Jack Stearns
"Jack Stearns joined the Army in 1950,
just out of high school. He excelled in boot camp, and was sent to Fort
Benning in Georgia for Ranger training. Rangers are an elite division
of the Armed Forces, originating from Roger’s Rangers, an elite unit in
the French and Indian War. His training was interrupted, however, and
he and his unit were sent to Japan. On Mt. Fuji, where their base was,
they received improvised training of sorts. Japanese experts trained
them in the art of hand-to-hand combat. As Mr. Stearns put it, after an
awkward pause, they “were trained in extreme self-defense.” I assume
that the expression that comes most readily to mind would be “killing a
man with my bare hands,” but that expression may conjure up
memories for Mr. Stearns, or may be simply too Hollywood.
After their training was complete, he and his platoon, consisting of only 22 Rangers, were shipped to Korea, joining the 1st Cavalry Division. He was a squad leader, in charge of eight or so men, and their job was reconnaissance behind enemy lines. The first winter he spent in Korea was brutally cold, being stationed in the mountains and all, and the men had only standard issue army clothing. Their boots were not insulated, their fatigues were thin, and the general feeling was that they were inexcusably under supplied. They could not start fires, being behind enemy lines and running the constant risk of detection. As a result, his division lost many men to cold that winter. After their initial reconnaissance mission was completed, supplies came in, however. What surprised me about this is that Mr. Stearns didn't seem to be bitter about it, and didn't seem to resent his higher-ups for not supplying them well.
Speaking of supplies, the food they had consisted of mostly World War II surplus. It all came in small cans. Included with the package was usually a miniature can opener, two small squares of toilet paper, a little bit of chocolate, and a small package of cigarettes. Most of what they carried from day to day was food. They had 60-70 pound packs that they would have to trudge around with all day! And these weren't high-tech, gel cushioned packs that we have today. These were very much hunks of canvas to throw over your shoulder. Ouch. As far as home communication went, they really didn't write many letters, at most one a month. They mostly had short radio conversations, in which they just assured their families that they were alive and in one piece.
On May 16, 1951, the Chinese surged out of nowhere and attacked America’s army. Mr. Stearn’s battalion was on the front line, and he was astounded by the sheer numbers of the Chinese; 300,000 came at them that day. Mr. Stearns did not go into much detail, except to comment on the effectiveness of the .50-caliber machine guns, which quite literally “mowed down” rows and rows of enemies. He was astounded by the fighting techniques of the Chinese in large battles; they fought as fanatics, with apparent disregard for their own lives. Eventually, they would realize their losses and retreat, but these were not the honorable battlefields of previous wars. Indeed, there were not many actual battles, mostly an American patrol running into a Communist patrol and having a skirmish.
In the fall of 1951, Mr. Stearns’ Ranger platoon was disbanded because of heavy casualties. The remaining men were sent back to Mount Fuji for training on heavy weapons. Mr. Stearns became a squad leader, in charge of four half-tracks and the men and weapons on said vehicles. He and his squad were stationed on the front lines, and there was quite a bit of Chinese harassment at night. ‘Washing Machine Charlies,” as the men called them, were small planes that would fly over the American camps dropping whatever they had: hand grenades and mortars, mostly. They really weren't effective for much but lowering morale, but every now and then they would hit a fuel or ammunition dump. Once, a dump about 15 miles from where Mr. Stearns was on duty was hit during the night, and he swore it was bright enough to read by from where he was. Eventually, however, these attacks quieted down and it became more of a stalemate. Mr. Stearns described it as a “nine-to-five war.”
During this time, morale was very low because of the stalemate. The Chinese were atrocious to American prisoners of war, castrating them, cutting their tongues out, and finally executing them. Nobody felt any respect or sympathy for the enemy after hearing that.
When Mr. Stearns’ last tour was over, he came home through Japan and Alaska, and finally to Chicago. He had no homecoming. There was no assembly, not even the hating, disrespectful protesters of Vietnam. When he saw old acquaintances, they would ask him where he had been for the past couple years. There had not been much news of the war at home. “The Forgotten War,” for him, at least, was an appropriate term from the moment that he stepped off of the plane. He seems to be very bitter about his and his fellow veterans’ lack of recognition, and that's completely understandable to me. The man was awarded two Purple Hearts and was a Master Sergeant, not to mention a Ranger, and people ask him where he had been for the past couple years! Mr. Stearns is extremely proud of his service to his country, but his story never sounded like boasting to me...
Mr. Stearns got back into normal life fairly easily. He went to college for an engineering degree, and got a master’s in plumbing and heating. He went to police academy, and became a deputy sheriff. He befriended a blind judge (“You know the saying ‘Justice is blind?’ In his case, it was literal!”) and worked for him. He met with his platoon friends, especially one man, with whom in the war he was closer to than if they were brothers. Returning home from one reunion, he got a call that his friend had died of cancer. He was shocked by his loss. It seemed so unfair that he would make it through the war uninjured, and then die in a hospital bed of cancer later. But Mr. Stearns got through it, and still honors his fallen friend every day.
What amazes me most about Mr. Stearns’ combat experience is the way that he would look after his men. In the heat of a firefight, how he put it was that he “cared more for the lives of his squad than for [his] own.” He said that this is the real reason soldiers fight. When in battle, soldiers don't care about honor. They don't care about their country. They don't care about idealism. They fight because of fear for first their buddies, and then for themselves. Mr. Stearns said that this is what makes soldiers leap in front of another to take a bullet. They don't do it because they want to die an honorable death. They do it because they don't want their friends to die. War is hell, as he puts it, and it’s all anyone can do to survive.
Spending time listening to Mr. Stearns was worth far more than the price of admission. I've always thought it would be pretty cool to join the army, go have a fun adventure, maybe shoot some stuff. War is not like that. Mr. Stearns said that he would do it all again, that he wouldn't give up the lessons he learned for the world, but he wouldn't wish the experiences on anybody. For that reason, he really can't encourage kids to join the army, but recognizes that somebody has to do it to keep our country safe. This strikes me as a very truthful thing to say. It would have been pretty easy for him to sugarcoat everything, say that war was a great experience, really got him in shape, but he didn't. I'm sure he was sugarcoating to some degree, as he would stop and think for a long time before answering some questions, but he didn't so much that it was obvious. I respect that very much, and am honored that he thought enough of us complete strangers to share his story.
Now, in Iraq, his grandson is up for at least a Silver Star award for saving the lives of three of his helicopter crew in Iraq. He is extremely proud of his grandson, as I imagine most people would be. He told us that when his grandson was taking jump training, jumping off a tower, he looked up and saw “Jack Stearns, 1950” carved in the wood, under the paint. That was a touching tale, and it’s just a bizarre coincidence that something like that could happen.
All in all, I view Mr. Stearns as a crusader, fighting now not for his life, but for recognition, not just for him, but for all veterans. I think he wants to make sure that there are no more Korean War homecomings, no more Vietnam homecomings. These people gave everything, losing friends and risking their lives, so that American citizens can live free. It’s men like Jack Stearns and his fellow veterans that make it so I can sit here, wearing what I want, writing what I want. The very least that veterans deserve from us is recognition, and Jack Stearns does all he can for just that goal." ~ J. Pershken
" Mr. Stearns was 17 when he enlisted in the army. He was shipped off to Alabama and Georgia for Ranger training before he was sent to Japan. They had to finish their training in Japan. He was in the First Calvary Division and he had 22 people in his platoon.
The conditions in Korea were horrible. The Koreans used human manure to fertilize their crops. There were also harsh conditions in the winter. All they had to wear were summer clothes and summer sleeping gear. Many people got frost bite or froze to death. Every few weeks they'd get new clothes and a bath. They had big bags of food and not many extra clothes. They were supplied with Hershey's hard chocolate, one can opener, two squares of toilet paper, and about four cigarettes. They would melt the hard chocolate down so they could actually eat it, but they weren't allowed to have fire.
The Rangers were dropped in the middle of nowhere with almost no attachment to the rest of the army. He told us about “Washing Machine Charlies”, who were people who sent down mortars that would blow up and sound like washing machines. Mortars are little explosives that people would drop from planes and they would blow up on their way down to land. They did this to keep Mr. Stearns and his platoon awake at night. When the Chinese dropped the mortars they would sometimes drop them on the ammunition dump and it would blow up. It could be seen from 15 miles away.
He said you had to be careful about the Korean women because they would carry things called “Bouncing Betties” in their pockets and place them randomly around. Usually they'd put them in rice paddies. These were explosives that when you stepped on them, they'd bounce up a couple feet then explode. They did this because if one of your men got hurt, it took almost the whole platoon to take care of them. That means less people fighting.
He said that everyone was scared. When you were a platoon leader you have to concentrate on staying alive and keeping friends alive. Platoon leaders would do anything to save their men. The one thing they absolutely dreaded was having to tell their parents that their son, friend, or husband was killed. He hated having to hear his men screaming for their moms and dads. There was this one time that the Chinese lead a massive assault on the Americans. The Chinese outnumbered his platoon, but they fought through it. He lost three of his men in that fire fight. He got shot in the arm and got wounded by a bayonet and his legs were also wounded.
He felt a certain amount of respect for the enemy because of how they fought. They would come at you in waves of soldiers, or use civilians to place “Bouncing Betties” around. They also fought up-close and personal. This was when they used extreme self defense or fighting with their hands or bayonets.
He talked about how the prisoners of war were tortured by the Chinese. They cut out their tongues, tied them up, or tied them down to wood with barbed wire, and many of them died. He also said no one really trusted the South Koreans 100%.
During the war the nights were quiet and the days were filled with fighting. Usually the Chinese would shoot at where they were sleeping so they'd keep them up, but they came up with a plan to stop that. There were these foxhole type things in a mountain and they'd put a massive machine gun up there and when the Chinese would come to shoot, they'd shoot them first. There were no more shots being heard at nights, usually.
Very few people noticed who died or came back from the war. They usually thought they grew up, moved out of state, and got a job. Imagine what the parents thought, their son was killed and no one but them notices. I don't think that's very American-like.
There were not many news reports about Korea as there are now about Iraq. People didn't care, didn't want to know, and felt they didn't need to know about the war, at least that's how I feel.
His final rank in the army was a Master Sergeant. He is very proud of his service to his country.
Talking to Mr. Stearns was amazing. When he was talking about why he joined the Army it made me laugh because he said he was 17, a senior in high school and he wasn't very interested in school, he had five uncles and two cousins already in the Army and so he enlisted.
I was almost in tears when he was talking about telling the mothers, fathers, and other family members about their sons, uncles, dads, brothers, or husbands dying. When someone would get shot, they'd call out for their mothers. I couldn't even imagine having to do that.
I learned a lot about America and it’s people. I was astonished that not many people noticed who had died in the war. There were hardly any newscasts, no one even protested it! How can anyone forget this war? It was scary to just hear about it. I couldn't imagine the people in America, just going along with their lives, not even paying attention to what was going on with their own people over seas, unlike what we do now. After the interview I felt like everyone should have heard what I had just heard. I wished he could go back in time and tell everyone what really happened in the war. Maybe they would have had more respect for them.
There was one thing that will stick with me forever. We were talking about how he felt about whether or not he’d do it again and he said, “I wouldn't want to do it again, but I wouldn't give my experience up for anything.” He also said, “I wouldn't wish war upon my worst enemy.” To me this was a valuable experience because I learned a lot about Korea that I wouldn't have known. I'm glad he came and shared his personal experience. It also made me wonder what it would be like to be there, witness it, and to live through it...." ~ J. Gifford
Mr. Stearns joined the army in 1950 when he was seventeen. He joined because he wanted to serve his country and it was a tradition in his family. He started his training in Georgia, but had to finish in Japan when his platoon was shipped there. His platoon had to go through extreme defense training which was fighting with your hands and feet only. Mr. Stearns and his men were assigned to research where the enemy troops were located. It made it easier for me to think of his platoon as spies. They would sneak across the country’s border, get information and then sneak back to their bases and report out.
Mr. Stearns was always speaking of the bad conditions of food and equipment. He said that he got use to not sleeping for four or five days straight. He told us that at night the temperature would be thirty five to forty degrees below zero. This was bad enough, but the troops only had their Summer clothes. This caused many men to lose body parts and their lives.
Mr. Stearns and his men had backpacks that weighed sixty to seventy pounds. These bags contained food, clothing, and ammunition. The food came in cases that contained a can of corn beef hash or beans, a piece of salt pork, Hershey's hard chocolate, a can opener, and a few squares of toilet paper. The soldiers couldn't even use a fire to cook their food. This was because the platoon was usually behind enemy lines.
They had to walk through waist high mud and rice paddies every day. Adding to this was the fear of stepping on a Bouncing Betty. Bouncing Bettys are little bombs that women hid in mud and places where you couldn't see them. If you stepped on one it would pop three feet in the air and blow up. This was meant to injure you and not kill you because if you were injured it took more men to take care of you which meant less men to fight. The smell was horrible in the rice paddies because the Chinese used human waste as fertilizer. The men had to be careful if they ate the Chinese peoples food because it could make them very sick because of the human waste. The soldiers were able to send about one letter a month. These letters were never personal. The content usually just contained if you were all right or wounded. Just things to do with your condition. Mr. Stearns told us about the May Massacre when we killed sixty seven thousand Chinese in five days. We ended up killing one hundred and seventy seven thousand Chinese people in the month of May. He also told us of the cruelties of what the Chinese did to the American prisoners. The Chinese soldiers castrated the American troops and snipped out their tongues before they put a bullet into all the prisoners’ heads. The Chinese enjoyed making the American troops angry. The Chinese come at night and shoot up the American base. Mr. Stearns referred to this as harassment. The planes that came in shooting would aim for ammunition piles. This would cause a much larger explosion and cause more injuries and deaths. Mr. Stearns said you could read a newspaper fifteen miles away at the darkest part of night when ammunition piles were blown up. The planes that flew by the camp were nicknamed Washing Machine Charlies. The Chinese soldiers would camp out in fox holes and shoot into camps at night. Mr. Stearns told us that his platoon would sometimes look for holes during the day and set up mini machine guns aiming at the hole. The machine guns were locked into place and at night when the Chinese fired we would fire at many numerous holes. This would stop the shooting for that night, but Mr. Stearns knew there would be more fire the next night.
Mr. Stearns told us many things that made me think he was a hero. He was wounded three times throughout his war experience. He was hit in the leg by shrapnel, stabbed in the arm by a bayonet, and Mr. Stearns got shot in the shoulder. I was amazed that his biggest fear was losing his own men. You would think that you would be scared for your own life. He told us how he would have to write a letter to the soldier’s family, lie to them about how he died, and then meet with them when he came back from war. He was trained in heavy weapons also while he was in the war. Mr. Stearns was in charge of four half-tracks which were similar to a tank but smaller. He said there would be hundreds of these half-tracks and they all had giant machine guns on top. The people that controlled these were called Gunners. He was in four major battles and he has four little stars to show for it.
Mr. Stearns has a degree in engineering and a masters degree in plumbing and heating. Mr. Stearns left the army as a Master Sergeant. He left the army with a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star. Mr. Stearns had a horrible homecoming. Everyone there was disrespecting the troops. He now lives in Winslow, Maine.
I learned how bad the conditions were where Mr. Stearns was stationed. I can't imagine sleeping in weather that was thirty five to forty degrees below zero. All these men had were their summer clothes to wear in this severe weather. I get cold when the weather is below thirty degrees and I am wearing a winter jacket. I just can't imagine being that cold. That is the kind of weather when you throw water in the air and it instantly freezes. I wouldn't want to walk through mud and rice paddies that smelled like waste. You have to be very tough if you wanted to serve in not just this war, but any war. I can barely function on eight hours of sleep and Mr. Stearns would go four to five days without sleeping.
I can't believe that people who served for our country would get a homecoming like that. I would be ashamed if I treated a man or woman that served our country like these people did. They spit on them, yelled at them, and threw food at them. Some of the soldiers didn't even have a choice to fight because they were drafted. I learned that America can be very mean if we do not agree with something. Even if something goes against your beliefs you should still be thankful towards the people that keep our country free.
I felt that Mr. Stearns was a real hero after the interview was finished. He served his country and that itself makes him a hero. Mr. Stearns was also presented with the Bronze Star. I felt that I was better informed about things that happened that the textbooks don't tell us. I felt that I had talked to a person that truly knows the issues of war. I knew that Mr. Stearns didn't baby us like I thought he might. I was glad that he told it like it was instead of telling us a watered down version of the truth.
I will remember many things about this interview. I know I will remember the story of Mr. Stearns’ friend dying and his last words were about Mr. Stearns. I will remember the things he said about how proud he was of his grandson. It was easy for me to remember the humorous stories that he told. My favorite was the one when he was going to the bathroom and a Chinese plane dropped in and started shooting at him. He yanked his pants up and started booking it.
This experience was valuable because I learned war isn't for weaklings and cowards. I learned some of the reasons why war starts. Mr. Stearns said that war is never over just one reason. Many things contribute to what starts a war. This was a valuable experience because it helped me understand about the Korean War much better." ~ L. Quimby
"Mr. Stearns really gave me a understanding of what it was like when he was in war and the aftermath of it. He enlisted in the Army when he was 17. He just had graduated from Winslow High School. But he had a understanding since five uncles and two of his cousins went to war.
In 1950 he went to war training. He was nervous. His ranger and jump training was in Alabama and Georgia. When they were sent to Japan the 22nd battalion trained on Mount Fuji. They were training on the whole mountain going south to north to middle all day. But they weren't learning regular training they were learning extreme self defense and how they could hurt the enemy with their bare hands.
He was a ranger in the First Calvary. He and his battalion had to figure out the enemies strengths and weaknesses....But when the bombs started to drop many people were shocked by the light given off. Like on oil land it lit up so bright people 15 miles away could read in the dead night.
But when the real fighting started there was always something happening. There was “Washing Machine Charlies” that would drop waiters and sometimes hand grenades on American troops and that would keep them up. There was boxes with one or two cans of corn bean hash, toilet paper in little sheets, hard chocolate, and four cigarettes. Many people traded their cigarettes for chocolate to smokers. It was over 60 pounds of food.
He didn't communicate very much. He sent, if he was lucky, one letter a month. But they sometimes got to radio their families from where they were. But they were very remote from the rest of the world. He could just talk to the men in his battalion....
All of Stearns’ awards were the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart , 4 stars (every star meant that he had been in a major battle) and a rifle pin because he was a rifle commander. Plus he got a letter of appreciation from the ambassador of South Korea over 20 years after the war....
I thought that it [the interview] was really rewarding. I get the history in Korea more than I did before. Using a real life example made it more understandable. I really liked having him there. I understand more what happened and what it was like. And more understanding of what soldiers had to go through...." ~ K. McQuilkin
After their training was complete, he and his platoon, consisting of only 22 Rangers, were shipped to Korea, joining the 1st Cavalry Division. He was a squad leader, in charge of eight or so men, and their job was reconnaissance behind enemy lines. The first winter he spent in Korea was brutally cold, being stationed in the mountains and all, and the men had only standard issue army clothing. Their boots were not insulated, their fatigues were thin, and the general feeling was that they were inexcusably under supplied. They could not start fires, being behind enemy lines and running the constant risk of detection. As a result, his division lost many men to cold that winter. After their initial reconnaissance mission was completed, supplies came in, however. What surprised me about this is that Mr. Stearns didn't seem to be bitter about it, and didn't seem to resent his higher-ups for not supplying them well.
Speaking of supplies, the food they had consisted of mostly World War II surplus. It all came in small cans. Included with the package was usually a miniature can opener, two small squares of toilet paper, a little bit of chocolate, and a small package of cigarettes. Most of what they carried from day to day was food. They had 60-70 pound packs that they would have to trudge around with all day! And these weren't high-tech, gel cushioned packs that we have today. These were very much hunks of canvas to throw over your shoulder. Ouch. As far as home communication went, they really didn't write many letters, at most one a month. They mostly had short radio conversations, in which they just assured their families that they were alive and in one piece.
On May 16, 1951, the Chinese surged out of nowhere and attacked America’s army. Mr. Stearn’s battalion was on the front line, and he was astounded by the sheer numbers of the Chinese; 300,000 came at them that day. Mr. Stearns did not go into much detail, except to comment on the effectiveness of the .50-caliber machine guns, which quite literally “mowed down” rows and rows of enemies. He was astounded by the fighting techniques of the Chinese in large battles; they fought as fanatics, with apparent disregard for their own lives. Eventually, they would realize their losses and retreat, but these were not the honorable battlefields of previous wars. Indeed, there were not many actual battles, mostly an American patrol running into a Communist patrol and having a skirmish.
In the fall of 1951, Mr. Stearns’ Ranger platoon was disbanded because of heavy casualties. The remaining men were sent back to Mount Fuji for training on heavy weapons. Mr. Stearns became a squad leader, in charge of four half-tracks and the men and weapons on said vehicles. He and his squad were stationed on the front lines, and there was quite a bit of Chinese harassment at night. ‘Washing Machine Charlies,” as the men called them, were small planes that would fly over the American camps dropping whatever they had: hand grenades and mortars, mostly. They really weren't effective for much but lowering morale, but every now and then they would hit a fuel or ammunition dump. Once, a dump about 15 miles from where Mr. Stearns was on duty was hit during the night, and he swore it was bright enough to read by from where he was. Eventually, however, these attacks quieted down and it became more of a stalemate. Mr. Stearns described it as a “nine-to-five war.”
During this time, morale was very low because of the stalemate. The Chinese were atrocious to American prisoners of war, castrating them, cutting their tongues out, and finally executing them. Nobody felt any respect or sympathy for the enemy after hearing that.
When Mr. Stearns’ last tour was over, he came home through Japan and Alaska, and finally to Chicago. He had no homecoming. There was no assembly, not even the hating, disrespectful protesters of Vietnam. When he saw old acquaintances, they would ask him where he had been for the past couple years. There had not been much news of the war at home. “The Forgotten War,” for him, at least, was an appropriate term from the moment that he stepped off of the plane. He seems to be very bitter about his and his fellow veterans’ lack of recognition, and that's completely understandable to me. The man was awarded two Purple Hearts and was a Master Sergeant, not to mention a Ranger, and people ask him where he had been for the past couple years! Mr. Stearns is extremely proud of his service to his country, but his story never sounded like boasting to me...
Mr. Stearns got back into normal life fairly easily. He went to college for an engineering degree, and got a master’s in plumbing and heating. He went to police academy, and became a deputy sheriff. He befriended a blind judge (“You know the saying ‘Justice is blind?’ In his case, it was literal!”) and worked for him. He met with his platoon friends, especially one man, with whom in the war he was closer to than if they were brothers. Returning home from one reunion, he got a call that his friend had died of cancer. He was shocked by his loss. It seemed so unfair that he would make it through the war uninjured, and then die in a hospital bed of cancer later. But Mr. Stearns got through it, and still honors his fallen friend every day.
What amazes me most about Mr. Stearns’ combat experience is the way that he would look after his men. In the heat of a firefight, how he put it was that he “cared more for the lives of his squad than for [his] own.” He said that this is the real reason soldiers fight. When in battle, soldiers don't care about honor. They don't care about their country. They don't care about idealism. They fight because of fear for first their buddies, and then for themselves. Mr. Stearns said that this is what makes soldiers leap in front of another to take a bullet. They don't do it because they want to die an honorable death. They do it because they don't want their friends to die. War is hell, as he puts it, and it’s all anyone can do to survive.
Spending time listening to Mr. Stearns was worth far more than the price of admission. I've always thought it would be pretty cool to join the army, go have a fun adventure, maybe shoot some stuff. War is not like that. Mr. Stearns said that he would do it all again, that he wouldn't give up the lessons he learned for the world, but he wouldn't wish the experiences on anybody. For that reason, he really can't encourage kids to join the army, but recognizes that somebody has to do it to keep our country safe. This strikes me as a very truthful thing to say. It would have been pretty easy for him to sugarcoat everything, say that war was a great experience, really got him in shape, but he didn't. I'm sure he was sugarcoating to some degree, as he would stop and think for a long time before answering some questions, but he didn't so much that it was obvious. I respect that very much, and am honored that he thought enough of us complete strangers to share his story.
Now, in Iraq, his grandson is up for at least a Silver Star award for saving the lives of three of his helicopter crew in Iraq. He is extremely proud of his grandson, as I imagine most people would be. He told us that when his grandson was taking jump training, jumping off a tower, he looked up and saw “Jack Stearns, 1950” carved in the wood, under the paint. That was a touching tale, and it’s just a bizarre coincidence that something like that could happen.
All in all, I view Mr. Stearns as a crusader, fighting now not for his life, but for recognition, not just for him, but for all veterans. I think he wants to make sure that there are no more Korean War homecomings, no more Vietnam homecomings. These people gave everything, losing friends and risking their lives, so that American citizens can live free. It’s men like Jack Stearns and his fellow veterans that make it so I can sit here, wearing what I want, writing what I want. The very least that veterans deserve from us is recognition, and Jack Stearns does all he can for just that goal." ~ J. Pershken
" Mr. Stearns was 17 when he enlisted in the army. He was shipped off to Alabama and Georgia for Ranger training before he was sent to Japan. They had to finish their training in Japan. He was in the First Calvary Division and he had 22 people in his platoon.
The conditions in Korea were horrible. The Koreans used human manure to fertilize their crops. There were also harsh conditions in the winter. All they had to wear were summer clothes and summer sleeping gear. Many people got frost bite or froze to death. Every few weeks they'd get new clothes and a bath. They had big bags of food and not many extra clothes. They were supplied with Hershey's hard chocolate, one can opener, two squares of toilet paper, and about four cigarettes. They would melt the hard chocolate down so they could actually eat it, but they weren't allowed to have fire.
The Rangers were dropped in the middle of nowhere with almost no attachment to the rest of the army. He told us about “Washing Machine Charlies”, who were people who sent down mortars that would blow up and sound like washing machines. Mortars are little explosives that people would drop from planes and they would blow up on their way down to land. They did this to keep Mr. Stearns and his platoon awake at night. When the Chinese dropped the mortars they would sometimes drop them on the ammunition dump and it would blow up. It could be seen from 15 miles away.
He said you had to be careful about the Korean women because they would carry things called “Bouncing Betties” in their pockets and place them randomly around. Usually they'd put them in rice paddies. These were explosives that when you stepped on them, they'd bounce up a couple feet then explode. They did this because if one of your men got hurt, it took almost the whole platoon to take care of them. That means less people fighting.
He said that everyone was scared. When you were a platoon leader you have to concentrate on staying alive and keeping friends alive. Platoon leaders would do anything to save their men. The one thing they absolutely dreaded was having to tell their parents that their son, friend, or husband was killed. He hated having to hear his men screaming for their moms and dads. There was this one time that the Chinese lead a massive assault on the Americans. The Chinese outnumbered his platoon, but they fought through it. He lost three of his men in that fire fight. He got shot in the arm and got wounded by a bayonet and his legs were also wounded.
He felt a certain amount of respect for the enemy because of how they fought. They would come at you in waves of soldiers, or use civilians to place “Bouncing Betties” around. They also fought up-close and personal. This was when they used extreme self defense or fighting with their hands or bayonets.
He talked about how the prisoners of war were tortured by the Chinese. They cut out their tongues, tied them up, or tied them down to wood with barbed wire, and many of them died. He also said no one really trusted the South Koreans 100%.
During the war the nights were quiet and the days were filled with fighting. Usually the Chinese would shoot at where they were sleeping so they'd keep them up, but they came up with a plan to stop that. There were these foxhole type things in a mountain and they'd put a massive machine gun up there and when the Chinese would come to shoot, they'd shoot them first. There were no more shots being heard at nights, usually.
Very few people noticed who died or came back from the war. They usually thought they grew up, moved out of state, and got a job. Imagine what the parents thought, their son was killed and no one but them notices. I don't think that's very American-like.
There were not many news reports about Korea as there are now about Iraq. People didn't care, didn't want to know, and felt they didn't need to know about the war, at least that's how I feel.
His final rank in the army was a Master Sergeant. He is very proud of his service to his country.
Talking to Mr. Stearns was amazing. When he was talking about why he joined the Army it made me laugh because he said he was 17, a senior in high school and he wasn't very interested in school, he had five uncles and two cousins already in the Army and so he enlisted.
I was almost in tears when he was talking about telling the mothers, fathers, and other family members about their sons, uncles, dads, brothers, or husbands dying. When someone would get shot, they'd call out for their mothers. I couldn't even imagine having to do that.
I learned a lot about America and it’s people. I was astonished that not many people noticed who had died in the war. There were hardly any newscasts, no one even protested it! How can anyone forget this war? It was scary to just hear about it. I couldn't imagine the people in America, just going along with their lives, not even paying attention to what was going on with their own people over seas, unlike what we do now. After the interview I felt like everyone should have heard what I had just heard. I wished he could go back in time and tell everyone what really happened in the war. Maybe they would have had more respect for them.
There was one thing that will stick with me forever. We were talking about how he felt about whether or not he’d do it again and he said, “I wouldn't want to do it again, but I wouldn't give my experience up for anything.” He also said, “I wouldn't wish war upon my worst enemy.” To me this was a valuable experience because I learned a lot about Korea that I wouldn't have known. I'm glad he came and shared his personal experience. It also made me wonder what it would be like to be there, witness it, and to live through it...." ~ J. Gifford
Mr. Stearns joined the army in 1950 when he was seventeen. He joined because he wanted to serve his country and it was a tradition in his family. He started his training in Georgia, but had to finish in Japan when his platoon was shipped there. His platoon had to go through extreme defense training which was fighting with your hands and feet only. Mr. Stearns and his men were assigned to research where the enemy troops were located. It made it easier for me to think of his platoon as spies. They would sneak across the country’s border, get information and then sneak back to their bases and report out.
Mr. Stearns was always speaking of the bad conditions of food and equipment. He said that he got use to not sleeping for four or five days straight. He told us that at night the temperature would be thirty five to forty degrees below zero. This was bad enough, but the troops only had their Summer clothes. This caused many men to lose body parts and their lives.
Mr. Stearns and his men had backpacks that weighed sixty to seventy pounds. These bags contained food, clothing, and ammunition. The food came in cases that contained a can of corn beef hash or beans, a piece of salt pork, Hershey's hard chocolate, a can opener, and a few squares of toilet paper. The soldiers couldn't even use a fire to cook their food. This was because the platoon was usually behind enemy lines.
They had to walk through waist high mud and rice paddies every day. Adding to this was the fear of stepping on a Bouncing Betty. Bouncing Bettys are little bombs that women hid in mud and places where you couldn't see them. If you stepped on one it would pop three feet in the air and blow up. This was meant to injure you and not kill you because if you were injured it took more men to take care of you which meant less men to fight. The smell was horrible in the rice paddies because the Chinese used human waste as fertilizer. The men had to be careful if they ate the Chinese peoples food because it could make them very sick because of the human waste. The soldiers were able to send about one letter a month. These letters were never personal. The content usually just contained if you were all right or wounded. Just things to do with your condition. Mr. Stearns told us about the May Massacre when we killed sixty seven thousand Chinese in five days. We ended up killing one hundred and seventy seven thousand Chinese people in the month of May. He also told us of the cruelties of what the Chinese did to the American prisoners. The Chinese soldiers castrated the American troops and snipped out their tongues before they put a bullet into all the prisoners’ heads. The Chinese enjoyed making the American troops angry. The Chinese come at night and shoot up the American base. Mr. Stearns referred to this as harassment. The planes that came in shooting would aim for ammunition piles. This would cause a much larger explosion and cause more injuries and deaths. Mr. Stearns said you could read a newspaper fifteen miles away at the darkest part of night when ammunition piles were blown up. The planes that flew by the camp were nicknamed Washing Machine Charlies. The Chinese soldiers would camp out in fox holes and shoot into camps at night. Mr. Stearns told us that his platoon would sometimes look for holes during the day and set up mini machine guns aiming at the hole. The machine guns were locked into place and at night when the Chinese fired we would fire at many numerous holes. This would stop the shooting for that night, but Mr. Stearns knew there would be more fire the next night.
Mr. Stearns told us many things that made me think he was a hero. He was wounded three times throughout his war experience. He was hit in the leg by shrapnel, stabbed in the arm by a bayonet, and Mr. Stearns got shot in the shoulder. I was amazed that his biggest fear was losing his own men. You would think that you would be scared for your own life. He told us how he would have to write a letter to the soldier’s family, lie to them about how he died, and then meet with them when he came back from war. He was trained in heavy weapons also while he was in the war. Mr. Stearns was in charge of four half-tracks which were similar to a tank but smaller. He said there would be hundreds of these half-tracks and they all had giant machine guns on top. The people that controlled these were called Gunners. He was in four major battles and he has four little stars to show for it.
Mr. Stearns has a degree in engineering and a masters degree in plumbing and heating. Mr. Stearns left the army as a Master Sergeant. He left the army with a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star. Mr. Stearns had a horrible homecoming. Everyone there was disrespecting the troops. He now lives in Winslow, Maine.
I learned how bad the conditions were where Mr. Stearns was stationed. I can't imagine sleeping in weather that was thirty five to forty degrees below zero. All these men had were their summer clothes to wear in this severe weather. I get cold when the weather is below thirty degrees and I am wearing a winter jacket. I just can't imagine being that cold. That is the kind of weather when you throw water in the air and it instantly freezes. I wouldn't want to walk through mud and rice paddies that smelled like waste. You have to be very tough if you wanted to serve in not just this war, but any war. I can barely function on eight hours of sleep and Mr. Stearns would go four to five days without sleeping.
I can't believe that people who served for our country would get a homecoming like that. I would be ashamed if I treated a man or woman that served our country like these people did. They spit on them, yelled at them, and threw food at them. Some of the soldiers didn't even have a choice to fight because they were drafted. I learned that America can be very mean if we do not agree with something. Even if something goes against your beliefs you should still be thankful towards the people that keep our country free.
I felt that Mr. Stearns was a real hero after the interview was finished. He served his country and that itself makes him a hero. Mr. Stearns was also presented with the Bronze Star. I felt that I was better informed about things that happened that the textbooks don't tell us. I felt that I had talked to a person that truly knows the issues of war. I knew that Mr. Stearns didn't baby us like I thought he might. I was glad that he told it like it was instead of telling us a watered down version of the truth.
I will remember many things about this interview. I know I will remember the story of Mr. Stearns’ friend dying and his last words were about Mr. Stearns. I will remember the things he said about how proud he was of his grandson. It was easy for me to remember the humorous stories that he told. My favorite was the one when he was going to the bathroom and a Chinese plane dropped in and started shooting at him. He yanked his pants up and started booking it.
This experience was valuable because I learned war isn't for weaklings and cowards. I learned some of the reasons why war starts. Mr. Stearns said that war is never over just one reason. Many things contribute to what starts a war. This was a valuable experience because it helped me understand about the Korean War much better." ~ L. Quimby
"Mr. Stearns really gave me a understanding of what it was like when he was in war and the aftermath of it. He enlisted in the Army when he was 17. He just had graduated from Winslow High School. But he had a understanding since five uncles and two of his cousins went to war.
In 1950 he went to war training. He was nervous. His ranger and jump training was in Alabama and Georgia. When they were sent to Japan the 22nd battalion trained on Mount Fuji. They were training on the whole mountain going south to north to middle all day. But they weren't learning regular training they were learning extreme self defense and how they could hurt the enemy with their bare hands.
He was a ranger in the First Calvary. He and his battalion had to figure out the enemies strengths and weaknesses....But when the bombs started to drop many people were shocked by the light given off. Like on oil land it lit up so bright people 15 miles away could read in the dead night.
But when the real fighting started there was always something happening. There was “Washing Machine Charlies” that would drop waiters and sometimes hand grenades on American troops and that would keep them up. There was boxes with one or two cans of corn bean hash, toilet paper in little sheets, hard chocolate, and four cigarettes. Many people traded their cigarettes for chocolate to smokers. It was over 60 pounds of food.
He didn't communicate very much. He sent, if he was lucky, one letter a month. But they sometimes got to radio their families from where they were. But they were very remote from the rest of the world. He could just talk to the men in his battalion....
All of Stearns’ awards were the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart , 4 stars (every star meant that he had been in a major battle) and a rifle pin because he was a rifle commander. Plus he got a letter of appreciation from the ambassador of South Korea over 20 years after the war....
I thought that it [the interview] was really rewarding. I get the history in Korea more than I did before. Using a real life example made it more understandable. I really liked having him there. I understand more what happened and what it was like. And more understanding of what soldiers had to go through...." ~ K. McQuilkin