John
Morris
That's what they called it.
A
Yes, the five battle groups. Your early promotion to
the division commander must have
had a role.
My efficiency reports probably looked pretty good after the three years there in personnel. I
A
mean, I look upon that personnel job as one where I didn't really have an opportunity to fail.
You recall I mentioned my exit from Goose Air Base, that the base commander and the Air Force
general wrote a glowing report about me because he wanted to prove a point. So I had a good file
before I arrived at the 8th Engineers. By the time the board met, probably I had at least one
efficiency report from the division commander, and once my record showed battalion command,
the prerequisites of being selected for colonel were met. The rest of it was whether the board
thought my overall record deserved promotion. I'm very happy they did because, you see, by the
time I actually made colonel, full colonel, I'd been a lieutenant colonel eight years. I made
lieutenant colonel in 1953 and full colonel in 1961.
It strikes me that the personnel officer assignment, the down side of that is that it's a job that
requires diplomatic skills. I mean, it does strike me that you could make enemies.
A
Well, you're right. To be good in that job you have to try to understand people and put a lot of
thought into how the other guy feels about things. Diplomatic may not be the best word, but in
any event, you have to be compassionate, not that you have to feel sorry for people. You've got
to evaluate if the assignment will be adverse or whether it's
to understand their family
going to make them happy or unhappy. I don't mean necessarily that you never do things that
make people unhappy. You'd rather not, but sometimes you can't avoid it, in which case the way
you handle the situation makes a lot of difference in its acceptance. So you're right. With the
wrong approach you can make enemies in that job, no doubt about that.
Moving back to Korea, where you
the 1st Cav was up on the border at the DMZ. Were
there incidents when you were there?
A ..
Yes, there was always something going on but nothing as serious as happened a few years later.
At Panmunjom, where the North and South met to discuss various treaty matters, we built
blocking positions and fortifications on strong points for the defense of the area. We repaired
bridges and erected floating bridges in the Imjin River.
We could go into the DMZ for various reasons including reconnaissance to look for indications
of any unusual activities.
Q .. Being assigned to a battalion on the front lines in 1960 was certainly a good assignment.
A .. It was an excellent experience. It truly was. I'm very proud of having been in the 1st Cavalry
Division. It is a division that makes me proud. I guess all the people feel that way about their
divisions; I do particularly. When I'm in uniform, I always wear the 1st Cav patch on the right
sleeve, and I belong to 1st Cav Association. I think in those days the officers who went to the 1st
Cav Division were well selected. We had quality people.
Q.. So you were promoted to colonel then and came back to the Army War College in the summer
of
A
Yes. When I went to Korea I left my family in North Carolina. We'd been living in Arlington in
a nice home there, but my tour in Korea provided a good time for Gerry to go home where her
parents and sister were liv ing. I felt better about it because she wouldn't be quite so alone.
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