Richard E. Mack - Memoir of a Cold War Soldier

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Memoir of a Cold War Soldier

Memoir of a
Cold War
Soldier

By Richard E. Mack

The Kent State University Press

KENT, OHIO, AND LONDON

2001 by The Kent State University Press, Kent, Ohio 44242

All rights reserved

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 00-036878

ISBN 0-87338-675-2

Manufactured in the United States of America

05 04 03 02 01 5 4 3 2 1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Mack, Richard E., 1924

Memoir of a cold war soldier / by Richard E. Mack

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 0-87338-675-2 (cloth: alk. paper)

1. Mack, Richard E., 1924 2. Korean War, 19501953Personal narratives, American. 3. Vietnamese Conflict, 19611975Personal narratives, American. 4. SoldiersUnited StatesBiography. 5. United States. ArmyBiography. I. Title.

DS921.6.M33 2001

951.904'2'092dc21

00-036878

British Library Cataloging-in-Publication data are available.

ForMargaret, Mary, Rolly, Elizabeth, and Rick, with love.

Mid cannons roar and rifles peal,
Well chant a soldiers song.

The Soldiers Song, national anthem of the Irish Republic

Contents

ALS	Army Language school
AOR	area of responsibility
ARCOM	Army Reserve Command
ARVN	Army of the Republic of Vietnam
ASTP	Army Specialized Training Program
BAR	Browning automatic rifle
BOA	battalion operational area
BOQ	bachelor officers quarters
C&GSC	Command and General Staff College
C/S	chief of staff
CIDG	Civilian Irregular Defense Group
CINCSO	Commander in Chief, Southern Command
CO	commanding officer
COA	company operational area
COMPHIBLANT	Commander Amphibious Command, Atlantic
COMPHIBTRALANT	Commander Amphibious Training Command, Atlantic
COMUSMACV	Commander, U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam
CONUS	continental United States
CP	command post
CRAF	Civilian Reserve Air Fleet
CW	continuous wave (Morse code)
DCSINTEL	Deputy Chief of Staff, Intelligence
DLI	Defense Language Institute (formerly Army Language School)
DOD	Department of Defense
FAC	forward air controller
FO	forward observer (artillery, mortar)
Huks	Hukbalahap partisans (Philippine Islands)
I&E	information and education
I&R platoon	intelligence and reconnaissance platoon
IG	inspector general
JCS	Joint Chiefs of Staff
KATUSA	Korean Augmentation to the U.S. Army
KIA	killed in action
LFTU	Landing Forces Training Unit
LMG	light machine gun
LNO	liaison officer
LOD time	line-of-departure time
LST	landing ship, tank
LZ	(helicopter) landing zone
MACV [USMACV]	U.S. Military Assistance Command
MIA	missing in action
NAMS	Naval Amphibious School
NATO	North Atlantic Treaty Organization
NCO	noncommissioned officer
NKPA	North Korean Peoples Army
NSDM	National Security Defense Memorandum
NVA	North Vietnamese Army
OBAM Battalion	ordnance base automotive maintenance battalion
OC	officer candidate
OP	observation post
PAVN	Peoples Army of Vietnam (same as NVA)
PF	Popular Forces
POT (Staff)	Plans, Operation, and Training
PRC	Peoples Republic of China
R&R	rest and recuperation
RF	Regional Forces
ROK	Republic of Korea (South Korea)
RR	recoilless rifle (57 mm)
SA	senior adviser
SSI	Strategic Studies Institute
TACP	tactical air control party
TD	tank destroyer
TOC	tactical operations center
TOT	time on target (artillery)
UN	United Nations
USAFORSCOM	U.S. Army Forces Command
USAREUR	U.S. Army Europe
USARSO	U.S. Army South
USAWC	U.S. Army War College
USCOB	U.S. Commander of Berlin
USMA	U.S. Military Academy
VNAF	Vietnamese Air Force

It is June 1930, the day before classes ended for the summer at Margaret Park elementary school in Akron, Ohio; my mother, Elizabeth Giblin Mack, arrived at Mrs. Smiths first-grade classroom with my grandfather, Albert Eugene Mack, to attend the class skit, A Day at the Circus. My grandfather lived with us in a bungalow that my father, Harold A. Mack, was buying on time. It was common to have grandparents living with their children during the Depression. My sister, Gertrude Helen, married Tom Wheeler in 1949; they later moved to San Diego, California. I had no other brothers or sisters. My father worked for Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company as a production supervisor. He had an eighth-grade education; my mother, however, had attended Cornell for two years.

But now back to the circus. I remember telling my mother how nice it was that they had selected me to play the role of the elephant. I believe my mother and grandfather were anxiously looking forward to see me acting in my first play. I remember that following the skit I was asked, Which part of the elephant did you play, Dick?

When I responded that I had been the back legs and the tail, I remember, my grandfather said that I had done a fine job and that next year maybe they would let me be the head and trunk. My grandfather reminded me that it was at that end the elephant had his large memory. My second-grade teacher didnt have a circus play, but I dont believe being relegated to the hindquarters of an elephant at that early age contributed to any developmental regression.

On the other hand, I cannot remember anyone accusing me of being a bright child. I can recall, though, hearing people say in so many words that I was persistent, to the point that I would pester people to get answers to my questions or would find my own solutions. I am sure that on occasion I was referred to simply as a pain in the ass.

During my formative years, I was impressed with the fact that a penny was something of valuea symptom of the Depression. Nowadays, people drop their pennies in the bowl at the cash registera symptom of affluence. My normal routine was distributed between Margaret Park School, Saint Peters Roman Catholic Church, the YMCA, Boy Scouts, and the Fulton Street Gang, all tempered by the strict guidance of my result-oriented parents.

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