Personal Narrative Film, Video Manuscript/Mixed Material Photo, Print, Drawing Gerald Ketcher Collection
Veterans History Project Service Summary:
- War or Conflict: Korean War, 1950-1953
- Branch of Service: Navy
- Location of Service: Great Lakes, Illinois
- Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/95127
Hailing from northeast Oklahoma, Gerald Ketcher joined the Navy in the early 1950s in search of better opportunities than he could find at home. He graduated from self-described "deck ape" to trained teletypist before landing tanks and evacuating Marines at the Battle of Inchon Bay during the Korean War. Then, upon his return stateside, a newly discharged Navy contact offered him a factory job in his hometown. The Navy had taken him out of Oklahoma only to lead him back to his roots.
Interview / Recording
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PlayAssignment as a "deck ape"; shipmates calling one another ethnic pejoratives. 00:09:48.0 - 00:11:34.0
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PlayKorean War declared; sailing from Virginia to San Diego; transporting tanks and Marines to Japan, then to Inchon, Korea in September 1950; USS Missouri shelling Inchon shore; landing tanks in second wave of invasion; retrieving undersupplied Marines on Christmas Day 1950. 00:15:51.0 - 00:22:06.0
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PlayDanger of floating basket mines; minesweeping; firing at mines without knowing whether he'd hit one. 00:24:08.0 - 00:26:15.0
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PlayLeaving the ship for an on-shore post; unable to say goodbye to a good friend scrubbing the ship as punishment for an infraction; mental illness was unknown and overlooked. 00:31:01.0 - 00:32:54.0
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PlayThinking he would never return to his hometown; passing civil service test; leery of heading back out to sea; an officer from southwest Missouri offers to find him a job at B.F. Goodrich should he return home; returning to Oklahoma and landing the job. 00:37:55.0 - 00:41:44.0
About this Item
Title
- Gerald Ketcher Collection
Names
- Missouri Southern State University
- Markman, Robert
- Ketcher, Gerald
- Wagner, Steven
Home State
- Oklahoma
Headings
- - Ketcher, Gerald
- - Korean War, 1950-1953 -- Personal Narratives
- - United States. Navy.
Form
- DVD
Extent
- 1 item
Repository
- Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress
Gender
- Male
Race
- American Indian and Alaskan Native
Status
- veteran
Service History
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Korean War, 1950-1953
- Branch of Service: Navy
- Location of Service: Great Lakes, Illinois
- Military Status: veteran
Materials
- Video: DVD [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2008-01-16; 2008)
Collection Number
- AFC/2001/001/95127
Cite as
- Gerald Ketcher Collection (AFC/2001/001/95127), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress
Online Format
- image
- video