Interview Transcript - Norman Gipson

Narrative

Norman Gypson he served in… where did u serve Norman?

Marine Corp. Korea 1950-1952.

And why did you want to join the marine’s?

Because they were outstanding record, good group, and I wouldn’t want anything to do with the Army.

What was your family’s reaction to u joining/entering the war?

They were all for it. I went in with two of my best friends out of high school. The three of us went in together.

Did you guys stick together through Korea?

Until we got to Korea then we got separated. Then we got together on the way back one of them, I’m getting way ahead of my story, but on the way back I met him in the hospital in California that stop then of course we got together at home everybody made it home.

What was training like?

Very intense, very hard, had to be very disciplined. You had to shut your mouth and pay attention or you don’t get out of boot camp they’ll keep you there forever and make life hell for you. So you got to (pause) eat a little (pause) ya know, stuff you don’t want to and you shut your mouth and you get through training. Basic Training then you go to advanced training. That’s four to, four to five month’s over in California before you go to Korea. And a nice cruise on a nice ship that goes nine miles, 9 (pause) what do you call it? Nine not miles, ya knots so it took me 12, 14 days to land in Korea from California. Little easier on a jet but… (Pause) and…..

So what were the officers like in training?

The officers? Really tough, really tough boot camp especially tough. They treat you a little better when you get to advance infantry and then they figure out, out ya know, you actually had a choice of what you wanted to do; like they wanted truck drivers. And I thought truck drivers would be good. I wouldn’t mind driving a truck until, I had to ride in one five nights to get across part of Korea with no headlights (pause) and no lights on the roads on the sides of mountains and I decided I didn’t want to be a truck driver no way just give me a gun and I’ll go up there and do what I gotta do. So I ended up with the uh… (Pause) actually with what they call wireman. I used to lug the wire on my back with the forward observers which I was. You’re up with the infantry way ahead of all the other troops, to call fire power in from the big guns (pause) you radio back get your set of binoculars for hours and hours sometimes. If you the enemy coming out from behind any trees, or anywhere u ca get to them. Then you look at your grid squares and you call it back to the battery of guns, your guns and they zip ‘em up over the head of ya and blow ‘em up luckily. They called ‘em shot rounds item. They called them Item Company they were not to god at it I don’t know why but every once in a while they’d slip it up and kill 20 or 30 of our own troops. Ya not good huh.

How many of you went on the patrolling at one time?

Usually about 10 or 15 people that’s all because it’s what they call ‘snoopin’ and poopin’’ you go real slow and real quiet and go out and find out what you could and get back. So that was a little tricky. I didn’t really enjoy that too much.

Did you make any friendships with any soldiers during the war?

Maybe one really good one, he was a kid about six foot five and an all-American basketball player high school and I got friendly with him with what little time we were up there on the lines. He was uh… (Pause) he was uh… (Pause) sees when I got blown up, see I got blown up with a land mine. That was wired you can’t see them. Your going along the path everybody’s shouting at ya bombs are coming in planes are dropping mortar, so we are all getting wanged, banged, and crashed. So this guy I got friendly with in the last two or three weeks before. He got hit the same time I did. Incoming from the artilleries (pause) blew off his leg. And I never saw him again they picked him up in a stretcher and of course got him out of there. They airlift you outta there by the way. You go on the side of the helicopter, it’s just a rack, they put u on a rack (whistle) and you’re gone. That’s the scariest part of the whole career ridin’ that damn thing ya know. In other words I didn’t like that at all even though I was wounded. And they take you to an evacuation center which is like maybe a mile, two miles behind the front line. And that is where you got all patched up. And then they whistle you off onto a hospital ship then you go back to Japan. There for about two months before they ship you towards home. That’s long journey because you go and stop in Guam, Guam island which was popular with the marines fighting there in World War II. Just like a 3 hour stop then you end up in Hawaii and you spend the night there. It’s actually nice there you can’t get out of the hospital but you get fruit juices. Then they uh… ship you uh as close as they can get you to home. I ended up at Portsmouth, NH, I lived in Maine. Portsmouth naval air base. So that was it and I spent oh I don’t know two or three years there. I stayed in the hospital for like 7 or 8 months and finally got out of there and got home but I had to continually go to the doctors. Since then my eye uh… my right eye is my good eye, see I have shrapnel in this eye I don’t know if I mentioned that, I have shrapnel up here (fore head) I used to have a lot of blue powder (on left side of nose) on my nose but that has gone away over the years. And uh you know I got shrapnel in a lot of other places. But it doesn’t bother me except I had an eye problem with my right eye, and I had to go recently within the last three(3), four(4) years ago maybe, well four years ago, I had chance of going totally blind and I came out and it was pretty tricky, the operation and pretty scary. So that wasn’t any fun at all. So I survived that, they did a pretty good job on me and now of course I can still see out of my right eye. Oh! And I only have light perception in this eye, like I’ll cover this eye I know there is a light out there and when I do this with my hand. I can see a black blur go by but that’s all. I can’t distinguish how many fingers but it’s what they call light perception. So it gives you some…….some……..well some easier way to get around and if it was totally black I wouldn’t be able to tell but I do get a little light perception.

So what were the hospitals like?

Oh uh oh, well once I got out of the naval hospital that was it I didn’t go to any other hospitals, I mean for the eye until that operation I mentioned that was like three(3) years ago maybe, that long ago maybe. Lucky guy I guess.

Do you feel the overall experience in Korea was positive or negative?

That they were all positive or negative?

Or was the overall…?

Oh! Overall pretty positive ya I mean I was glad I was with the Marine corp. I will say that.

Why is that?

Oh because the army are not disciplined no not at all. Most of them got drafted they didn’t want o go in the army. They’re draftee’s, Marines volunteered. So there was a difference in spirit. When you’re over there and you’re getting shot at on a daily basis or being blown up or some damn thing. You wanna be with a group that you know is gonna be behind ya, that’s the best about the Marine Corp. Say no more there the best.

Did you fight alongside the army?

We mostly plugged holes for the army because they were up in the front line and most of the time they were getting saturated. They weren’t Marines let’s put it that way. So they used to shove us Marines up there to fill in the gaps. The enemy would break through one part of the line and we would go and help them out.

What was your average day like in Korea?

You never knew. It could be a hell of a slow day with nothin’ to do or it could be rainin so hard that all you could do is get a shelter-half up and soaked and shivered all day long. They bring your food around to ya in a mess kit and by the time you get it and eatin’ it’s all full of water anyway. So the foods cold that was one of the worst damn things. There was no average day. Every day is a little bit different.

What was your first thought when you were going to Korea?

I don’t want o tell you guys (laughter). We hadn’t seen any women in a long time (more laughter) and when the guys got off the boat the ship was called the SS Pickaway. They named it right because it took us 12 days to get there from the west coast slow as hell. You know real up-to-date troop transport thing. That was very interesting to say the least. Nobody jumped ship, everybody hung with it.

Did you meet any of the Korean civilians?

No. Maybe one ya know a lot of wounded Koreans. South Koreans by the way have their own Marine Corp. ya so they’re trained by Marines so they’re better than the average army so that’s what I (laugh) US Army they’re at least trained by marines so they uh…. Did alright. You never really got close to them, ya know, you really don’t have time to do that.

Was there any spare time while you were there?

Spare time?

Yes.

Very, very little maybe on a Sunday or something ya know well you don’t go anywhere you’re in a bunker or in a tent. You don’t go far but you can relax. Smoke it up and god knows if we could get any beer that’d be good ya can’t come across that to easy. So your big thrills are if you can get like a can of ya know hot rations cause with franks in it the hot dogs slices about that long each (1in.) with a can of beans. I hate beans never liked beans. So I’d take the hot dogs out wipe all the juice off and eat ‘em. That was a treat because ya know everything else was garbage ya know. They’d cook it but by the time you got to it, I remember thanksgiving dinner they sent the turkey out to us and just the time we get to the turkey dinner in the metal pans to eat a tremendous thunder shower came and it just drenched all the food and it was cold and it was runnin’ off the end of the plate. That’s one experience I remember ya (laugh).

So what was the typical meal there?

Uh it depends if your mo… in one place for a while say two(2) or three(3) days or something you’ll probably get some good hot food ya know. But uh (pause) ya know I mean uh... no foods just sketchy. Sometimes it’s excellent, sometimes you don’t get any and sometimes you don’t want to eat it anyways. Ya know that’s just the way it goes, ya know but I used to trade let me think now you got me started on food, some of the Korean’s they had uh oh we used to get little red pepper off of them because oooooh….. what’s that canned meat oh no its like the devil ham kinda like but it needed some so we’d take the red pepper from the Korean’s and mash it in there and it’d give it a lot more taste. I remember that distinctly. Everyone around was lookin for red pepper and water. Water! If you couldn’t find any you’d have to drink from the rice paddies now that was a real experience because they’re fertilized with human fetus and ya know yup, yup that’s how they do their rice paddies so if you couldn’t find any you’d have to drink the water and they’d give you purifying pills to put in the water and really purify it but it was pretty nasty. That was not pleasant more of it (laugh)! No you’re not worried about that too much you’re just worried about getting the hell home.

What was everybody’s general feeling while you were there?

Marine Corp.? Perfect. There not that many whiners and grinders no, no if they do they’d just take ‘em and throw ‘em over the hill or something, ya know. Or they’d tell ‘em come on boy you joined the marines we didn’t draft you. YOU joined let’s go. Now most of them got a good attitude that’s why everybody liked being in the marines because you always know you have someone covering your back. I went in with two(2) other guys ya know didn’t come, well they came home but they didn’t last too long but a lot of purple hearts at least one of them got wounded three(3) times. Luckily.

So what would happen if soldiers got injured or say they got injured and came to the hospital but they put them right back into action?

Depends on the injury ya know. Once I lost the sight in my eye I was gone shipped home. I’ll tell ya though how first when I got blown up before that with the mortars and knocked me unconscious. So they wanted to take me from there back to the emergency station, back of the lines. And they put you on the outside of a helicopter in a basket they strap you on with two one at the bottom and one across the chest and all of a sudden here you go your up there in the chopper on the outside and going like hell back to the hospital like a field hospital but I got a ride in that. That was fun (sarcastically). That was scary.

So you received purple hearts right?

Huh?

You received purple hearts?

Yeah

So How did you feel when you received them?

Good, you know. I got a picture of it I’m trying to find it for you, I got a picture of me in my pajamas and my robe on and this general was giving me the purple heart, but I don’t know where it is, upstairs in all my photos somewhere. Yeah

What advice would you give someone going into the Iraq war or the war on terror right now?

Well, you know if they go through the regular marine corps I’m talking now, if they go through the regular training. And you know they do more than we did in the old days, that’s sophisticated, bigger better weapons. They’ll be fine, just you know. If they’re not they wont make it through boot camp, put it that way. They wont make it through boot camp. You’re out of there.

Did that happen a lot in Korea?

Yeah, oh yeah. When I went into boot camp, a lot of guys “see ya later”

What would they do with them, just send the back home?

Oh some, depends how bad they are, some of the guys got wacky so they psyched them out and take them out on a sick discharge and tell them “get the hell out”. Yeah that happens a lot. Because they cant handle it. They cant handle it at boot camp. They cant handle the advanced infantry training stuff, they cant do it. Its too much. The DI’s hollering and shouting you know “idiot number one, idiot number two” Now if you’re marching with 26 other guys in one little squad, and they march you all day long and they’re doing a right and a left and you got some guy that’s not really too quick then they say “Forward” and the guy will take a step before they say march even, they love a guy, they’ll pick him out and make him march in the back of the whole company everybody back there so they kind of name them “idiot one, idiot two idiot three.” It makes for a… you’ll get a laugh out of it anyway. The poor guys are humiliated, but they shouldn’t be there. So most of the time they never make it oversees especially. Never, because they’d get killed their first day over there. You know what I mean? Its a lot of fun to it too, but you know, hey, best thing that I could say is that I’d go back again.

You would?

Oh sure, absolutely, so would my buddies that now left me, they would too. That’s the way the are. Once a marine always a marine is what I feel. There’s some bad ones in there you know. Some crazy ones that get out, you guys read the papers. Some of the marines get out of there and go kill 14 people for no reason at all. Yeah, cracked up. That’s about it I don’t know.

If you went back what would you change?

If I went back in?

If you went back to Korea what would you do differently?

Well In Korea, you cant do much once you get there, cause Korea is kinda too late then. Because they got you… But they did ask me, I told you originally, there were positions where you could drive the truck, which I didn’t want any part of that, uh what the hell were a couple of the others. There were two or three positions you know. So when they said forward observer and I asked him what it was about they said “you go out with the infantry.” Well I thought hell, that’s what. When you’re in boot camp you’re 0300 when you’re in advanced infantry training you’re 0311. So, I said that’s what I want, you know, so I grabbed that and took it. You know I wouldn’t probably change that.

How many people were in your company?

Well in the company its about 220. But uh, I don’t know you only know the ones that you’re kinda hanging with. Well if you’re back in the barracks in the states, when you’re going through training there and stuff, you get to know these guys that you’re with in that particular unit so you usually stick with them. That’s, you know, the way it goes.

So what’s… in training and you’re with a group of people, would you stick with them throughout the whole thing?

Uh sometimes, it would depend, you know, you never know, but I was lucky enough to have to, I was with most of my guys we were all together, so yea.

So what rank did you get to?

: PFC no higher because I never got out of there. What I was doing though, I’m glad you brought that up, the job I was doing when I was in Korea, I was in charge of three of the artillery guns, and uh that was uh… I was looking forward to it too, because when I come out of Korea, without me losing the eye and all that and spend all that time in the hospital, I would have been a, lets see, I would have been a master sergeant. Because I was actually doing a master sergeants job, and they said that you could pick the promotion up when you’re out and I’m just thinking the money is good. But I never went back to get it. I got banged up then hospital.

How did war over affect life after the war?

It doesn’t bother me, I don’t have any weird dreams, I don’t have nightmares, I just don’t. Some people do. They cant handle it. They crack up when they get home and get fuzzy. A lot of them lie like hell and say they’re cracking up, so they can go to the VA and cry in their lap. The Veterans Administration which is good. We have one in Hyannis. And most every city has one anyway. So, it all works out. Yep, I wouldn’t change anything, nope

So…forgot what I was gunna say. How do you feel about the war itself in Korea?

The war itself?

Yeah

Well, I mean, you know, it had to be we had to do it. That’s all, we had to do it. You gotta do it, gotta get in there. Like now we should go over and bomb the hell out of Iran I think. Don’t mess with them, go get, to hell with them. You know we cant fiddle around in that Middle Eastern stuff anymore. How the hell long have we been there for and where are we getting, no where. Yeah not gunna get anywhere. I don’t know, what would you call me I’m a… I’d blow them all the hell up, there you go. If their not American get rid of them is what I say. You know, really I don’t… none of them have ever helped me out, any of those foreign countries at all for any reason, probably wouldn’t. You know we support most of them don’t we. Sure we do, just about. Maybe not China, they’re pretty tough. I’d hate to fight those guys and I’d hate to fight the uh, whose the other group there they’re pretty bad, not Iran, no Iran they are pretty bad. You know, there’s always gonna be a war in my opinion, just the way everything is set up in the world. Somebody’s looking for… Two of the big nations now that are getting ready to bust out with all their weapons and stuff, you know crazy but that’s the way it goes.

So whats the first thought that comes to mind when you think of Korea?

Korea?

Yeah or the war in Korea.

Oh, well I think we had to do it. I wouldn’t have joined the Marine Corps. No, I think we had to do it yeah. Otherwise they’d just run right over you.

Yea

Yep. You gotta stand up.

Was there any hostility towards North Korea after the war, by the veterans?

Oh yeah, still is I believe. Oh yeah, I watch a lot of sports, and all the sports now got Koreans in them, and they’re pretty damn good at what they do, you know, but I always say “son of a bitch, I must have missed him while I was there, I missed his father, I didn’t get the father”. No I don’t really, what the hell, well everybody now, doesn’t bother me that much. Nope

Do you think… Did you bring any souvenirs back from Korea?

I couldn’t, I had three rifles, uh different sized rifles, stashed where the big guns were. For when I went up on my forward observer job. So I stashed them back there in a bunk with a guy in it. An M2 carbine you know. I was gonna bring that home, oh yeah I had a lot of good things that I was gonna bring home. Of course, I never got home. I got wounded, backed up, banged. I’m in a plan like whoopee. I’m headed to wherever they go, Guam, it landed there, and then the Philippines, or Hawaii I mean. And then, the west coast, Forbet, and then Portsmouth, New Hampshire, which is closest to Maine where I’m from. Well you know that’s enough travel for me.

What would they have you do with your weapons?

The weapons, I didn’t have the chance to bring any home.

Would they let the soldiers bring them back?

Yeah they do, not your own but if you want to bring the Korean weapons home you know, like they have carbines too, that’s what I really wanted to bring home. But I never did, I never got a chance. Somebody else probably scooped them. It goes on to this, millions of guns that probably float their way home.

Is there any particular memory that you’ll have from the war in Korea?

Yea I guess when I got blown up. The one thing I didn’t tell you is when I got blown up, there was a land mine right, now, I guess it had been tagged usually the engineers would go ahead of us, and they’ll tear any piece of cloth they got and they’ll lay it, a rock on it or something. And we’d come up through. And you see that stuff and you gotta walk the hell around it. So what’s the question, I almost lost the question?

The memory, the single memory.

: Oh yeah, that one, that one. The land mines because you know I kept seeing them. And seeing them. From here right to the t.v. Id see one marked. And I’m looking at it and looking at it. I’ve got the one here that looks just like a fishing tackle box, green or more like a toolbox a green tool box. They were square and I saw that and it was sitting a little closer than heres from me on the ground, so I stopped, and everybody stopped I guess, for some reason. Taking some incoming or some wounded coming through or something. And I took my big pack with all my equipment and wire and everything on it and through it way up on my shoulders and I’m leaning on my knees, resting my back, and I’m staring at the damn thing, and that’s when it went off. That’s when it blew up. Not that I did it, I think the other fellow behind me did it with a trip wire. It was a trip wire, so all I know is wow I could hear this noise, and my face was all numb, I’m bang sitting down, right on my bum. Who’s that? My neighbor backing in the driveway, ok. Yeah it was pretty traumatic right there because I didn’t know what happened it was also quick. Jesus, so I ended up sitting there. That’s when they came along the line and then the Koreans had their own people saying “…” and they’re all staring at me, and I’m thinking what the hell I’m sitting there, I know I’m bleeding bad, cause its coming in my mouth, my eye. But you’re panicky, just going what the hell happened. So nobody’s touching me, nobody’s touching me, now I’m getting really nervous, probably the most nervous I ever was when I was over there. Nobody’s touching me, finally a couple of Marines come along, they scoot these guys the hell away, and they reached in, they get me and they pick me up and say “don’t move, just sit perfectly still”. He grabbed me, picked me up, brought me over to the path and set me down on a stretcher. And what happened when I got blown up, out there off the path, it was what they call a bouncing betty, its used for an anti-tank, a big tank, to blow the treads off, you know how big those big metal treads are, that’s what is hooked up for anti-personal, which would have been me or you or anybody, could trip that thing and blow up. That’s what it was. So I was damn lucky, when that other one blew me up and I landed here next to the bouncing betty, they kept on saying “don’t move we got you, don’t move” Because if I had gone sitting on the ground blood pouring, you’re pretty panicky your arms going everywhere you know, wanted to get out of there, and if id of hit that, I’d of been never here talking about it. That was probably the closest I’d ever came to saying “see ya later guys.”

How many people were you with at the time?

How many people was I with? Oh, well a whole, had to be in our little squad there, I’d say about, must be about 150.

150 people?

Oh yeah they’d stretch out quite aways, yeah.

What was it like… What were the U.S. Civilians like after the war?

Never really, oh after the war?

Yeah.

Oh, well I don’t know, I don’t know how to answer that one. I guess well, you were a big hero when you get home of course, everybody was a hero for Christ sake, didn’t have to do much. You know if you came home in a uniform and been to Korea, and been in combat, you were treated pretty good. Let’s put it that way. I got into school by the way. I had a friend in the neighborhood who was a VA, a veteran’s administration, which pays me money now, not much but they pay it, my mother said when you get home we have a neighbor whos a manager of the veterans administration in Portland, ME, and I lived in South Portland, I got hooked up with him, thank God. Got me right into school, went to junior business college, two years, took a business course, got out of there, went out to a ship building place, they built big ships for WW2, they were building right in my home town up there, and I got a job in there doing accounting and book keeping. And became an accountant. So it did a lot you know what I mean, I got a good job with all that deal, and that’s what I did for a lot of years. I could sit at the desk you know. I couldn’t be around the machinery and stuff because of the eye, don’t go fooling around with that stuff. So that’s how I got there, and got married somewhere along the way, cant remember when, want to hear about that, no you don’t. Which one? Nope. What do you got now, anything else?

Uh, that’s pretty much it

Good, good interview.

Thank you.