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MN: Now when you arrived at the 1st Tank Battalion Command Post your battalion First Sergeant almost got you busted down from private first class with one stripe with, to private with no stripe. What happened?

RW: Well, I guess this was my first encounter with somebody that had something against me? I don't know if it was racially or what, but the first day I was there I went down to what they call the mess tent to get some food, and he came walking over there and he said, "Wada, where the hell's your weapon?" At that time I just got there. I'm carrying an M-1, and most of the other guys are all carrying pistols 'cause they're already been there. And I said, "It's back in the tent, Sarge." He says, "Dammit, you know the orders here. Everybody carry a weapon at all times." And I'm thinking to myself, hell, I didn't know that. I just got here a few hours ago. [Laughs] And so he chewed me out and says, "Go get your damn weapon." "Yes, Sir." So I went and got my rifle, carried my rifle, getting my food, and I ate and I went back to the tent, set the rifle down on the cot, and I had to go the bathroom. And over there you don't have a nice running water bathroom like here. It's just a box with a hole in it sittin' out in the open field right near my tent, actually. It was just maybe five or ten yards or away. So I'm out there in the open sittin' on that box, and here comes the sergeant and says, "Where in the hell's your weapon, Wada?" And I said, "It's right there in the tent, Sarge." "Man, if you can't carry that weapon as PFC I'm gonna see that you carry it as a private." And I said, "Okay. Sorry, I'll bring it with me. I'll carry it at all times." Then one of the clerks there in the Headquarters that was in the same tent, says, "Hey, Wada, Sergeant Allen reported you to Captain Crossfield, told him that you were disobeying orders or something." Captain told him, don't be harsh on him. He just got here. He's not trying to be disobedient. We can't file anything on him right now. Anyway, the captain didn't want to file anything, but that's how close I came to getting a demotion just because I didn't carry my rifle.

MN: Were you the only one, were you the only newcomer that was getting picked on? Was he...

RW: Yeah, I think there were two of us, but he went to one of the companies somewhere else to one of our tank companies. I was in the headquarters company at that time, just because I just got there.

MN: Now, the second day someone yelled sniper and you, but you didn't go out of your tent like the others to look for the sniper. Why not?

RW: Well, that was weird 'cause that's the first day I was there. And I was sitting there trying to write a letter to my mom to tell her I was okay. A couple of shots rang out and to this day I don't know if they were a sniper or just somebody accidentally fired their rifle, but they said, "Sniper," and everybody's running around and grabbing their weapons and running out. So I grabbed my helmet and rifle and I started to run out the tent, and I thought, hey, wait a minute. I just got here. These guys don't know me, and when they see my face they might just shoot me by mistake, so I said heck with it. There was no more firing, so I just went back and sat down, took my helmet off and said I'm not gonna go out and stick my neck out where I shouldn't be.

MN: Was it at this time where the tank battalion headquarters had station, made their station on a Korean family cemetery?

RW: No, this was a little later, we were at then was what they call the Hwachon Reservoir area, and then after that the whole Division went into what we call reserve in a rear area to regroup and we fixed up all the equipment and everything. So we were in this rear area right next to a river, and that's when there was some commotion. This is where Bob Madrid and my brother Hank used to always come and visit me, and this is where we took all those pictures that I have. But there was some commotion over in one area. There was a bunch of Korean civilian people doing something, so I walked over to see what they were doing, and they were digging up some bodies. We apparently were set up on their burial grounds, so what they did was they uncovered 'em, wrapped 'em, and in a procession they took 'em up onto the hill nearby and I guess they reburied 'em somewhere else.

<End Segment 12> - Copyright © 2011 Densho. All Rights Reserved.