Korean War Legacy Project

Maurice Morby

Bio

Maurice Morby was born in Wellingborough, England. He joined the Royal Army in 1949, volunteering for service in Korea in the spring of 1951. After arriving on the HMT Orwell in Busan, he was assigned to the 28th Field Regiment, Royal Engineers as a supply truck driver. He describes accidentally walking into a minefield while on patrol during Operation Skunk. He talks about dogs that were used to discover enemy mines. His unit was stationed on the east coast of Korea and he describes the his amazement at the transformation of the country, in addition to his appreciation for the courtesy shown to veterans by the people of Korea after the war.

Video Clips

Journey to Korea

Maurice Morby describes about his journey from the United Kingdom to Korea on the HMT Orwell. He describes seeing dolphins, sailors singing on deck, and their brief stop in Singapore.

Tags: Imjingang (River),Food,Living conditions,Rest and Relaxation (R&R)

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First Days in Korea

Maurice Morby describes his first impressions of Korea and the journey from Busan to Seoul. He talks about arriving at Busan harbor, picking up vehicles, and the arduous 3-day drive to Seoul through difficult terrain.

Tags: Busan,Imjingang (River),Seoul,Impressions of Korea,Living conditions,South Koreans

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Ghost Man

Maurice Morby shares a story of a ghostly encounter that he had during one evening's guard duty. He describes seeing what he thought was an old man dressed in traditional Korean clothing. He and a fellow soldier chased the man into a long inescapable alley and opened fire. Despite what seemed like an impossible escape, they never saw the man again.

Tags: Imjingang (River),Chinese,Front lines,North Koreans

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Dangerous Letter Writing

Maurice Morby tells a story about writing letters while sitting on a log in camp. He describes bullets coming in from all around and diving behind the log for cover. In the end, they discovered that a nearby British unit was test firing weapons nearby unaware of his unit's camp location.

Tags: Imjingang (River),Fear,Front lines,Weapons

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Camp Description

Maurice Morby describes his unit's encampment near a factory. He describes the size of the camp, where and how they slept, how they dealt with cold weather, and what not to do with beer.

Tags: Imjingang (River),Cold winters,Front lines,Living conditions

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Chapters and Verses

Maurice Morby describes his job of picking up and delivering supplies. He talks about how they communicated about supplies, how his truck was loaded, and the difficult overland journey.

Tags: Imjingang (River),Civilians,Front lines

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"We're in a Minefield!"

Maurice Morby describes accidentally walking into a minefield while on patrol during Operation Skunk. He talks about the terrain, how he and a fellow soldier made their error, and how they escaped the potentially dangerous situation.

Tags: Imjingang (River),Fear,Front lines,North Koreans,Weapons

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Mine Clearing Dogs

Maurice Morby talks about dogs that were used to discover enemy mines. He describes the dogs' duties and one particular encounter with several dogs in camp.

Tags: Imjingang (River),Chinese,Fear,Front lines,Weapons

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Second Hand Mail

Maurice Morby tells a story about what he called "second hand mail." While eating lunch one day, his unit's encampment came under heavy artillery fire. He describes that later it was found out that the artillery fire was from friendly tanks, their shells ricocheting off of a nearby river.

Tags: Imjingang (River),Chinese,Fear,Front lines,Weapons

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Secret Supply Mission

Maurice Morby describes delivering secret cargo on a supply mission. He talks about his discovery of what the cargo was, a fabricated decoy tank that was switched for a real tank that needed to be serviced.

Tags: Imjingang (River),Chinese,Front lines,Weapons

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28 Days for Smoking

Maurice Morby recalls the story of when he and a fellow soldier were caught smoking on guard duty and received a 28-day sentence in a military jail. He talks about the circumstances that surrounded his infraction and describes his experience as a military prisoner.

Tags: Imjingang (River),Chinese,Communists,Front lines,Living conditions,Rest and Relaxation (R&R)

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An Encounter with Danny Kaye

Maurice Morby tells about his encounter with Danny Kaye, an American film actor, while on guard duty one dark evening. He describes a vehicle approaching his position without stopping. Alarmed, he fired warning shots in the vehicle's direction without knowing the identities of it's passengers, Danny Kaye and a famous American singer.

Tags: Imjingang (River),Front lines,Rest and Relaxation (R&R)

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Unbelievable

Maurice Morby talks about his revisit to Korea. He describes the his amazement at the transformation of the country and his appreciation for the courtesy shown to veterans by the people of Korea.

Tags: Seoul,Impressions of Korea,Message to Students,Modern Korea,Pride,South Koreans

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