Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans
4:48 | Because he had some college and could type, Lloyd Glasson was assigned to headquarters company. He became the Awards and Decorations Section Chief and it was his job to write up the awards and interview soldiers who were recommended for them.
Keywords : Lloyd Glasson college typing Awards and Decorations valor meritorious service James Garner 38th Parallel sentry Korean Korea houseboy
On his first day in the Army, Lloyd Glasson picked up athlete's foot in the shower. A few days later he asked to go on sick call for treatment. No one paid him any heed until he was a medical oddity. When he was finally through with training, he had a plum assignment to guided missile school, but he had to get a security clearance.
As he approached the shore at Inchon, Lloyd Glasson thought he would be on the attack, but he had no ammunition. He then spent the coldest night of his life in an exposed tent. It was so cold, he got up and wandered around and saw a sentry firing at something. When he found out what it was, he couldn't believe it. Oh, well. This is Korea.
It was his job to determine which award a soldier recommended for decoration should apply to receive. There was one young soldier who should have got a higher award and there was one captain who demanded a Silver Star for basically nothing.
In a story told publicly for the first time, Lloyd Glasson reveals how he single-handedly preserved the Korean cease fire by the way he reported a casualty. When an AP reporter showed up three weeks later looking to find the name of the last man killed in Korea, he had to remain silent.
When he rotated home from Korea, Lloyd Glasson asked to be assigned to 5th Army HQ in Chicago so he could be close to home. He missed the camaraderie he experienced with his buddies in Korea, but he did not miss the horrifying aspects of war and he reveals a grisly experience which changed his path in life.
The food was OK in Korea, but the best meal Lloyd Glasson had during his year there was a pizza made by an Italian cook with ingredients sent from home. (Caution: strong language.)
