Oral history interview with John R. Pike, 1995.

ArchivalResource

Pike, John Robert, 1931-. Oral history interview with John R. Pike, 1995.

Oral history interview with John R. Pike, 1995.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/757937183

John R. Pike, a Madison, Wisconsin native, discusses his Army service in Korea shortly after the Korean War. Pike recalls following the news about World War II as a boy, seeing VJ-Day celebrations in Madison, and his awareness of the Cold War. As a student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison when the Korean War broke out, he discusses the atmosphere on campus and personally expecting to be pulled into the war. After being in the Reserve Officers Training Corps all four years of college, Pike talks about graduating in 1953 and receiving orders to report in a year. He mentions refresher training at Fort Eustis (Virginia) and assignment to Korea. Pike addresses regional diversity in his ROTC transportation unit and tensions between Blacks and Whites, and between Northerners and Southerners, during ROTC summer camp. He details the journey to Asia on a troop ship, arriving in Inchon, being sent to a replacement center at Ascom City, and noticing the destruction and poor conditions still evident from the war. Assigned to the 7th Infantry Division transportation office, he speaks of the train ride north and the location of his camp near "Little Chicago" (Tongduchʻōn). Pike states that M*A*S*H, the television show, had details that were "surprisingly accurate." He discusses daily life: watching movies in the evening, the availability of liquor, and work involving the railroad and distribution of supplies. Pike comments on accidents, including fires from petroleum pipeline spills and jeep crashes caused by poor road conditions. He comments on the segregation of officers and enlisted men, the prevalence of higher education experience at headquarters, and morale. Pike recalls little incidents that made the soldiers take garrison duty very seriously, such as men being killed on the road and an air raid. He describes his interactions with Korean, Scottish, and Australian troops and duty arranging transport for other nationalities of U.N. troops. He portrays a wild Belgian soldier, who escaped from camp naked to rendezvous with a Korean woman, and a highly disciplined Ethiopian unit. Pike states he also served in Seoul at the 8th Army Headquarters for a few months, and talks about checking off his last 100 days abroad on a calendar. He touches on his homecoming and reassignment to the Port of Seattle, where he was released early because they had no work for him to do. Pike speaks about participating in Reserves activities and using the GI Bill to earn a Master's degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and to study at the London School of Economics (England). He discusses living conditions in Korea and the cold winter weather.

Transcript : 23 p.

Wisconsin Veterans Museum Research Center