Interview Transcript - John Delaney

“Well, you can join either the first Cav.- the first Cavalry division- or you could go Airborne with the Eleventh Airborne division, which I did. That shortened it up a little. I went and joined up basically because of the chaplains who said “I’ll go with you!” you know, and I said, “Oh, fine.” But he never did go [chuckles]. Well anyway, I went and joined up with them and had various responsibilities, and various duties. I was strictly a platoon leader, which was my Military Occupational Specialty. I was a platoon leader and my job was to be an infantry unit commander. But I didn’t really get to the combat part until Korea. In [pauses] In Japan, I had various roles; I accepted a role to go down and help guys get their equivalency high school diploma. I helped with fourteen of them to get there, it was very satisfying work. And again, I was still only twenty years old. I had no formal training or anything else but it worked out well. Then, I-- if you want, please, hop in any time here.

I was just wondering, what was it like, what was the average day like in the infantry-- not the infantry, in the Airborne? What was just a day in the Airborne like?

Oh, the Airborne. Well, first of all, I thought I was in great shape when I joined, and they put me in some vigorous, real vigorous physical training. And we had to make five jumps to qualify. You went through different stages of the schooling. It was very satisfying. The reason most of us went in was it was a daring sort of thing at that time. And we also- it was also [pauses] rewarding, because they give you fifty percent- no, not fifty percent with the jumping- they give you a hundred dollars extra a month for jumping. We were going, I was only making two hundred and ten dollars a month I guess. But we got there and [pauses] we went and did our duties. As a Lieutenant in the infantry I was given various things, like to go out on patrols and find out about and underwater [pauses] sounding system that was reported by the, by somebody and you go up and you see that, and then come back. It would be two or three day’s patrol. It was pretty good duty. And when I came back, I said “Well, I understand that glidering also gives you some extra dough- hazardous duty pay- so I went and became a gliderist. I even was piloting the planes. They

threw you behind, you know [chuckles], anything they think you can do, and that was very, very satisfying too, except I knew that I didn’t want to ever, ever be in combat with gliders, because they were just made out of nothing but balsa wood and that’s it. Anybody threw a round in your [pauses] in your aircraft at all, you were a goner.

But I can go from there, I was always searching for something, so I became a Club Officer then, and that was very, very nice. I scheduled the meals and the billeting of the various people who were coming in and replacing and so forth. And then, I decided I would rather go play baseball. The general, whose name was Joe Sling at the time, wanted a champion baseball team. He never got it with us, but we went ahead and he built us an amazingly large [laughing] outdoor- or, indoor field house. We had a, we were scheduled to go play baseball. This was a full year of my [pauses] training over there. I-- yes?

I was just going back to the fact that you said you became an officer?

Yes.

You said you had numerous leading positions. So, did you lead platoons? Or--

Yes. Most always, unless you had temporary duty someplace, you most always were in charge of a forty-man platoon as an infantry officer, which I did. There was nothing much to do because I do have a [pats folder offscreen] paper here that shows that I thought the Japanese were a grand people, I really did, after being on the island for a short time. I thought they were a wonderful society to tell you the truth, which was something that we didn’t believe that they had over there.

So the war changed your views on the Japanese.

Yes, yes. I didn’t hate them like I did when I went in. I killed people afterwards but I didn’t do it right there and then, so, they were pretty good.

How many people, about, do you think you killed?

[Heavy sigh, hesitant] Well, looking at you like this, I probably killed a dozen or two people. I’m not sure.

Well, what was combat like in, you said you first engaged in Korea?

Well, what happened was, I got out of, I got out of the service back then, and went home because my mother was sick- and I was not married of course- I wasn’t out very long, less than two years when they called me back in again. I said there must be a mistake, I’m all done with ‘em, and they weren’t. So they assigned me to the first Cavalry division which I didn’t want to go to to begin with but I learned to love. [pause] It was- close in combat, almost as close as what we’re doing here. As a Lieutenant you took your platoon up the hill and captured what you could, well, what your objective was, you know. The first time I was in combat I was there less than, less than two minutes and I was hit. Hit by small arms. As a Lieutenant you don’t have much [pause] in the way of life expectancy, to tell you the truth, if there is a war going on. But… [pause] I had the worst experience of my life before or after was this little fellow I had met just, just two days before, and he was in my platoon. When I got hit, he came over to me and [pause]. He said, “You alright?” and I said, “Get down, Bobby!” He was only eighteen years old, and he didn’t get down, and the next one that came in was supposed to be mine. Bang, it got him through the-- [gestures to his forehead] Terrible experience, anyway. That was the first real [pause] trauma that I had had. He came from Fall River. [pause] That’s neither here nor there now, but-- Bobby Dupree. I’ll never forget it. So, they sent me back to, I’d just went back to regimental aid, and they patched me up. I got hit here in the jaw [gestures to jaw]. You’d never know it now. Just beautiful.

I went back to my outfit. It wasn’t long after I went back up again [chuckling] that I got hit again. [pause] I went back and I got patched up one more time and I came back. About this time-- I brought this, you might, you might appreciate this [slides a paper to the interviewers] particular thing, and while you’re reading it. I’m not going to give you the one that’s [pause] laminated, but they started a program over

there, the general wanted a, an honor guard platoon, made up strictly of [pause] Purple Heart men. So I had two, and before I got this job, I got another, I got hit again. I went up to get the Princess Pad regiment-- I didn’t go alone, of course- and we went up to try and relieve the pressure on them. Well, anyway, I got the job, mainly not because I was such a superior officer at all, but because I had three purple hearts; nobody else in the outfit had three. And I was, had more time in grade. Time in grade was measured in World War 2 and so forth, and I had quite a bit of time in grade. So, they gave me the job, anyway, and it was the best thing that ever happened to me.

[Stuttering] So, you’re led many, many platoons and sorts of guards. Did you- were you ever close with any of your men?

Very close. I was probably too close. I never should have been as close. I loved them, [laughs] it was all… [Veteran becomes teary-eyed] Excuse me. [pause] As it goes… yeah, close, I guess it, I guess it does get close, and [pause] I lost a lot of them.

So you’ve lead many platoons and sorts of

Oh yeah, yup.

Did you, Were you ever close to any of your men?

Very close, I was probably too close to them. I never shouldda been as close I loved them. That was all and ah excuse me and ah as it goes ah yeah close right I guess it does I guess it does get close and ah I lost alotta them.

Do you still know any of them today?

Please?

Do you still know any of them today?

Oh yeah yeah I got a one fella here on cape another fella out in California another fella in the mid west but I I im not that close now I just send them a letter here and there and so forth.

So ummm where you were stationed with with your platoon what were the conditions like, was it cold?

(veteran laughs) you don’t know what cold is! ahh yeah it got to be 20 30 below zero and ah there were no place to get in there was no buildings there or anything you were always out in the field and ah you ah did the best you could you you were kinda hoping for snow so that you could build some snow around you and insulate yourself but it was it was kinda bad conditions in Korea. In fact there’s a book out now called the coldest winter and its very very interesting book anybody who wants to ah look about the forgotten war why that’s a book to get.

What, well when you when to to war when you went to Korea specifically what was your family’s opinion on this or your close friends family what did they think of this?

My close friends family I never knew them any of them, I never knew any of them they ah we just had gone over as as a group and you never get to meet you’re a when you mean the people I was in charge of? I I just didn’t know any of them and I was in combat most of the time in Korea. Isn’t that funny (veteran laughs) yeah might might might get a kick out of this too. You can have this one too. What this is between 1948 and 1950 when I got called back in again and ah they they wrote up a little stuff on this in the Boston papers. Ill leave that with ya. You can have that one you can have this one here to if you want

Thank you

Um so

Yes?

During the war was thee anything you regret doing?

Regret doing? Not really ah well there was one thing which I haven’t even talked about but ah I did I was taking a hill one day and had two guys come outta a hole, enemy, and ah went to put their hands up and i killed both of them and I thought about that after words and I said ah it was bad but, ah your the motto in the army is be or be killed and that’s what your thinking about, self preservation most all the time and ah that was one thing I I regretted but ah not too much because ah they they couldda been boobytrapped or anything else you know ah

So it doesn’t sound like the war front is a very sympathetic place?

Oh no no no no no

Is there any, are there any other memories that stand out to you from the war?

Well, I can remember (veteran laughs) when I when I left to go to Korea I left my wife pregnant my wife of of just a month ah I had to go away and ah I left he pregnant and each each day as things were unfolding Id try and figure out whether she was ah gunna be expecting such and such a day or not but but she was she was ah she she had a little baby girl back in September of 1951 and ah it was it was just about a year before I ever got to see her before I got back to the states or anything and ah that was ah that was that was family (veteran laughs) I don’t mean to get emotional here but um

It’s perfectly alright um during your idle time in the army well idle as you can get in the army what what did you what did you do just to keep yourself occupied when you weren’t actively on duty?

Ok, in in Japan it was a wonderful wonderful duty I played ball for 8 months over there. I played it was the equivalent of double A ball ah we had the 11^th air born the ah ah 24^th division 25^th night core 8 8^th army and we we used to play in different parks. I played in every major park in Japan. They had ah ah the the Japanese loved baseball so we could do no wrong. Geneal Joe Swing assigned an airplane to us and I was in charge of the airplane and we could go anywhere we wanted to. It was just like free wheelin’ just like going out in your bicycle here and ah runnin’ down the street as long your got something to do about it. That was that was idol time then and then ah what else in Japan? A course back then I wasn’t wasn’t married that and were going back a little bit now but ah there were ah gatia girls that were always ah available and these are not prostitutes there gatia girls are just really entertainers and there ah there ok (veteran laughs) yeah

Umm and in Korea what did you do to pass the time?

I I never saw anything anything but combat in Korea really it was just it was it was terrible Korea was something it was (veteran laughs) was ah ah a horror show unfolding you know over there they were all in 1951 and that was the coldest winter they called it.

If you could just compare the two in a the two wars you experienced?

Oh yeah

World war two and Korea

Well I I I consider myself ah as as a story of two tours you know? Like the tale of two cities mine was the tale of two tours. It was it was just glide by in the in the the second World War but over in Korea you just were forgotten over there my friends back home didn’t even know I was gone and ah they really didn’t ah you’d come oh where have you been some place you know? And you’d been gone for ah a year and a half pretty near and I’d say yeah, I’d been some place. (veteran laughs) ahh so comparing the two of them is was was ya can’t compare them. Two different tours all together.

So looking back did many of your men die? That you were in charge of?

Yup, I ah I lost alotta men. I had ah the company that ah I was in company K 5^th cabory we ah we lost ah well percentage wise we lost about ah 300% in other words it meant if you were there from June of 1950 when the problem started in Korea until you we got outta there in 52 in march a 52 that you couldda expected to be to be hit three or four times, which I was and ah most of my guys that were in my my this ah purple heart platoon which was quite an honor to to ah to lead it most of them were hit more than once too. But ah they were a good group of guys, good group. I didn’t lose anybody after I got back with the purple heart platoon didn’t lose another man which was great you know but that one of the hardest things in combat is to lose somebody with whom your very friendly ah vibrant young man you know? Today there’s women to but ah back then it was all men and ah you hated to see somebody hit I had I had one guy who ah he was he was there forever and ever and he got hit 9 times.

9 times??

And they kept sendin’ him back up to me and I finally refused on the last one and I said I can’t take this guy back put him down in the mess mess kitchen so he ah he did and he says I like the war but ah you know 9 times is is a lot I never heard of anybody who had 9 9 purple hearts 3 or 4 yes but ah

Was this man inducted into your purple heart honor guard?

No he wasn’t. He he got out before I ah I took my honor guard over. This this honor guard was was such that if we were movin’ up and a course the whole division goes up with ya but ya got your points you’re a platoons and your ah your companies and your betalians that go up and then the division steps up I would have to go out and scout out a ah ah a position for the for the division head quarters and ah it was it was very very ah ah responsible job and we didn’t lose we we had infiltration terribly before before I took over and it wasn’t my my ah doings that stopped um but but we had learned so much about how how infiltration happed but ah it was it was was great and eh they left me alone too.

When you got home from the war after Korea how were you received by the public?

Well like I say most people except my wife and my my father who was and my sister where that knew that I was gone. Truthfully its it’s a just like somebody going down to the beach and ah but but there was no hullabaloo and after world war two ah you were you were received as like a hero or something but ah even though most of us weren’t ah but but ah in Korea its just just called the forgotten war. Lets see ah that’s what its known as now.

So today if- I don’t know if you do- if you had a grandson and he wanted to go into the current the Iraq conflict um what would what advice would you give to him?

Well I’d tell him first of all try to get some job that was going to be worth wile to him and to his family and don’t be a hero! Ya know? Just ah do whatcha can but ah as long as you have to go but I wouldn’t recommend that they ah go to tell you the truth.

Those are wise words. Um so when you got home well how was your life different overall how was your life different when you were 16 and eager to go to war and after Korea how did you feel?

Eventually ah ah I was I was received ok after people realized I was home ok it didn’t take more than a month or so until that ah people would realize that you were gone but ah ah they people looked up to me for having gone back ah and ah they made me the first commander of the American legion that we had in Cambridge and ah I I was going to go up in that organization and then I decided no I wanted to be a family man which I did I became a family man and ah it was it was much better that way.

Um now from the war do you have any traumas that you remember?

Yeah yeah I ah in fact im im going to a some group therapy now and its very very good for me and my associates we have a little table a little bigger than this one and ah we ah poor out our problems you know and but we don’t ah it was it was 35 years before I even talked about it it really was its something that ah that I feel as though its pretty nice now up at the golf course everybody says I saw you on TV last week the ah channel 18 in Harwich has has my friend I think I had a picture or the picture I sent to you of ah of myself of me and my pal and he and I have been on television well at least once or twice a month for the last three years I think now.

Doing war related?

Yeah yeah yeah

So it looks like our time is just about drawing to a close. Are there any closing thoughts you would like to share with.

Well I appreciate the invite over here and I I hope that ah people will realize that ah young fellas and and women I understand that there 263,000 women now who have served over in Iraq and Afghanistan .women. I couldn’t believe it. Well anyway if I can just let everybody know we weren’t wasting our time when the guns started firing we did what we could and tried to tried to make the world a better place I think. I wouldn’t have it any other way.