Michael Berardi
Bio
Michael Berardi was born in 1930 in Niles, Ohio. After high school, he joined the Marines Reserves and was studying to be a commercial artist, specializing in silk screening. When the Korean War started, Michael Berardi was activated and assigned to the 7th Marines, 1st battalion. He describes that it was like landing in Incheon while serving in the Headquarters and Service Battalion. While he was busy taking care of telecommunications needs, he got frostbite. Michael Berardi explains how difficult it was to manage communications in the chaos of combat. He is proud of his service and even carries a piece of shrapnel in his hip today as a memory of his time in Korea.
Video Clips
Frostbite
Michael Berardi describes how he incurred frostbite. In the midst of combat, a priority for him was to keep the radio equipment warm enough to function. While doing this, Michael Berardi was not consistently able to take measures to keep his own body warm and safe from frostbite.
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Combat Chaos
Michael Berardi describes trying to manage communications in the midst of combat. As the situation evolves, he has to switch from running communications to running ammunition to soldiers under fire. During this time Michael Berardi got injured and was hit with shrapnel in the hip and face, and he still carries that shrapnel today.
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Experience in Incheon
Michael Berardi describes what he remembers about landing in Incheon, which was already occupied by the United States. As a member of the Headquarters and Service company, he said that his job was to supply the telecommunication needs to those on the front lines. As a corporal, he said he often did not have first-hand experience of what was going on in the field.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XT7SbuIslrU&start=495&end=558
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https://koreanwarlegacy.org/interviews/michael-berardi#clip-3
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