Page 46 - The History of Veterans at Highland Springs

DONALD DUPAUL
HIGHLAND SPRINGS RESIDENT ARMY
It was April 1954. Finances were low and I was losing interest in my University of Minnesota studies in music education. My draft number was close, so I decided to volunteer. During basic at Fort Leonard Wood, MO. the army decided to train me to be a structural steel specialist , scale tall structures and learn welding. On the general USS William Mitchell troopship, we passed through two hurricanes en route to Korea. With so many getting sick I was lucky to have a top bunk that was stacked four high. My first assignment was the 434th engineering Btn. in Pusan where they were building a hospital. As I knew how to type, I was assigned two Operations to keep records - so much for my structural steel training! The war was over, but the effects were still very evident . Little to do off base -downtown crowded and unsanitary, rural areas very strong odor due to use of human and animal waste for fertilizer. The only alternative was to go hiking in the surrounding Hills with a small group of us referred to as the Rice Paddy Rangers. After six months, I was transferred from Pusan (southern tip of Korea) to the 528th Artillery Btn. In the far North area of South Korea. In route by train leaving Seoul with only South Korean soldiers on board with me, we passed a sign clearly saying 38th Parallel. I feared I was entering North Korea but contrary to reports, the 38th Parallel was only an approximation of the dividing line. I got off at the next stop and was greeted and taken to my next post where I was assigned to work in personnel . That night, all alone in my squad size tent I heard that 155 howitzers going off - another cause for concern. It seems the battalion was on maneuvers the day I arrived. A few months later, after one of my “off time” hill climbs, my right knee swelled to almost the size of a soccer ball. Off to the doctor, then to Tokyo army hospital (without any clothes or personal items), then by air to Walter Reed in Washington DC , then to army hospital in Little Rock, AR, then to Brook Army Hospital in San Antonio, TX where I was discharged. My uniform and some of my personal items eventually caught up with me about nine months later. Overall a good experience - saw strange new parts of the world, met many good friends, and decided on a new career with the help of the GI bill in the new science of computers.
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