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 The
atomic bomb saved us!
Korea in 1945!
PFC Mario "Ben"
Benedetto's Story
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We were on Okinawa waiting
for the invasion of Japan. The Atom bomb was dropped and instead of
us invading Japan we were sent to Korea for the liberation and to occupy
it.
My name is former PFC Mario
"Ben" Benedetto, I was one of the many GIs who landed in Korea
on September, 8, 1945 but I can never find anything about it on any
web page. We were members of the 7th Infantry Division. We disarmed
the Japanese and shipped them back to Japan. We spent a lot of time
there before the Korean war started
2. 7th arrives in Jensin, Korea, 1945.
Joe Massimiano and I are
the second ones in line I don't remember the others. |
When the Japs bombed Pearl Harbor,
I was a freshman in high school and the impact of the attack
was not as much as it would be for the rest of my life. I was
drafted in my senior year. I had a choice of which branch of
the service I would be inducted into. At that time, like most
young men, it didn't make any difference to me so I was put
into the Army. I was thrilled to be able to do my part in the
war effort.
By this time the war in Europe was
winding down. I trained as an infantry man in Camp Wheeler,
Georgia. I was to be a replacement
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in Europe after 15 weeks. We were all shocked
when President Roosevelt died. The war in Europe ended shortly after that.
We were given 10 days after
training to get to Fort Mead, Maryland. From there, for some reason,
I was separated from most of my buddies and sent to the west coast.
After a short time there, I was off to Oahu, Hawaii for jungle training.
After two weeks we were shipped out in a large convoy . . . having no
idea where we were going. We finally landed at Okinawa where I joined
the 17th Infantry, 7th Division {The Hourglass}.
Most of us felt we missed
out because the battle of Okinawa had ended before we were able to participate
in it. I'm sure you realize how we felt. At that time most young men
were eager to get a crack at the Germans and Japanese, it was a different
time than now.
While on Okinawa, preparations
were being made for the invasion of Japan but in August, the Atom bomb
was dropped on Hiroshima and a few days later on Nagasaki. With the
war coming to a close we thought we would be on our way home, but, after
most of the older veterans were discharged because of the point system,
we received new orders.
4. Japanese are giving up their weapons. |
We were told we were
going to a strange, exotic place called Korea. Believe it or not
I never heard of the place. When we got there, it was sort of
an invasion but instead of a battle, the shores were lined with
Jap soldiers surrendering their weapons to us. The Japs had occupied
Korea for more than 40 years and were very cruel to the Korean
people. We were told of
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many atrocities. The first day a flier
from some Korean organization was passed out to all of us asking
us to kill and behead the Japs. The Koreans really hated them.
Of course we didn't do it. We disarmed the hundreds of soldiers
and marched them to ships to be loaded and sent back to Japan.
(Can you imagine if the tables were turned what would happen
to us?)
When President Harry S. Truman ordered
the dropping os the atom bombs, he made a decision that I think
was a good one. Most of the people at that time praised his
decision. As time has gone by, some
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Actual Appeal Flyer |
The time we spent in Korea
prior to the Korean war was no fun. We very seldom received fresh food
as my company was always on the move. We went from town to town all
through the south up to the 38th parallel. The Korean people were very
good to us when we arrived. We helped them to read and learn our language,
we fed them when they begged for food, we sheltered some of them and
helped them in many other ways.
Today they are a great
country, a far cry from the muddy dirt roads, the oxen driven
wagons and the ditches at the side of the road which were used
for latrines. We helped them a great deal and slowly, as they
progressed, we were less appreciated. I don't know if it was
worth going there but I guess it had to be done.
Some of my buddies that
were there with me are: Joe Massimiano from Philadelphia, Clellen
"chubby" Roger from Tennessee, John "lefty"
Beairsto from New York, Marty Reckinger from Chicago, Illinois.
Roy Mickleson from Minnesota and Paul Doyno from Texas only
Joe, Martyand Roy are still alive at this time. I had many more
friends that I met who fought with our division throughout the
war. They were older then we were and I think they are all gone,
but not forgotten.
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3. This is a photo of us marching Japanese
prisoners after they
were disarmed for their return to Japan. Willard Smith from Mississippi
is the one up front and Joe Massimiano is the next one in line. |
1. L to R Ben Benedetto, Joe Massimiano, John Beairsto In Andong
,Korea in 1945. Joe and I have kept in touch since then. He
lived in Philadelphia, Pa. John "Lefty" Beairsto was
from Middletown N.Y. He died a few years ago. We had some good
times together. While we were in Andong Joe who was a great
organizer started a band called the Moosheads. It wasn't really
a band at all we had only a few G.I.'s left in our outpost at
the time and so we wouldn't go nuts we made fake instruments
and had a record player behind us. The officers would beg us
to come in our room but we told them it was off limits to them.
Joe has been a great friend for many years .
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Note! Some of our buddies who haven't
been heard from are listed below if any of you are out there it
would be nice to hear from any of you.
Martin Reckinger, Roland Rehm, Gasper Guttilla, "Beef"
Wisneiski, Oscar Irwin, Robert Sharp, Francis Kelley, Willard
Smith, John L. Kelley, Nick Polechronus, Mernon Larson, Melvin
Gartner, Roy Mickleson. Richard Lally, Virgil Jefts, and any other
who were with our outfit in Korea.
Going home to Seattle
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See Milo Smith's
addition to this story . . .
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