Personal Narrative Film, Video Manuscript/Mixed Material Photo, Print, Drawing Kenneth Bentz Collection
Veterans History Project Service Summary:
- War or Conflict: Korean War, 1950-1953
- Branch of Service: Army
- Unit of Service: Adjutant General's Section, Headquarters Company, 7th Infantry Division
- Location of Service: Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri; Chip'yong-ni and Chunchon, Republic of Korea; Fort Custer, Michigan
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/54496
For someone who modestly admits he did "nothing special" while serving in Korea, Kenneth Bentz offers an informative and entertaining look at the life of an Army clerk in wartime. Drafted six months after the start of the war, Bentz did not ship out with the men he had trained with and went over on his own. His voyage took so long that there were letters waiting for him when he arrived in country. His three sisters were good to him, sending him everything from cookies to a camera to a cot. He was stationed for time in Chip Yong Ni, where one of the big battles of the war had already been fought and where he contracted malaria. He typed, did personnel work, and occasionally pulled guard duty, thankful he wasn't carrying a weapon out in the field. His tour of duty was extended by one week: He agreed to interview outgoing GIs in Japan for a ticket on an airplane back instead of passage on a ship.
Interview / Recording
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PlayDrafted in December 1950; put on buses to a train station, on to St. Louis, then to Ft. Leonard Wood; one brother had been drafted for WWII, discharged for his asthma, and another served in the Marines and was wounded in the Pacific; just before he was drafted, his family had to move to rooms owned by one of his older sisters; a month after he went in, his mother died; his company was assigned to engineering training, which did him no good when he got to Korea. 00:00:45.8 - 00:06:52.5
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PlayCouldn't find combat boots that fit him; gave him work shoes, and his pants were too short for them; cobbler was able to customize them. 00:07:05.1 - 00:08:22.8
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PlayGiven leave for his mother's funeral; watched as men he served with shipped out until he was the only one left; joked about waiting for orders from the Pentagon; going out on his own; seasick in San Francisco Bay, even before they reached open water; voyage took 13 days; recordings of WWII-era songs on board. 00:13:30.1 - 00:16:58.7
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PlayWhen he got to his final station in Korea, there was a stack of mail from home waiting for him; journey to Chip Yong Ni; big battle has already concluded by the time he arrived; symptoms didn't appear until he came back to the U.S. and stopped taking Atabrine. 00:21:13.4 - 00:25:27.7
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About this Item
Title
- Kenneth Bentz Collection
Names
- Christiansen, Barbara J.
- Bentz, Kenneth
- Christiansen, Barbara
- Elk Grove Village Public Library
Home State
- Illinois
Headings
- - Bentz, Kenneth
- - Korean War, 1950-1953 -- Personal Narratives
- - United States. Army.
Repository
- Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress
Gender
- Male
Race
- White
Status
- veteran
Service History
-
Korean War, 1950-1953
- Branch of Service: Army
- Unit of Service: Adjutant General's Section, Headquarters Company, 7th Infantry Division
- Location of Service: Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri; Chip'yong-ni and Chunchon, Republic of Korea; Fort Custer, Michigan
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Dates of Service: 1950-1952
- Entrance into Service: Drafted
- Military Status: veteran
Materials
- Video: DVD [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2008-01-10; 2008-01-08)
- Video: DVD [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2008-01-10; 2008-01-08)
- Video: DVD [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2008-01-10; 2008-01-08)
- Manuscript: Memoirs [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected 2003-05)
Collection Number
- AFC/2001/001/54496
Cite as
- Kenneth Bentz Collection (AFC/2001/001/54496), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress
Online Format
- image
- video