"I had my 17th birthday on the way to Korea." Guy Stone, of Leesville, was inducted with 773rd Tank Btn, Louisiana National Guard, on Oct. 5, 1950, and sent to the four­-month conflict in South Korea. "When my senior class was graduating, I was a forward observer in the 2nd Infantry." He hasn't slowed down but, hold on to your seat as you read his story.
A young man in top physical condition, he went in at Inchon to a RePo and was assigned to a heavy mortar company. "On the push going back up, we started at Heartbreak Ridge, Hill No. 1179. Then there was Pork Chop Hill, T-Bone Hill, Hasko Hill Range, 1062 Papason, Old Baldy. That height made it very difficult fighting, which every survivor of Korea confirms.
Stone describes the fighters challenge, and the pictures you've seen of the steep hills/mountains:

Those valleys in between usually ran a mile; you had to travel back and forth and do all your fighting pushing uphill. That's where I got my experience for the Seal Team. Red, white, and blue platoons, and I was in 2nd platoon; you had sectors to cover. Any patrols that went out, and I could not observe from my post, I had to go with them. It was cold -- 40 to 60 degrees below. In the summertime, rain comes down heavy in big drops. Korea is the extreme in all weather.

When we started out, we were issued the old combat, buckle boots that gave us a lot of foot problems. Then, a shoe pack worked pretty good. If you aren't moving, moisture freezes your feet. Then there were thermal boots, which we called "Mickey Mouse" and were hard to come by.

We were up north of the 38th parallel most of the time. May be fighting North Koreans or Chinese any time. This is where I first learned demolition. We had tetrachol (sp) connected with the cord; big blocks were hooked together like a chain in 25# packs. I figured it had the fuse, light it, run and hide, like playing with firecrackers. It is a non­ sensitive explosive. Dynamite is a sensitive explosive. Finally, you learn to put the detonating cap on the blasting cap ... with the safety fuse; it works.

I called in air strikes. These were mostly rockets, napalm, etc. to soften up. Our Navy and Marine planes came mostly from carriers; Army/Air Force planes came mostly from bases in Japan.

I left Korea in 1952, having trained for tanks which I never used. The one rule in war is WIN. That did not happen in Korea. When I returned to Leesville, there was no work. Bill Beavers and I re-enlisted for three years, and I went airborne; Bill went hisway. I went to jump school in Fort Benning, GA, now Regular Army. We had 35 to 40% success in jump school. I stayed with the 7ill Special Forces School about a year. They bused us to Fort Bragg, NC, Psychological Center, Smoke Bomb Hill. I was studying to be a demolition specialist; probably best demolition school in the worId. We trained with explosives people never heard of, like Niagra Starch. There was underwater demolition, and I couldn't even swim.
Three friends and I went duck hunting on the Sabine River (now Toledo Lake); we'd shoot ducks which usually landed over on the Texas side. While they built a fire, I'd cross the river on a log, get the ducks and come back. They'd thaw me out at the campfire, so I was ignorant about how to swim and strokes.

When I joined the Navy, I wanted to be a frog man (now Seal). They promised me Underwater Demolition Training. My aptitude test did not reach required 50, minimum for UDT, finally approved on an ice breaker.

I was on the US Burton Island; a Coast Guard ice breaker is a special-class tug; teakwood decks; diesel engines that run a huge motor which generates the electricity to run the ship; wind screws; flight deck; thick, heavy hull. It breaks the ice by backing up, then running up and hitting the ice and mounting it. You have to learn to sleep hanging on; some even tied themselves into their bunks.

Two divers are assigned to the ice breaker, but there were none. I was sent to deep sea diving school and came back a diver to finish my two-years. Our mission was to keep the shipping lanes open.

I was the first diver in the Bellinghausen Sea in Antarctica. The Glacier was a bigger ice breaker than the Burton Island and the first ship to go into the Sea. We werebringing the first scientists who would set up winter camp. The Glacier was damaged, so I had to check out the bottom finding a screw sheared. We had plain, old wet suits; diving machine, air compressor that didn't work so I dived on ship's service air for which I got $13 a month diving pay.

Extra-hazardous pay was $5.50 an hour. The Glacier went to New Zealand for repairs.
The primary diving school is on the Potomac River in Washington, DC, where one learns how to put plates down for transducers, screw work and other repairs. Everything was Top Secret, which meant no homework. My family was with me, and we lived in base housing for eight months. Occasionally a chunk of ice gets up under the ship and ruins a transducer. The diver goes under the ice and ship to put on a big, steel, heavy plate an inch thick. This repair is actually done in a yard, and they couldn't believe I was doing that on site.

When we got underway, there were four divers, only two could be paid. Because of the frigid cold, three quit and left just me; I spent two years on ice breakers. The XO and Capt. appreciated my work so waivered my points for UDT. Although I was only a Seaman, I could attend as instructor, also, at the Diving Tower in Hawaii. I was honored, as a 2/c diver, and chose UDT in Coronado, CA on the Silver Strand: Class 26 and 17 graduated. Teams called for 100 divers on each coast, but we never had 50/60-turnover. Friction existed between east and west coast teams.

Vietnam was coming on. None ofthe old charts of the shoreline were accurate. In charting details of rocks, obstacles, reefs, lanes, etc. three men in defense perimeter come near shore in a rubber boat at daylight swimming and charting till dark. I always ran the point for them because of my prior experience, making sure there were no ambushes. We were responsible in charting for 36 feet up, to the benn line. This was NOT war, but we were getting shot off the beach, so we returned at night and do the recon. We never lost a man on the three 6-months tours I was on. The first Seal team received the Unit Citation from President Lyndon Johnson. I went to EODT school and am a Master Explosive Ordnance Technician.

After the Vietnam War began, I was leading the point for a team of two UDT 12 Marines and two Vietnamese at an old Special Forces Triangle Camp as an MEOT looking for booby traps. The Captain wanted to eliminate bunkers up and down the stream because of their shooting at the passing boats, so the combined team was about 25. A rumor was that the Viet Cong were held up there surrounded by barbed wire and concertina wire and elephant grass four to six feet high. The camp was on a four-foot rise of ground edging a rice paddy within a half mile of a Viet Cong sympathizers village. of fishermen. I had to have a boost by the Navy medic to get up on the ledge, and I gave him an AR-15 weapon. I started clearing the wire with my only tool-a bayonet; mines were there, also.

A graveyard was about 35 or 40 yards away where the bodies are buried sitting, as if looking over their rice paddy. I told the Marines to get behind the grave mounds. The enemy set up an ambush in the perimeter: let me pass then wipe out the Marines. One guy turned to look up. I said, "I'm a dead man now." I kept working that wire right up to him and used my bayonet to kill him. I knew I had to alert the Marines. I hollered, "Charley's on the mound!"

I jumped off and started running when I heard a "pop"-pulling the pin of a grenade, and starting counting for I had four seconds. Here I was-running in the mud and that grenade hit me in the back on about count "one thousand,” "two thousand", "three thousand", and I dived into the mud. That grenade went off followed by two more. I got up and ran to the Marines. The ambush opened up; nobody could move. I crawled to the Sgt. in charge, "I'm not going to take this. Give me three grenades!" I pulled the pins on the two bottom ones. My plan was to run until I got among them and throw the grenades, for I knew I was a dead man. I ran and could feel the heat of their muzzles. I flipped one grenade to my right, one to my left, pulled the pin on the third one and flipped it in front of me. Then I hit the dirt. "BOOM, BOOM, BOOM!" I ran back to the Pullman and got my weapon and laid a base of fire for security as did the Marines. We got fire superiority.

I was standing out front more worried about getting shot in the back (friendly fire). A Viet Cong jumped down in front of me; I knocked him down and kept laying the fire. He had an M-14 rifle, stolen from us, which is what the Marines were armed with. On the stock was the Peace Symbol-foot print of the American chicken. I shot him, and with the adrenaline rush jumped up on the mount, hit one trying to escape, then shot a few more. I tracked his bloody trail all the way into the village, not a soul to be seen.

Actually, I killed nine and captured three for which I was awarded the Navy Cross back in Coronado, followed by a big parade. After the war, helicopters were suppose to remove the mines in the water along north Vietnam. Live mines weren't their choice, and shipping was stalled. I was a Seal, E-9/ or 5327, an EOD. I was sent to dispose of the mines.

After shore duty in New Orleans, I was discharged in Charleston, SC. Guy and Alice married in the Philippines and have a son and grandson. Guy has found it very difficult to live away from water. Nevertheless, he continues to maintain a physically fit body and as a cluster of First Place Medals for runs which hang by the display of many, many medals. A big "thanks" to Guy for his service and sharing it with all of us.