CHAPTER CHATTER Page 4
The Official Newsletter of the
Shenandoah Valley Chapter #313
Korean War Veterans Association
Volume 14, Issue 03
Paul E. Bombardier, Editor
March, 2021
Member Bio – Richard O. Clark
(Editor’s Note: This Bio reprinted for newer members from the Oct 2009 is-sue and edited to fit this space).
Dick was born to Norwegian and Scotch- Irish parents in Ann Arbor, MI. on October 10th, 1929.The family
included two other boys and three girls. Because of the depression, his father went from business man to farmer to keep food on the table. They migrated to Boyne City, MI. in the north of Michigan where the family raised apples and cherries along with
a few milk cows. Snow was a staple in the area, so skiing and sledding were a great pastime. Dick graduated from High School in 1948. Since Michigan had plenty of employment at that time in the auto industry, Dick found work in a GM plant in Flint, MI. until October 1952, when he an-swered the call from Uncle Sam.
Dick was inducted into the U.S. Army at Fort Custer in Battle Creek, MI. It did not take long to get his group to Camp Chaffy, AR. Where his field specialty turned out to be Field Wire, Telephone. After Basic training and a short leave at home, his unit loaded onto the ship “Sea Adder”, at Seattle (Fort Lewis) for a two week cruise to Sasebo, Japan.
In Japan, Dick was reassigned to an Intelligence school, and after three weeks he got to see Korea for the first time at Inchon. The 57th Field Ar-tillery Hqs became his home away from home. The 57th was a 105mm unit of the 7th Infantry Division, and the 31st Infantry Regiment. It was a shooting gallery in this sector, what with “Ole Baldy” and “Pork Chop Hill “ in contention with the North Kore-ans. After the Armistice in July, 1953, Dicks unit fell into a routine occupa-tion of South Korea, along with other nations who fought there.
Upon his return to stateside, Dick applied for the GI Bill which provided finances for his higher education at his Flint, MI. Junior College and at Eastern Michigan Univ. where he earned a degree in
Business Administration. Sandwiched in with college was marriage to Joyce Prose, and Indiana girl who has given balance to Dick’s life.
(Cont. on Page 5)