Korean War Legacy Project

Warren Ramsey

Bio

Warren Ramsey was born April 1930 in Ayrshire, Iowa.  Before he even graduated from high school, he had enlisted in the U.S Army Air Corp in 1947, which would eventually become the Air Force.  He loved the structure of military life, and saw a career in the armed services as the best way to see the world.  After completing basic training, Warren Ramsey’s main job was air transport.  His duties included delivering supplies and troops to Japan, where they would then be sent to Korea.  Troop transport of the injured soldiers was another job of his.  After the Korean War, Warren Ramsey continued in the military until he retired in 1971 as a Chief Master Sergeant.

Video Clips

Air Transport Duties and Making Connections With the Injured Soldiers in Flight

Warren Ramsey started serving at Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii in 1949. Before the Korean War started, he would service and repair air planes. Once the war began, he deliver supplies and troops from Hawaii while pulling out the injured United States soldiers.

Tags: Food,Front lines,Living conditions,Personal Loss,Physical destruction,Pride,Weapons

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A Quiet, Ignored, Forgotten War

Warren Ramsey was stationed in Germany from 1952-1955 when the Korean War ended. He considered it a quiet war because United States civilians were not informed through mass media about the Korean War since WWII just ended 5 years before the war started. Since Warren Ramsey fought in both the Korean War and the Vietnam War, he was able to compare the experiences of soldiers coming home from war. He was ignored for one and called "Baby Killer" after the other war.

Tags: Civilians,Fear,Front lines,Home front,Impressions of Korea,Living conditions,Personal Loss,Pride

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Early Entry into the Military and Loving Every Minute of It!

Before the Korean War, Warren Ramsey was in high school and joined the Air Force before he graduated high school in 1947. After graduating high school, he went to Lackland Air Force Base for boot camp. Thankfully, warren Ramsey thought that the transition to the United States military was not difficult because we grew up in Boy Scouts and the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC). After training, he was stationed at Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii where he worked with troop and supply transport.

Tags: Basic training,Civilians,Home front,Living conditions,Pride

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Video Transcript

my name is Warren Ramsey Chief Master
00:03
Sergeant United States Air Force retired
00:05
I served from 1947 in 1971 i was born in
00:11
air sure iowa actually at the hospital
00:15
in emmitsburg and in 1930 april of
00:18
nineteen thirty i was actually in in
00:24
high school and I actually went into the
00:29
air force on it basically a delayed
00:31
entry program I went in January of 47
00:35
and signed up but then they gave me to
00:38
graduate to come out of high school that
00:40
June and they gave me a couple of weeks
00:42
so I went to actually went the the first
00:45
of August of 47 on active duty did my
00:48
basic training down in San Antonio at
00:51
Lackland Air Force Base well actually it
00:56
wasn’t too much of a shock for me
00:59
because it seems I’ve ended up in some
01:01
type of a uniform all my life starting
01:04
off with the Boy Scouts then all in high
01:06
school I was in ROTC so I was familiar
01:09
with the military and do all of the
01:12
basic commands and drill procedures and
01:15
had qualified with weapons and
01:16
everything prior so there was no
01:18
cultural shock and what was it that made
01:24
you choose to go into the military and
01:26
specifically into the air force well at
01:29
the time I thought it would be my best
01:34
opportunity to see the world and it was
01:37
and the reason i chose the Air Force is
01:40
because they had so many bases in so
01:43
many different countries worldwide that
01:45
I knew I come close at least two getting
01:48
someplace that I really wanted to be I
01:50
spent actually about 14 years in the
01:55
combination they check the military has
01:58
a way of every few years of changing the
01:59
names of things i started off it was air
02:03
transport service then it went to matts
02:07
military air transport service and then
02:10
it went to Mack military airlift
02:12
and this was all with transports and
02:15
when I was stationed at Hickam Air Force
02:18
Base away the outbreak of the Korean War
02:20
why that’s what I was in at that time
02:23
was military airlift command heading
02:26
into the military did you think about
02:27
the fact that you might go to war no
02:29
actually at that time you know in fact a
02:33
lot of guys got caught after the end of
02:37
World War two had only been over for
02:39
five years and so a lot of them thought
02:41
the reserves and Air Guard would be a
02:43
good place to be because no one dreamed
02:46
there would be anything happen anyplace
02:47
in the world they thought after everyone
02:50
saw the results of World War two that
02:52
they had had enough and were smart
02:55
enough to avert and avoid any situations
02:59
like that so that was the last thing on
03:02
anyone’s mind was being in a conflict of
03:04
any type the age we were all of us in
03:09
the Korean War basically were 20 years
03:12
old there were so though quite a few of
03:15
World War two guys that we’re in
03:16
naturally but you’re invincible at 20
03:21
you don’t worry about things like you
03:23
aren’t going to die that that may be the
03:25
other guy will but it’s not going to
03:26
happen to you did you receive any kind
03:29
of specialized training no I of course I
03:34
would in the time it was still the Army
03:36
Air Corps so I actually went through
03:39
army basic training so as far as it
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would be for instance weapons
03:44
familiarization why we did the same
03:46
thing as as the army we went to we had
03:49
mortar training and heavy machine gun
03:51
training and the carbine and the rifle
03:54
and the 45 and so I’d had all of that
03:57
and there was no other they did give us
04:00
in case we happen to be shot down
04:03
someplace inadvertently why they gave us
04:06
escape and evasion tactics and training
04:11
but that was oh maybe a week course or
04:15
something like that so there but really
04:17
nothing particular I was a crew chief
04:20
flight engineer on this at that time we
04:24
were flying c-54s
04:26
and then continued on through the rest
04:29
of the Air Force and spent another 12 13
04:33
years with the OC 120 fours in the same
04:36
position or just general in-flight
04:46
monitoring edge made sure that you did
04:49
maintenance on the aircraft Oh anything
04:51
that was need fixing after you landed
04:54
you service the aircraft just made sure
04:59
she was ready to go and fuel loads and
05:06
oil and you made sure that the oh the
05:11
invite lunches were put in the proper
05:13
place and things like that and when you
05:16
serviced why you always threw an extra
05:20
500 gallons for Mama and the kids just
05:22
in case something went wrong well at the
05:26
time the career I went to Hawaii at
05:29
Hickam Air Force Base in 1949 and of
05:32
course Korea busted loose in June of 50
05:35
so at that we were flying out of even
05:39
prior to the war we were flying up into
05:42
Korea occasionally delivering supplies
05:44
and things like that our prime mission
05:46
we’d leave Hickam and do a little island
05:48
hopping and then end up in Japan one of
05:50
the bases there and then pick up
05:52
whatever and take it up into Korea at
05:55
the various bases our mission didn’t
05:57
change that much even after the war week
05:59
until we accelerated and did a lot more
06:01
of it and carried more troops up in and
06:04
then of course as things progressed to
06:07
why we started bringing walking wounded
06:11
per se from Korea down into the
06:13
hospitals in Japan and then transporting
06:18
other patients from Japan back to their
06:21
was tripler General Hospital in Honolulu
06:23
was a tremendous large army facility and
06:27
we brought people back to their in the
06:30
beginning it’s just a a normal job but
06:36
the things you remember faces that you
06:42
think you see he’ll bring back a wounded
06:45
soldier and you look at him and you say
06:47
gee I think I remember carrying him in
06:50
two countries three weeks ago you know
06:52
this but of course it didn’t happen that
06:54
often but you you you became bonded with
07:00
them in just a matter of hours so it was
07:05
it was quite an experience we think a
07:10
friend of mine and it’s in the
07:13
organization here I didn’t become
07:17
acquainted with him until after we
07:21
joined the Korean War veterans here but
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we got to comparing dates and i knew
07:27
that i was in country on my 21st
07:30
birthday and he was wounded and was in
07:34
fact on and he thinks he remembers me
07:37
from that now 60 years ago we all looked
07:40
alike but it’s very possible that i flew
07:45
him out of Korea and into Japan 60 years
07:50
ago like friendships and comradery did
07:55
you form well we still have the outfit
08:02
that I haven’t kept in contact I lost
08:06
Connor I lost contact with the people
08:09
out at Hickam because I went from there
08:12
came back to the states i was only back
08:14
here for about five months and I’ve
08:17
rotated to germany and was gone for
08:20
three years so i didn’t keep too many
08:23
contacts from back there but the the big
08:26
outfit i spent with the in utah for a
08:30
number of years and we have a reunion
08:33
every other year so and there will be
08:35
two or three hundred of us gather for
08:38
that and again there are people that
08:40
have of course that were in the same
08:43
situation I was back then so we have
08:46
stories to tell that we relate to places
08:49
we had been that was the same with other
08:50
people but as far as individuals no I
08:58
haven’t maintained with anyone
09:01
specifically that I was with back then
09:03
those yours where were you when the war
09:06
ended I was actually stationed in
09:09
Germany and of course as long as you
09:14
were on active duty at the time it was
09:17
just like World War two you didn’t have
09:19
to actually be in a given theater to be
09:24
considered part of as a Korean veteran
09:26
so even if I hadn’t been in the
09:29
beginning at Hawaii and into Korea by
09:32
being stationed in Germany in 52 to 55
09:36
why I still would have been considered a
09:40
Korean War veteran but there was very
09:44
little we were it was a quiet war if you
09:47
will in as far as the civilians were
09:50
concerned there was very little
09:54
publicity in fact I remember when I came
09:59
back home in 51 why Oh where you been
10:05
well Pacific participating oh there’s a
10:11
war going on yeah there certainly is the
10:16
government at the time had pretty well I
10:19
won’t say they censored the news media
10:21
but it was their desire was that things
10:25
weren’t blown up to any extent actually
10:30
you know it was it started just a little
10:32
under five years from the time that
10:34
world war two was over and I think all
10:37
the politicians were so afraid that if
10:41
they declared another war they would go
10:44
ahead and every one of them to get
10:47
thrown out of office so that first it
10:49
was a police action and then it was a
10:51
conflict and it wasn’t until about oh I
10:54
don’t know 15 years ago or so that
10:56
Congress finally got around to
10:58
officially declaring it a war but there
11:02
was quite an attendant as a say in
11:04
Germany I think garsh things have been
11:08
over a couple other or the truce had
11:10
been signed a couple of days where we
11:11
even found out about it how did that
11:14
feel to have been a part of it and seen
11:16
what things were like and then to come
11:18
home and have be ignored well I don’t
11:27
know I think like most of the people I
11:29
just shrugged it off and said oh well
11:34
you know it’s their loss they don’t know
11:38
the comrade ships that we developed and
11:41
they don’t know what and they’ll never
11:42
know if you didn’t participate why and
11:49
unlike you were really really ignored
11:54
more than anything unlike the poor guys
11:58
coming home from you know when I when I
12:00
left Vietnam basically they told us
12:08
carry civilian clothes with you and get
12:12
into the airport and change and get out
12:14
of your uniform otherwise you’ll have
12:17
people throwing whatever at you and
12:19
calling you baby killer and so forth
12:21
nasaan because of the conflict with the
12:24
Vietnam War and none of that occurred
12:29
from Korea’s as I said we were just
12:32
basically Julia ignored so after the
12:36
Korean War what made you want to stay in
12:39
the military longer I found a home I
12:44
really enjoyed the military life I just
12:46
said I enjoyed the travel I was where
12:49
I’ve been on fortunately with the
12:52
airport’s I’ve been in some great
12:53
outfits I’ve been on every continent
12:56
I’ve been in 24 different european
12:58
countries i’ve been on every island and
13:01
the pacific that you could put an
13:02
airplane down on met a lot of wonderful
13:06
people I still correspond with
13:09
fact a lady back in the 60s that babysat
13:15
for us in England we still Christmas
13:17
cards every year I was fortunate when I
13:22
was stationed in Germany to get a German
13:26
hunting license and with a doctor in
13:29
he’s my age a doctor in Frankfurt
13:33
Germany that I still correspond with so
13:38
worldwide acquaintances and and just the
13:41
opportunity and really makes you
13:44
appreciate what you’ve got here at home
13:46
seeing how the rest of the world how
13:50
they have to live and the things that
13:52
the situation’s they have to put up with
13:54
why makes you pretty proud to be say
13:57
well I am an American how did you like
14:01
stay in contact with friends and family
14:03
back home Oh normal snail mail if you
14:09
will of course and telephone I’d call
14:15
once month home and rates were quite
14:17
reasonable at the time and everything
14:18
and so I had no problems there at all
14:22
can you tell me about the veteran
14:24
organization that you’re a part of now
14:27
well I belong to of course the American
14:31
Legion and the VFW and i am commander of
14:36
the Korean War Veterans chapter 2 72
14:39
here in rockford illinois is quite an
14:42
honor we have some 72 active members we
14:47
have a very active color guard we have a
14:50
program where we go out to the schools
14:54
and present programs to any of the
14:56
classes that are interested and quite a
14:59
few of them are a couple of our high
15:02
schools have had very active veteran
15:05
interview programs similar very similar
15:07
to this one and we’ve had a quite a
15:10
number of our people that go to that so
15:13
we were already booked for veterans day
15:17
of course and for a couple of schools
15:19
the first week in november
15:22
so we we have semi uniforms and then we
15:31
take the opportunity of course and we
15:33
show the flag whenever we can how did
15:39
your wartime experiences affect your
15:42
life well I was fortunate enough that of
15:47
course i was lucky never wounded ducked
15:50
a lot but unlike some of the troops that
16:00
you know had some severe combat
16:04
experiences and everything i was
16:06
fortunate so mine there were never any
16:10
lasting after effects of any type
16:12
whatsoever you learn a great deal of
16:22
empathy when you’re traveling with
16:26
wounded heroes and i’ll call them heroes
16:30
because anyone as your grandfather we’ve
16:39
always said although this weekend I was
16:42
with two Medal of Honor winners which of
16:45
course is certainly the highest award
16:47
the nation can give and are certainly
16:48
heroes but in most cases and most GIS
16:53
feel this way that our heroes are all
16:59
the majority of them from the wars are
17:02
in military cemeteries we aren’t walking
17:06
around and so I was fortunate I’ve never
17:12
had any any side effects or after
17:16
effects through what are some life
17:19
lessons
17:20
feel like you’ve learned from military
17:22
service well I suppose is probably about
17:25
one of the biggest things nothing is
17:28
impossible if you work together as a
17:31
team you get situations that people
17:41
would back off and say oh I can’t do
17:43
that see now wait a minute to think
17:45
about this now you can’t but you and you
17:49
and I weekend and that and nothing is
17:59
ever good enough there’s an old saying
18:02
that good enough is ever the enemy of
18:05
excellence and so believe it or not in
18:12
the military we never at least in my
18:16
organizations we never let things stand
18:18
good enough it was always so now we’ll
18:22
do it and do it right do you have any
18:24
advice that you would like to leave for
18:27
future generations probably the biggest
18:29
thing I’m trying to think General
18:36
Washington at the time said paraphrase
18:45
said something basically that the
18:54
country is only as great as reflected
19:00
the way the populace treats its veterans
19:06
and that would be my biggest thing is
19:15
don’t push the veterans aside we don’t
19:21
want any handouts we don’t want anything
19:24
on a platter but give us our just dues