The Inside Story of Ike's trip to Korea
By Don Whitehead
Associated Press Writer
WITH EISENHOWER IN KOREA DEC 5- IT WAS 5:30 A.M/ ON SATURDAY,
NOVEMBER 29, WHEN TWO MEN STEPPED QUICKLY THROUGH THE DOORWAY
OF THE RESIDENCE AT No. 60 Morningside Heights in New York
City into the cold star-lit night.
Their overcoat collars were turned up as though against the
chill. They strode swiftly to the limousine that had pulled
up at the curb a few feet from the doorway, ducked into the
car, and it drove away. The street was bare and silent once
again
One of the men was Secret Service agent Edward Green and
the other was President Elect Dwight D. Eisenhower. This was
the beginning of the Eisenhower mission to Korea where he
hoped as millions of Americans did - that a way could be found
to bring an honorable end to the bloody fighting which in
two and a half years had claimed 126,000 Americans dead, wounded
and missing. As the Eisenhower car drove toward Mitchell field,
the Air Force base on Long Island, other automobiles in other
parts of the city moved in precision patterns, also converging
on Mitchell Field. There two big air force constellations
waited in the darkness.
A few minutes before Eisenhower had left his Morningside
Heights residence, Defense Secretary-designate Charles E.
Wilson had strolled out of the Waldorf hotel and entered the
cab. He told the driver to drop him off at the southeast corner
of 58th street and Fifth Avenue.
The gray haired, distinguished industrialist-president of
General Motors Corp.- stepped from the designated spot, paid
the driver, then stood on the street corner for a moment.
The sounds of the city were muted at his hour. A few cruising
cabs drove by and a few pedestrians walked quickly in the
cold streets. A car drew up besides Wilson, the door opened,
and he stepped inside. It drove off into the pattern that
was forming.
From a half-dozen different points, six reporters and photographers
quietly left their lodgings and converged on Pennsylvania
station, which sounds like an improbable place for secrecy
in movements.
But the six were lost among the other early travellers waiting
for their trains, lounging in doorways and trying to kill
time.
A black limousine drove down the ramp to the unloading platform
and the six newsmen strolled one by one to the car driven
by Secret Service Agent Ed Sweeney. The group was joined by
Eisenhower's press secretary, James Hagerty.
Sweeney moved out quickly toward the East river, across the
big Triborough bridge over the East river and out Long Island
to a back road parallelling Mitchell Field. The car, stopped
at a gate, a light was flashed, and someone said the magic
word "secret service" to a major who then identified the occupants
by name. The gate opened and we followed a car that swung
suddenly into the gate to guide us. Then the big constellations
loomed ahead. We stepped out into the sharp, chill wind.
"I'm sorry we don't have coffee," an air force general said,
" but security cuts down the number of people we can use at
this hour."
There were two constellations. One for Eisenhower and his
party of seven . They included Eisenhower's old friend, Gen.
Omar Bradley, chairman of the joints chiefs of staff, who
had flown up from Washington ; Maj. Gen. Wilton B. Persons
(ret.) his close friend and White House assistant-to-be; Herbert
Brownwell of New York, who will be the Attorney General in
the GOP administration; Wilson; James Rowley, secret service
agent in charge of the White House detail, Lieut. John Davies,
who was to act as Eisenhower's secretary.
The second plane carried the newsman Col. Paul T. Carroll
of Woonsocket, R.I. temporarily assigned to the party, Hagerty,
and secret service agent Richard Flohr. In addition both planes
carried double crews of 22 men .
The Eisenhower plane took off at 5:55 a.m. just as the blackness
was turning to gray. The second plane followed 10 minutes
later. At 10:25 a.m. and 2641 miles later the plane set down
at Travis air field near San Francisco to re-fuel. Minutes
later they were off for the long overseas flight to Hickam
Field, Hawaii.
No one left the planes at Travis. The ships paused just long
enough to take on the fuel and then they roared westward again.
It was just after midnight when the lights of Honolulu showed
on the horizon, sparkling in the dark sea like jewels reflecting
the brightness of the round moon. The planes swept out of
the darkness onto the Hickam field runway and taxied to a
secluded part of the field. Again no one left the planes as
crews swarmed onto the wings to fill the tanks. Minutes later
we were airborne again.
Midway Island was next-1320 miles away and four hours and
50 minutes later. Gulls, terns and those ridiculous members
of the albatross family called gooney birds wheeled overhead
or gathered in enclaves near the apron of the field.
The gooney birds-some with wings spreads up to nine feet-
appeared to be putting on a show just for the amusement of
the general and his party. They waddled toward each other,
touched bills, bowed, curtsied, and then danced about in solemn
and absurd tribal rites.
Our ships were travelling under false identifications and
numbers but there was tight security across the whole Pacific
from San Francisco to Korea to guard against any leak that
Eisenhower was en route.
It was Sunday, November 30, when we left Midway on the longest
overseas hop of the trip-2695 miles to Iwo Jima. But a few
minutes after leaving the island it was Monday. Our ships
had crossed the international dateline.
Our press plane was less than half way to Iwo Jima when No.
1 engine began losing power. Major Thomas E. Dye of Somerset,
KY, was forced to feather the prop and we flew with only three
engines. A fuel pump had gone bad. Dye headed for Wake Island
for emergency repairs and messaged his decision to the Eisenhower
plane
Three hours later the faulty fuel injector had been repaired
and we were roaring off Wake Island toward Iwo Jima.
The Eisenhower ship landed on Iwo Jima at 3:30 p.m. (local
time) and we landed five hours later.
One of Eisenhower's first acts on Iwo Jima was to visit the
marine memorial on Mount Suribachi-that knob of a hill where
a gallant little band of warriors in February, 1945, raised
the American flag in defiance of the Japanese making a fanatical
defense of this Island.
There the general stood looking across the black beaches
where 21,000 men were killed or wounded in trying to storm
the stronghold. And he was told the story of Iwo Jima by Col.
W.W. Buchanan of Athens, Ga., who was the assistant officer
for the Fourth marine division, and by M/Sgt. Robert T. Fox
of Honolulu and Long Beach, Calif., who had been with the
Second battalion of the 24th marine regiment on the assault.
The general turned in early-before 8 p.m.- to get a good
night's rest. He hadn't been of his ship until Iwo, and most
of this time he had spent in getting briefings from Gen. Omar
N. Bradley and reports from the Korean war zone.
The general had just gone in bed when Capt. Wayne Melvin
of Los Angeles, rang his telephone- thinking it was the number
for the base commander.
Telling the story later Melvin said:
"I rang No.10 and after a while somebody answered and I asked
if Major Weldon was there."
"This guy said, no, Weldon wasn't there and I asked if he
knew where I could reach Weldon."
"He said: No I'm just visitor here. And then I knew it was
Eisenhower."
The Eisenhower party was billeted in spanking clean quonset
huts just a few yards from the beach where the Americans stormed
Iwo Jima in one of the bloodiest battles of World War II.
Sentries patrolled the huts throughout the night and the secret
service agents kept watch with them.
A young staffer said to me:
"They told us to give you everything you wanted -and if you
people asked from the battleship Missouri, then I was to call
the Island commander and see what he could do about that."
The first time reporters saw Eisenhower on the trip was at
breakfast the next day, December 2. He came into the officer's
mess about 7:30 a.m. looking rested and in top condition.
He grinned and waved to those in the room.
"By golly," he said," I got into bed at 7 o'clock last night
and then I woke up at 4 o'clock this morning and had a devil
of a time going back to sleep.
After breakfast, the general agreed to go back up Suribachi
so that the cameramen could get the picture they had missed
the day before. He rode in a Chevrolet sedan to the foot of
Suribachi and then climbed out to transfer to a jeep for the
steep climb up a dusty trail cut out of the side of the hill.
Wilson, the president of General Motors, asked the driver
why the change was being made from the sedan to the jeep.
"The hills to steep for the Chevrolet to make it," the driver
said.
"Are you sure ?" Wilson asked.
"I'm damned sure, sir," the youth replied.
Later the youth was told that he had been talking to the next
secretary of defense and the man whose company makes Chevrolets.
"OH, LORDY," he exclaimed.
"I put my foot in my mouth didn't I?" He was assured that
he had -both feet.
Eisenhower's plane took off at 2 p.m. from Iwo for the 1,700
mile flight to Seoul. The overnight stop at Iwo had been planned
so that he would arrive in Korea after nightfall.
It was 7:57 p.m. Korea time (5:57 a.m., Tuesday in New York
City) when the general's plane touched down on the icy runway
near Seoul. It had spanned the 10,836 miles between New York
and Korea in 47 hours and 13 minutes flying time. The temperature
was 10 degrees above zero.
Armed guards and secret service agents waited on the field
- but there was no welcoming committee. Gen . Mark Clark had
remained at the Eighth army head quarters in Seoul with Gen.
James van Fleet. The only newsmen present were those in the
Eisenhower party. Their planes had landed 20 minutes ahead
of the General's.
Eisenhower stepped from his plane wearing civilian clothes
and only a medium-weight brown camel's hair overcoat to shield
him from Korea's wintry winds, the coldest of the season.
The general quickly climbed into a waiting sedan with Bradley
and Wilson. Two secret service agents-Rowley and Flohr- were
in the front seat. Then the heavily guarded caravan moved
quickly across a land of frozen rice paddies and into the
war battered city of Seoul.
Only President Syngman Rhee of the Republic of Korea had
any notice of the general's arrival. But there was plenty
of evidence that the President- elect was expected. Banners
and arches across the streets carried messages of welcome-and
appeal.
They said "Welcome President-Elect Eisenhower," Others read:
"Drive away the Chinese Reds-Strengthen ROK forces" - "We
oppose the withdrawal of the United Nations forces."
At Eighth army headquarters Eisenhower was warmly received
by Clark and Van Fleet- and the first thing he asked for was
hot chocolate. He retired a short time after dinner.
The general was up early on December 3 and spent the morning
being briefed on the Korean situation by Clark, Van Fleet
and others.
Clark later told this reporter "We gave him the whole story
including the problems that lie ahead of us." He didn't say
what the problems were.
After lunch, Eisenhower was flown in an L-19 "puddle jumper"
plane to an airfield where he visited a fighter interceptor
squadron and the 67th tactical reconnaissance wing headquarters.
This time we wore regular army issue winter clothing - with
no insignia. The winter clothing had been issued to the general
and those in his party during the morning. He was accompanied
by the entire group which had travelled with him from New
York-and by his son, Maj. John Eisenhower, who is stationed
in Korea as assistant operations officer for the third infantry
division.
Young Eisenhower had flown from the front early in the morning
to see his famous dad and to stay with him during the Korean
visit. It was the first time he had seen his father since
July.
Outside the squadron headquarters, Eisenhower stopped to
shake hands with Capt. Herbert Weber of Brattleboro, Vt.,
a jet pilot just back from a mission along the Yalu river.
"Did you get any MIg's?" Eisenhower asked.
"We saw some," Weber said,"but we didn't get into any fights."
On the apron of the airfield, Eisenhower stopped to chat for
a moment with Lieut. Ira M. Porter of Fort Worth, a 23-year-old
jet pilot with two MIG's to his credit - and a silver star
from heroism in action.
A few minutes later, he was flying from the airfield toward
the first marine division headquarters on the fighting front
while F-86 sabre jets swept the skies on the lookout for any
enemy planes trying a sneak attack from the north.
The frozen land below-white with ice and snow- showed scars
of the old battles.
The little planes carrying the Eisenhower party set down
on an airstrip six miles from the actual battle line. But
in this area a sniper had shot a marine two nights before.
The marine band - waiting in eight above zero weather - played
"Ruffles and Flourishes" for the president elect. Just as
the echoes faded into the bleak hills there was the sound
of sharp explosions.
"What are they dropping in here?" Eisenhower snapped
The officers nearby laughed and explained that a pilot had
just fired four rockets into enemy positions- the sound carrying
for miles into the sharp, cold mountain air.
Eisenhower was given a secret briefing of the situation along
the marine front lines. And when he was ready to visit another
until his son John couldn't be found. He had wandered away
for a moment.
When he returned, Van Fleet said, "You're the general's aide.
That's your job. Stick with him." But the rebuke was given
with a smile.
In mid afternoon, the general arrived at First corps headquarters
where units of fighting men from fifteen nations stood stiffly
at attention in the bitter cold. Eisenhower had changed his
GI hat for an overseas cap. Eisenhower "trooped the line"
and then stood on a platform at the edge of the air strip
while the troops marched in review with a color guard carrying
the American and United Nations flags. The Australians came
first-tall with wide brimmed hats-and then the British, Belgians,
Canadians, Colombians, and Ethiopians . There were Greeks
and Koreans and Dutchmen, New Zealanders, Filipinos, Thailanders,
and Turks and finally units of the U.S Army and Marines.
Loudspeakers had been setup with a microphone on the stand
- and everyone expected the general to make a talk to the
troops who symbolized the effort of the free world to resist
aggression. But Eisenhower remained silent.
From the reviewing stand, he went to corps headquarters where
he was given another briefing on the battle situation in this
zone of the front. Then he flew back to Seoul for an hour
long talk with President Rhee who came to eighth army headquarters.
One source said Rhee had proposed a seven point program calling
in part for a free and unified Korea, strengthening of the
ROK forces and UN aid for the reconstruction of Korea.
Eisenhower's second day in Korea - Thursday Dec. 4 - was
a whirlwind visit of the United Nations combat units in the
snow covered valleys near the front
I asked soldier after soldier how he felt about the president
elect's visit - and there was not one who did not say he was
glad the general had made the trip and that he had hopes Eisenhower
would find a way to end the war.
Sgt. Joseph Kililes of County Roacommon, Ireland - in the
British Commonwealth division - put it this way: "If anybody
can end it, General Eisenhower can. He's the man to do it,
sir."
Lt. John Condit of Baltimore, said:" The boys all hope Ike
can do something. But they aren't expecting miracles."
Cpl. Paul Morrissey of Trenton, N.J., said: "We feel at least
he might come up with something to end this thing."
And so it went - a feeling that somewhere, somehow the general
would find a way out for them in this stalemated war.
Eisenhower traveled from unit to unit by plane - an L19 -
hopping over the frozen mountains from valley to valley sometimes
in sight of the front where air force and navy planes were
hitting the enemy positions with napalm and bombs.
During the day, the general visited the commonwealth division,
the ROK first division, a surgical hospital, an ROK cavalry
unit, and the U.S. Second and Third divisions.
At the third division command post, Eisenhower ate lunch
with members of the fifteenth regiment, the battalion which
he commanded only 12 years ago as a lieutenant colonel. The
soldiers didn't know they were to lunch with Eisenhower until
they saw him climb from a jeep.
While Clark, Van Fleet and the other generals and VIP's went
into a mess tent for lunch, Eisenhower sat on a pine box in
the near zero weather to eat and chat with Sgt. Jack R. Hutcherson
of Frankford, Mo., Cpl. James A Murray of Muskogee, Okla.,
and Pfc. Casper Skudlarck of Avon, Minn.
The social atmosphere was a bit strained as newsmen and photographers
crowded around them to watch every bite and to picture every
move. The general - again wearing no insignia - cleaned his
tray of pork chops, mashed potatoes, gravy, sauerkraut, peas
and apple pie.
Later he watched a ROK unit assault a hill in realistic training
maneuvers. Wilson, Bradley, Clark, Van Fleet, Brownell and
President Syngman Rhee were among the spectators.
When it was over, Rhee presented Eisenhower with a big silk
Republic of Korea flag and the general said: "I assure you,
Mr. President, that it will hang in a suitable place where
people will see it and not forget it."
Rhee and the South Korean generals have made it clear to
Eisenhower during his visit that they favor his plan to build
up the strength of the South Korean Army.
Eisenhower returned to Eighth Army headquarters in mid-afternoon
and one of his visitors was Maj. Gen. William Chase, who heads
the U.S. military mission in Formosa. This conference was
a hint that the Eisenhower was getting a fill-in on Chiang
Kai-Shek's Nationalist Army and its capabilities.
The general's third day in Korea was reserved for a news
conference and further talks with Vhase and other military
men . He refused to talk politics, and concentrated on the
problem of peace. These were three fateful days for Korea
and the World.
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