Personal Narrative Manuscript/Mixed Material Photo, Print, Drawing Software, E-Resource Audio Recording George Zimmer Collection
Veterans History Project Service Summary:
- War or Conflict: Korean War, 1950-1953
- Branch of Service: Army
- Unit of Service: 955th Field Artillery Battalion
- Location of Service: Korea
- Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
- Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/349
Though he was drafted into the Army in January 1951, George Zimmer would not reach Korea for another two years, and by that time, he was a commissioned officer. Assigned to work with radio communications--a field for which he was not trained--Zimmer was to supervise 120 soldiers in the laying and maintaining of land lines for radio contact. Even after he received upgraded equipment in April 1953, Zimmer had problems with radios malfunctioning in the rough terrain and under fire. He notes that his unit took more casualties in the last six weeks of the conflict than any other time, as both sides jockeyed for positions they hoped to hold when a truce was signed.
George Zimmer Collection
Interview / Recording
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PlayArriving in Korea to be assigned to communications work for which he was not trained; his duties; coming under fire more often than he anticipated. 00:03:34.0 - 00:06:02.8
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PlayPoor condition of radios, left over from World War II; having one repairman available. 00:06:48.1 - 00:08:30.1
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PlayReceiving brand-new equipment in April 1953 but still experiencing difficulties; confrontation with a South Korean general accusing him of holding one of his men hostage; learning later that the general was nicknamed "the Butcher" and had publicly executed three of his men for failing to do their duty. 00:08:51.8 - 00:17:16.5
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PlayA close encounter, possibly of the third kind, on a nighttime Korean road. 00:17:21.6 - 00:22:15.4
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PlayJune 8, 1953: coming under attack from artillery shells while laying communication lines; their work undone and trying to redo it; his unit losing more men in the last weeks of the war than in all previous months. 00:23:33.1 - 00:30:12.5
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PlayThousands of North Koreans POWs released from a camp in the South on June 18, 1953, blending in with population; Zimmer and his driver making their way through a crowd of suspicious-looking men who may have been enemy soldiers in disguise as monks. 00:30:17.8 - 00:37:13.1
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PlayLast-ditch Chinese attack on July 13. 00:37:23.4 - 00:47:05.0
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George Zimmer Collection
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About this Item
Title
- George Zimmer Collection
Names
- Lugar, Richard
- U.S. Senate/Richard Lugar
- Kozlowski, Monica Bowles
- Zimmer, George
Home State
- Indiana
Headings
- - Zimmer, George
- - Korean War, 1950-1953 -- Personal Narratives
- - United States. Army.
Repository
- Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress
Gender
- Male
Status
- veteran
Service History
-
Korean War, 1950-1953
- Branch of Service: Army
- Unit of Service: 955th Field Artillery Battalion
- Location of Service: Korea
- Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
- Dates of Service: 1951-1953
- Military Status: veteran
Materials
- Manuscript: Memoirs [4 items] -- (collected unknown)
- Manuscript: Maps [1 item] -- (collected unknown)
- Photograph: Original photographic print [2 items] -- (collected unknown)
- Photograph: Copy photographic print [15 items] -- (collected unknown)
- Audio: Audio Cassette [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected unknown)
- Computer File: Floppy Disk [1 item] -- Electronic file of manuscript (collected 2005-12-30; 2006-01-03)
- Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Transcription of audio recording (collected 2005-12-30)
- Audio: Audio Cassette [1 item] -- Reference copy (collected 2002-01-01; 2002-01-01)
Collection Number
- AFC/2001/001/349
Cite as
- George Zimmer Collection (AFC/2001/001/349), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress
Online Format
- audio
- image
- online text