Oroville Mercury Register (OMR)
February 16,1952
News From Oroville Men In The Service
Merle K. Swezey,
at 19, a veteran of nearly two years’ service with the Army in Asia,
will enter paratroop training this month with the expectation of
serving next in Europe. Swezey, a former student at Oroville
Union High School, is the son of
Mr. and Mrs. Merle W. Swezey
of Quincy Road. He returned to duty this week following a
furlough spent visiting his parents. He enlisted in the regular
Army Dec. 2, 1949, for a six-year hitch. After training at
Fort Ord, the soft spoken corporal was stationed at Hawaii, Wake
Island, Okinawa, Saipan, Guam and Japan. He was on Guam when
the Korean war broke out in June, 1950, and was in Korea two months
later. Swezey served in Korea nearly 17 months as a truck
driver, hauling ammunition. Did he have any close shaves?
“A couple.” How close was the closest? “Well, one time we were driving
back from Pyongyang when a Red tank took after us. If it hadn’t
been for the curves in the road it probably would have caught us,
too. It fired once, but missed us,” he recounted, matter-of-factly.
While in Korea, Swezey served with the Second Division, which received
a special citation for its push from Inchon. The young soldier
liked Japan, but not Korea. He said it was rough in Korea
last winter (1950-1951) because the troops did not have sufficient
warm clothing. They were wrapping themselves in tents, mosquito
netting and anything else to keep warm, he said. However,
Swezey added, sufficient warm clothing now has been procured and
issued. Swezey now will undergo three months’ paratroop training
at Fort Benning, Ga., before being re-assigned to an outfit.
OMR
February 7, 1952
Food Parcels Mailed To Marine Go Astray
A Marine who complained to his parents that he was going hungry
in Korea has notified them that food packages they mailed in answer
to his plea have not been received. “The packages haven’t
been coming through,” he wrote. “I don’t know why.”
Mr. and Mrs. Mike Keenan
of Route 5, said today that their son,
Mike S., hasn’t received
a package since the middle of December, though they ha e sent four
since then that should have been received by now. The Marine,
serving with a machine-gun crew in a weapons company, wrote to his
parents on Oct 27 while in an army rest area: “For every 100 men,
the Eight Army give us rations for 60. It’s a good thing the
PX is only a half-mile down the road.” Keenan wrote on Dec.
14: “ I get two meals a day. That’s not so bad after you get
used to it.” It was in a letter dated Jan. 21 that he reported
the packages hadn’t been coming through. He said he wasn’t
the only one who hadn’t been getting packages sent from home, then
added: “But don’t worry; the only thing is, the child’s getting
a little thin.” Mr. and Mrs. Keenan said the packages they
have been sending to their son every two or three weeks contain
between $10-$15 worth of groceries, although sometimes the value
is as much as $20. Young Keenan, 20, was graduated from Oroville
Union High School in June, 1950, went into the Marines Jan. 23,
1951, and went to Korea Aug. 15. His mother said he was sent
to the front within 10 days after arriving in Korea, about the first
of September, and was on the front lines 33 days without a hot meal.
Later he took part in the fighting around the “Punch Bowl” his parents
said.
OMR
February 7, 1952
Military Brass Warned They Can Expect To Explain Tax Spending
Washington (U.P.) Rep F.
Edward Hebert (D.La.) said today the generals and admirals
might as well face it – from now on they will have a lot of explaining
to do about the way they pass out the taxpayer’s money.
Hebert is chairman of a House Armed Services subcommittee which
has issued several blistering reports on waste and extravagance
in military buying. He promised more such disclosures just
as fast as he can dig up the facts. The Louisianan was an
obvious though un-named target of complaints aired yesterday before
a Senate appropriations subcommittee by Air Force Secretary
Thomas K. Finletter,
assistant Army Secretary
Karl R. Bendetsen, and
Vice Adm. Charles W. Fox,
Navy materiel chief. They said Congress has been too quick
to publicize charges of waste in the armed forces. They said
these charges have been overplayed, misleading the public and hurting
morale in the service. Herbert shot back that it’s the facts,
not their disclosure and correction, that hurt morale. He
said Congress’ only mistake was in not getting at the facts a lot
sooner.
Stu’s Notes: Seems we always go to War unprepared, old
ammo, obsolete equipment, why doesn’t the right stuff get to our
soldiers at the time it is needed. Like mosquito nets in the
middle of Korea’s cold winter. Seems that the money was there
it just didn’t get spent on the right stuff. Stuff needed
for the front line troops they deserve the BEST. The most
recent example being Iraq. When our troops went over there
in 2004 they did not have the “Best”.