they had total eighteen months according

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when i arrived in korea they took us by train

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all

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up north to Chunchon

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where i was stationed

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I was in a trucking

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company

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55^th truck battalion

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seven fifteen trucking company

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we supplied

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troops

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ammunition

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fuel

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and food

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to the front line

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we were a

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rear echelon

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uh… operation

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and we used to go up

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following the convoy

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over the mountainss and so on so forth

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we were very fortunate

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when you look back at as seen in a situation that happened

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in afghanistan and the mideast

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where trucks get bombed

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and hit land mines

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and so and so forth

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why we say we’re fortunate

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there north koreans

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didn’t have the kind of airpower

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if they had the airpower we would have been sitting ducks

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because they go upsides the mountains in Korea

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cut out of the side of the mountains

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very steep

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virtually

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We were only able to get two trucks by

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and uh…

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and delivered what we had delivered so forth

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and uh…

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I had one experience

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when I was up on a convoy

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all of a sudden my steering wheel

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went around and began

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spiraling out of my hand

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what had happened

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i hit the break and it started going to the mountain

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the steering rod broke

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so

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the convoy passed me by and told me

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they would said someone up

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fix the truck

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which later on i stood there

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during the night

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pitch black

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no lights

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but i had heard Korean voices I don’t know weather they were Korean

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North Korean or South Korean

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but you could hear them it was kind of scary

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young fella

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twenty one years old

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foreign country

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seven thousand miles from home

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what could you say

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and uh…

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the area i was in was mostly farm land

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and small villages and so on so forth

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they had told us not to fraternize with the people

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and we did that’s why you know when we come back to it

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you didn’t learn to much because the people didn’t speak our language

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and we didn’t speak their language

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so we

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did the best we could

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Chunchon at the time i got there

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a lot of buildings were destroyed

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periodically we used to have a fellow by the name of

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bedcheck charlie

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used to be a small plane

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use to fly

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in uh… in between amounts

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used the river

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as a guideline

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and would try to get into Chunchon to try and bomb the airfield

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but fortunately he didnt

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we would have to jump out and go into foxholes stated and stay there for what they called a red alert

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then later on

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there would tell us all clear that we go back into our tents the most dangerous

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thing is uh…

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the roads

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will primitive all dirt roads

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and added just barely enough

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here went well

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go one way one truck or the other way

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not to be disrespectful

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but Korean drivers left a lot to be desired

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you know the truth

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you’re know how they drive

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they just

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went by each other

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and i wasn’t going to go to the other side down a hill

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and uh…

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that’s the scary part of it is not uh…

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not being able to uh… go

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and see

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see the roads

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that that was safe enough to travel on

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and like i said

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we had a worry about the

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honey bucket

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and the papason

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papason used to have the branches

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carried on his a-frame

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so you had to be careful you don’t want hit him

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and the honey bucket was also slow moving

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and i say when i first got to Seoul

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it was flat

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bombed out

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and uh… when i finally went back last year

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I was very

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surprised and very

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very honored to see

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What the Korean people did

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very resourceful people

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and very

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hardworking people

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and it is just a credit to them

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what do you think

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your service meant when you came back to the United States

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came back to the world

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when i first came back to the

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United States

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There was no bands

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You just blended in

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with what went on

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Hey, haven’t seen ya in a while

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I went for the papers and forgot to come back

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people didn’t

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just like the unfortunately this is the vietnam veterans

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disgraceful

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what they did to them

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what they were with the people in this country did to them

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they did the same thing we went to Vietnam for

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freedom freedom and democracy

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but it didn’t work out that way because

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the peace movement here in the United States was terrible

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they threw rocks I met

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some of my friends that a vietnam veterans

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one guy took his uniform and didn’t want to wear it again

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they threw rocks at him spit on him

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wrong

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totally wrong

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you’re an American your there

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to help

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not to be ridiculed

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any message or

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to the young generations about the Korean War veterans

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you want to pass along

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the message I can tell them is if you have to go and do something for your country do it

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and be proud of what you are doing

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like I say sometimes things work out for you and sometimes they don’t.

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but the fact of the matter is that

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if your country needs you you should be available to go and do it

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naturally most of us don’t want to do it

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but after its done you look back and say it

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wasn’t bad after all

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If there is a petition to replace the armistice with a peace treaty

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would you be willing to sign it

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provided that it shows unification for the Koreas

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providing that

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both Koreas

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get-together and become one

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then i will be willing to sign it

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not if they stay split

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i mean uh…

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the guy up north

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what can I say about him nothing

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but the

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what they should do

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is look at it realistically

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and seeing what the South Korean

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people

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have done take it and say well lets join

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lets be part of it

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then I will go along with that

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but not to be split

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this is from the ministry of patriots and veterans affairs of the Republic of Korea

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this is the official proclamation for Mr. Joseph Calabria

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thank you professor thank you Danny

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thank you sweetheart

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And I hope that Daniel will continue to work with you guys