An Interview
with Terrence Ward
I know him as Grandpa,
my family knows him as Grandpa, and all my friends know him as Grandpa.
But ‘once upon a time’ he was known as ‘the fiercest fighter in the U.S.
Army.’ Well, that’s not exactly true, in fact, the only part that is true
is that he was in the U.S. Army. He wasn’t even a fighter; he was something
far more valuable, as you will see. His name is Terrence "Terry"
Ward, and he was a medic during the Korean War.
I was born in Lynxville, Wisconsin. I [and my family] moved to Baxter Springs, Kansas, where I was raised until I turned eighteen. I volunteered for the KSNG (Kansas National Guard) in November 1950, in Baxter Springs. Many of my high school friends had volunteered as well and were placed in my unit. My brother, Howard went his own way into the Navy.
At the age of nineteen I held the rank of PFC (Private First Class). Once activated, I moved to Ft. Lewis in Washington where we exercised everyday, including tactics, maneuvers, basic medical training, and field exercises. Later, I transferred to the BAMC (Brooke Army Medical Center) in Ft. Sam Houston, Texas where I specialized at becoming a field medic. When news was announced that U.S. troops would enter Korea, I knew I was already prepared for war mentally and physically.
Upon reaching Korea in February 1951, the first thing that I noticed was the smell. It was rancid. The source was the fertilizer used on the rice patties. It was human waste. I ignored the smell as much as I could, and got on with my duties. I was in the 2nd Medical Battalion, which was a company of the 2nd Infantry Division. A division contains about fifteen to sixteen thousand men. We were nicknamed the Indianhead Division, and with right cause.
Traveling by train between camps was always scary for me. Demolished trains lay just off to the side of the tracks. Trains just like the one I was on, passenger cars. Trains that were going the same place we were. They were bombed by Korean troops.
I thought a lot about why we were sent there [Korea], I knew it was for no good, though; [but] I was there, and that was the end of it. I was a First Aid Corpsman, and had too much to think about to spend my time thinking about it [the reason we were in Korea].
It was always cold there, deathly cold. The temperature sometimes dropping to twenty degrees below zero. We slept in heavily insulated sleeping bags in tents or foxholes. Food was always good and plentiful, if we weren’t on the move; however, at other times we ate the standard issue C-Rations (can rations).
[My] gear consisted of insulated parkas, and parka liners, and wool clothes that were worn under the normal field clothes. While most [soldiers] carried a rifle, I carried a medical pack. The only thing I had was a pistol. My job [was to take care of the wounded and] to give morphine while they lay on the battlefield, and get them out if possible. The only thing I could do was to keep my head down, stay low, and keep moving as much as possible.
The worst thing of the war was giving morphine to soldiers who were beyond help. That always made me sad and angry that all this was happening. My Division was the Indianhead division because we were the spearhead. Major battles that I was in were Porkchop Hill and Old Baldy. We weren’t alone at the front; the 23rd, 32nd, and the all black 9th division were with us.
The South Koreans fought alongside us in some of them fights, in others they were on a different front. Every tent had a servant who would do chores. I remember mine. He was older than me, about thirty or so. They [the Koreans] were very kind people. I thought that the South Koreans were honest and hardworking. I never knew any North Koreans; they were always on the other side of the gun.
I was in Korea for thirteen months, and left [in] March 1953. Took thirty days to get home. First thought was, "Now what?" I was used to [being given] orders and following a daily routine. I wasn’t used to making up my own mind, but it sure felt good.
I didn’t get hurt. I worked in Wichita for Cessna Aviation for a while, and then worked in the mines [in Baxter]. I had to return all of the gear, but got to keep the clothes. I was awarded the Korean Campaign Medal for battle in Korea, with three Battle Stars for seeing three major battles, the Good Conduct Medal for no bad service time in three years, the National Defense Medal for serving in the U.S. Army during wartime, the Korean Service Medal for serving in the Korean Campaign from 1950 to 1953, and the Combat Medic Badge for being a medic in combat.
When asked
what the best and worst parts of war were, Terry’s only reply was "Nothing
and the fear for [my] life."
From an interview conducted on the eighth of November 2000 with Terrence
Ward by Ryan Mallatt.
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