General Notes

[basham.ged]
John K King correspondence 12/17/2000 <johnkking@@netusa1.net>
John entered the Army on August 5 1949 at Savannah, GA. He was se
nt to bo ot camp at Fort Jackson, S.C. Assigned to Company C,10TH Infant
ry Regimen t, 5TH Infantry Division, Upon completion of boot camp, in Nove
mber 1949 J ohn was assigned to Company C, 6th Med. Tank Battalion, 2nd Ar
mored Divisi on at Camp Hood, Texas.
With the outbreak of hostilities in Korea on June 27, 1950, the Army or
de red John's unit along with the 70th and 73rd Med. Tank Battalions to Ko
re a.  The 6th Med. Tank Battalion was transported to Korea aboard the US
NS B rewster transport ship.
The USNS Brewster docked in Pusan, South Korea on August 7, 1950 a
nd w as assigned to the 24th Infantry Division commanded by Major Gener
al Jo hn Church. The 24th Infantry Division was composed of  the 19th,21st
,34 th Infantry Regiment along with the 6th Med. Tank Battalion, each Regi
me nt also had an attached battalion of artillery   assigned to it. The 6
th M ed. Tank Battalion C.O. during John's tour of duty in Korea was Colon
el Jo hn S. (Red) Growdon (West Point 1930).  The 70th Med. Tank Battali
on was a ssigned to the 1st Cavalry Division, and the 73rd was assign
ed to the 7 th Infantry Division.
During the 6th's arrival in Pusan the 8th Army commanded by Lt. Gener
al W alton H. (Johnny) Walker was shoring up the Pusan defensive perime
te r. By the 24th of August 1950, the 24th Infantry Division was dug in be
hi nd the Naktong River.
During John's year tour in Korea he was a tank driver. He lost four t
an ks out from under him, two by land mines and two by anti-tank gun
s. He w as not hurt other than sctraches or bruises during the loses  alth
ough oth er people in the tank were killed or wounded.  He kept the same t
ank comma nder for the duration.  John was wounded on 26th of April 195
1, receivi ng the Purple Heart, while in processing
out of Korea. After time in a M.A.S.H. unit he was evacuated to Jap
an on t he USNS Pope.  After a short period in Japan he was put on leave a
nd duri ng leave got married on July 20, 1951 to Lois Kathryn
Johnson.
In August 1951, after leave, John was reassigned to Company A, 1st Me
d. T ank Battalion, 1st Armored Division, at Fort Hood, Texas. He was tran
sferr ed to 4005th Medical detachment at Fort Hood hospital in August 195
2, f or a short time as troop information and education NCO. On Septemb
er 2, 19 52 Kathryn had his first son John Kenneth.
In May 1953, John was transferred to Germany aboard the USNS Muir ta
ki ng 28 days from New York City thru Reykjavik, Iceland, Southhampton Eng
lan d, thru the English channel to Bremerhaven, Germany.  John report
ed to Ta nk Company, 1st Battalion, 2nd Light Armored Calvary Regime
nt in Bayreut h, Germany in June 1953. John's second son, James David w
as born in Nurenb erg, Germany on August 13, 1954.
In June 1955 the 2nd Cav. was gyroscoped (swapped places) with the 3
rd A rored Cav. Regiment from Fort George G. Meade, Maryland. While at Fo
rt Mea de John was on the Army pistol team winning several trophies.  In A
pril 19 57 he was accepted to Helicopter training and was assigned to US A
rmy Prim ary Helicopter School in Fort Wolters, Texas.  He decided that w
as not wh at he wanted so dropped out of helicopter school and was reassig
ned in Ju ne 1957, to Hqs Company, 1st Quartermaster Battalion, 1st Armor
ed Divisio n, in Fort Polk, Louisiana.  He was later assigned to Company C
,
1st Med. Tank Battalion,1st A.D., which was the same battalion he had se
rv ed with in Fort Hood, Texas previously.
In 1958, John was assigned to Army Recruiting School in Fort Benjamin H
ar rison, Indiana, then further assignment to Fourth U.S. Army Recruiti
ng Dis trict, San Antonio, Texas. The recruiting
district then assigned him to recruiting duty in Clovis, New Mexico. H
is s on John started first grade there.
In June 1959, He left recruiting duty for