The Korean Conflict

My father fought in the Second Infantry Division in the Korean War. Following is the Wikipedia account of the 2ID's role in that conflict:
"With the outbreak of hostilities in Korea during the summer of 1950, the 2nd Infantry Division was quickly alerted for movement to the Far East Command. The division arrived in Korea, via Pusan on July 23, becoming the first unit to reach Korea directly from the United States. Initially employed piecemeal, the entire division was committed as a unit on August 24, 1950, relieving the 24th Infantry Division at the Naktong River Line. The first big test came when the North Koreans struck in a desperate human wave attack on the night of August 31. In the 16-day battle that followed, the division’s clerks, bandsmen, technical and supply personnel joined in the fight to defend against the attackers.

Shortly thereafter, the 2ID was the first unit to break out of the Pusan Perimeter and they led the Eighth Army drive to the Manchurian Border. Now within fifty miles of the Manchurian border when Chinese forces entered the fight, soldiers of the 2nd Infantry Division were given the mission of protecting the rear and right flank of the Eighth Army as it retired to the South. Fighting around Kunu-ri cost the division nearly one third of its strength, but was ten times more costly to the enemy and the way was kept open. The Chinese winter offensive was finally blunted by the 2nd Infantry Division on January 31 at Wonju. Taking up the offensive in a two-prong attack in February 1951, the Division repulsed a powerful Chinese counter-offensive in the epic battles of Chipyong-ni and Wonju. The United Nations front was saved and the general offensive continued.

Again in April and May 1951, the 2nd Infantry Division was instrumental in smashing the communist's spring offensive. For its part in this action the 2nd Infantry Division was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation. What followed were alternating periods of combat and rest, with the division participating in the Battle of Bloody Ridge and Battle of Heartbreak Ridge. Finally, on April 9, 1954, the Division was moved to a rear area near Chi-po-ri and on August 20, 1954, four years after its last unit arrived in Korea, the 2ID was alerted for re-deployment to the United States.

The more than 7,000 combat deaths of the 2nd Division in Korea are the highest total among any modern U.S. division in any war since 1900. Its nearly 15000 combat deaths in World War I, World II, and Korea are the greatest combined total of all U.S. divisions and equal its average combat strength."

Law and Order

For many years my father had an interest in police and security work. He became part of the Military Police Corps sometime late in 1946, early 1947 at the latest. The pictures of him as a military police officer are taken fairly close to his retirement in the early 1960's, I believe, based on his uniform and decorations. The branch insignia, as seen here also, is of the old type pistol sometimes referred to as the Harper's Ferry Pistol. It was selected since it was the first American Military pistol and continued as the Army's standard model for many years. Also, the insignia shows that he was assigned to the 504th Military Police Battalion, which is designated as a combat military police battalion. They were known also as the "Dragonfighters," which is reflected in the regimental insignia my father wore on his epaulets, as seen here in the dragon being grasped by a fist. The motto on the insignia is "Duty, Justice, and Honor."

A couple of links for future research would be Dean's 504th MP site, and a history of the battalion is located at GlobalSecurity.org.

Although its history dates back as far as 1922, the beginnings of the battalion as such appears to be dated at 1941. It was deactivated in 1947 and reactivated again in 1950 which is when I think my father most likely became part of it at the beginning of the Korean conflict. The article at GlobalSecurity.org notes that: "On 2 October 1950, the 504th was reactivated at Camp Gordon, Georgia and for the next 12 years, remained a combat ready military police force that was called many times to deploy throughout the world." The 504th was finally restationed in Ft. Lewis in 1962, a year before my father's retirement from active duty.

After retirement he drove cab for a time in Stevens Point, WI, and eventually ended up in private security work (which suited his experience in the military.) His first employment in 1970 was with Pinkerton Security Service. The web page for Pinkerton's includes the rich history of this very old agency. Wikipedia also has an article for those interested in the more ancient history. He picture to the right with him in a gray coat and badge is him as a Pinkerton guard. I believe he was living and working in Wausau by this time. He not not with this agency for very long.

His next employment was with J. J. Security, Inc. Although they were headquartered out of Green Bay, my father was employed at the Wausau office. You can see his ID card here with a picture of him when he first started, which is given away by the old "horned rim" glasses he wore when he met and married my mother in the early 1970's. His name is listed with a rank of" Captain", and I'm sure he enjoyed being bumped up to officer status after spending all those years in the Army as a non-com! The picture below this is of the general manager of the agency, Dolph T. Lehman.

J. J. Security was originally founded in 1967, so it was a relatively new company when my father joined in the early 70's. The name was changed in 1995 to "J.J. Protective Services, Inc." to reflect the change in the organization, which was obviously branching out into a variety of protective services. At present the remnants of my father's old company are in Pro-Tec Fire Services, LTD, and International Total Service, Inc., which bought out the security contracts of J.J. Protective Services in 1996. -- To the right you can see a picture of the old communications equipment they were using, probably in the early to mid 1970's.

My father was not in the best of health when he began working for J.J. Security, since he had already suffered one heart attack during his time in the military. He would be forced to retire permanently by the 1980's when his heart trouble became acute, resulting in open heart surgery and by-pass work, and eventually as he was also forced on oxygen 24-7 as his emphysema likewise became acute. He enjoyed his work with the company, and I think that he felt a sense of pride when they filled more than one position when he was replaced. Not only was he given a uniform and a pager to wear, but his company car was this homely purple AMC Gremlin (I have a picture of it and will post it when I find it!). It lacked air conditioning and rode like a truck.

By the way, I worked for J. J. Security myself while my father was still alive, beginning after college graduation in the summer between college and seminary (1983). My father had retired from the company by this time.

My Father and the 17th Airborne Division

My adopted father, George S. Engebretson, was a retired veteran of the U.S. Army, having served a total of 23 years (1940-1963). His service covered both World War II and Korea. The picture to the right shows him as a young private (about age 23) freshly decorated after the conflicts of World War II, probably in 1946 when he finished his first tour of duty. There is a dashing quality at this stage before the rigors of time and stress aged him as you will see in a later photo. My aunt tells me that during this time he bleached his hair with peroxide.

You will notice the shoulder patch on his left sleeve as that of the 17th Airborne Division, as well as the Parachutist's badge acknowledging one combat jump. He is also wearing the Combat Infantryman Badge, First Award. His final metals at retirement had the badge with the Second Award commendation. His ribbons include the Good Conduct medal and what appear as various campaign medals below that, which would have included the American Defense Service Ribbon and the European-African-Middle Eastern Service Ribbon . There is an Army Presidential Unit Citation above his right pocket. At retirement he had received two additional awards acknowledged by two oak leaf pins, for a total of three awards. This citation was given for extraordinary heroism in action against an army enemy on or after December 7, 1941. His rank insignia is Private First Class, Sixth Grade(E2). He held this rank four months into his next enlistment in 1946, after which he was promoted to Corporal, Fifth Grade (E-3). He retired as a Staff Sergeant, E6. The rank structure has changed a lot since he first enlisted, and E-3 is now Private First Class, and what was PFC is now just a Private.

Also, in 1947 Congress authorized the awarding of the Bronze Star Medal for meritorious service too recipients of the Combat Infantryman award. This is probably when he was presented with this medal, which does not yet appear on his picture above.

A history of the 17th ("Thunder From Heaven") Airborne Division during WWII can be found at this site. The 17th Division was activated in 1943 and officially disbanded in 1945. They participated in the famous Battle of the Bulge, specifically in the Ardennes Offensive in France and Belgium, and then later in Operation Varsity, the airborne assault on the Rhine, which was the last full scale airborne drop of WW II. It was also the first airborne invasion over the Rhine into Germany itself.

My father served specifically in the 513th Parachute Infantry. According to a history of the unit:
"The regiment was constituted on 26 December 1942 and assigned to the 13th Airborne Division. It moved from Fort Benning to Fort Bragg before being assigned to Camp Mackall, North Carolina in January 1944, but was transferred to the Tennessee Maneuver Area and assigned to the 17th Airborne Division in March 1944.
The 513th was not sent overseas until after D-Day and was still in training in England during Operation Market Garden. During the crisis of the Battle of the Bulge, the division was flown into Reims, France and moved by truck into southern Belgium. In January 1945, the Regiment was sent into the assault on Flamierge...After the conclusion of the Ardennes campaign, the division was withdrawn in preparation for Operation Varsity. The regiment dropped with the rest of the division into Germany near Wesel in its only combat drop."