Korean War Veteran Chuck Class-- Part 3: That Portable Shower

A really big treat for his unit was when portable showers would be brought to them.  "That was just great and they had warm water!"  This was a real big thing.

There were Korean homes in the countryside, but they were most often abandoned and just about everything taken from them.

They built Bailey Bridges made of steel and put together much like an erector set.  These were developed by the British during World War II and were noted for ease of construction and where you didn't need cranes or heavy equipment.

A major job of Mr. Class' unit was clearing minefields, both U.S. and Korean.  The American fields were supposed to have mines put in at a certain distance apart, but that was a rare occurrence.  They sure didn't appreciate that.  Anti-tank mines were dug in deeper than the anti-personnel ones.  They used mine detectors.  He became quite the expert on mines during his service.

Most of the mines he picked up were American and you were somewhat safe if you were behind the mines as they faced the enemy.  But a problem was whether or not the mines had been booby-trapped.  If they thought that had been done, they would loop a string or rope around the mine and get twenty feet away and pull it.

He had a near-miss once from an American hand grenade turned into a booby trap.  He realized right away what he had tripped and hit the ground hard just before it went off and luckily was not hit.

--Cooter