INTRODUCTION
Darwin Dean Clark is a friend of the family whom I chose to interview. Although his real name
is Darwin, all of his family and friends know him best as Dean. Dean was born in Boulder, Colorado on August 3, 1929.
There he was raised by his parents, William and Elizabeth Clark. Dean came from a large family, which consisted
of six brothers and five sisters, of which only three are still alive. Dean, being the first born, felt that he should
go out and look for a job so he could help with the house expenses. Over the years, he worked numerous jobs. A couple
of them he remembered quite well, were a bowling pinsetter and a newspaper boy. On May 25, 1946, he graduated from
Boulder High School. In August of 1948, he joined the U.S. Army, where he served as a Corporal. While in the Korean War,
his duty was to serve as a machine gun fighter. During this period, it was very difficult for him because he saw many of
his partners in the war get killed. While he was battling in war, he was severely wounded on his right hand, right forearm,
right knee, and left shoulder, and from a bullet that shot right through his back less than an inch away from his spine.
Due to the injuries that Dean incurred during the war, he chose to leave the Army in July 1953. On December 22, 1953,
Dean married Lila Belle Clark in Burnsville, Minnesota. Shortly after getting married, Dean set out for a new occupation
which led him into working for the government doing law enforcement. Two years later, Dean and Lila had their only son,
William, who currently lives in Lincoln, Nebraska. Over the years, Dean has lived in several places, which include McAllen,
Corpus Christi, Uvalde, and his current home, San Antonio. After retiring from the government in 1985, Dean became a
faithful member of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church, where he
currently serves as a ministry leader. When he is not busy
with his church duties, Dean enjoys golfing, fishing, bird feeding, and watching football.
TRANSCRIPTION
Before you went to the Korean War, what were you doing at the time?
I was in Tokyo, Japan, the Seventh Calvary Division in the Seventh Regiment.
From there I went into Osaka and Otsu, which was part of the 25th Division and I stayed
there until I went to Korea.
When did you enlist/get drafted into the Korean war?
I enlisted in July of 1948 but the Korean War did not start until 1950.
Were you drafted, or did you go voluntarily into the war?
Voluntarily, we always volunteered. We did not have any servicemen.
What were your feelings about going to the war?
It was something interesting, gave me something to do that was different than what I had
been used to doing. We were trained to be prepared for this.
How did you feel about leaving your family and friends?
At first it was hard, but I knew it was something that needed to be done. I was in the Army
for one thing and one thing only-to serve my country.
How were you treated by the civilians when you got to Korea?
We did not have anything to do with the civilians, but we did watch them carefully. We just made
sure they did not have a gun or grenade to toss at us.
How would you describe your everyday routine while the war was taking place?
Very easily, 24/7 in a foxhole,
sitting behind a machine gun night and day, stopping maybe to get
something to eat if they had brought food to us. If they did not, you would go without food and water.
This is all I would do everyday.
What kind of experiences did you come across while in the Korean War?
Our company was sitting on a bridge, guarding it, it was the biggest bridge where we
could put tanks across when we would get ready to attack. We were there for over three
weeks, we had quite a few battles. Then one morning out of the sky, dropped a bomb
from a U.S. Air Force airplane, which hit right in the middle of the bridge. It sunk
the bridge and we were on one side and part of our men were on the other. The engineers finally
came out with some boats and got us out of there.
Did you lose any friends while in the war?
Yes, you lose men all the time. You learn not to become too friendly with anybody. It does
not pay to have too many friends. There is only one friend that had been with me quite awhile.
He was still there when I left. He made it back safely after it was all over.
What were your duties while in the war?
I was paid very highly to kill people. Although it was something that I did not necessarily
want to do, it was something that I had to do.
Would you say you were a leader during the war?
Yes, I had a squad and sometimes I had two squads. Each squad had eight people and we had
all the equipment we needed to fight with.
Was there anytime that you encountered a life and death situation? (e.g. Hostage, POW)
(Laughing) Everyday, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
While in Korea, were you able to communicate with your family and friends? If so, how would you?
Occasionally I would write letters if I had time or sometimes I even received letters from them.
But that is about all, I never had access to a telephone. Unfortunately, I did not keep any of the
letters that were written to me.
How did going to the Korean War have an impact on your life?
After going to war, I saw the many things that I had in my life that I took great advantage of,
which was my family. Being over there, not knowing if I was going to make it out alive, really made
me realize everything and everyone I could lose.
Do you feel that going to the Korean War was necessary?
Oh yes, we did not have a choice. It was very necessary because the north was attacking the south and that was part of our group. The South Koreans were our friends and we already had committed ourselves and we wanted to protect them.
Do you ever regret joining the Army?
Oh no, it was a lot of fun. It was an experience that has remained with me up until now, and it is
something I will never forget.
Was your view on war any different before, as opposed to after the war?
No, I regretted being wounded where I could not go back, because I wanted to go back. After you get your knees banged up, they do not want you around much after that.
What did you know about Korea before going?
It was divided at the 38th parallel ,
part of it south and part of it north. The north were Communists ran by Russia and part of China. We had the south part,
which were the non-communists. The south had an expedition team over there to train them along with the Air Force until they got caught and they had to get out. After this, we had to go in.
What was the conflict about?
The North Koreans just wanted South Korea, so one morning they just went in and started shooting.
Why was the U.S. involved in this war?
We had already committed ourselves to protecting the south, and the President also ordered us to go.
Do you feel that the Korean War was a success? Why?
Oh it could have been a success but wasn't quite. Seeing so many individuals fight so hard and lose their lives so tragically, this is not something you would necessarily call a success.
Is there anything else you would like to add to this interview?
Well I am alive, I am 76 years old and I have had a pretty good life so far. There are a lot of guys in Korea, over 6,000 still missing, so it was costly if you think about it.
ANALYSIS
From doing this interview, I learned many things about the Korean War I had never known before. Many people call the Korean War "The Forgotten War," but in reality, it was something that too took many lives away. While interviewing Dean, I learned many of the men who fought in battle, are still missing as of today. Another point that I had underestimated before going through this interview, was the major importance of the Korean War.
Although many individuals lost their lives during the war, they knew they had to continue to fight for what they wanted, which was their land. Before interviewing Dean, I looked at him as just a warm, kind, and caring man that attended church with me. After finishing the interview, I now have much respect and deep admiration for him. I learned first of all that while battling in the Korean War, he was severely injured. This resulted into him having to leave the Army a lot sooner, even though he would have preferred to stay in it longer. Another thing I found to be very inspiring was his love for wanting to defend his country. In one of my questions during the interview, I asked him if he regretted joining the Army since he was injured so badly. He quickly responded with a no, and said that it was a great experience that he would never forget. During the interview, Dean expressed many feelings about how he truly felt about the Korean War. He
felt that it was a necessary thing that needed to be done, and that us as Americans, were not going to back down. What I
did notice while doing this interview, was that after each question that I asked him, he had a different facial expression.
Some he answered with a smile on his face, while others he seemed to have some sort of disappointment as a result of not
only his injuries, but to the battle as well. The stories that Dean told me while doing the interview, taught me that the
Korean War is something that did not seem as important to people as World War I or World War II, but in reality, it was
something very important to the people that were in it. After the interview with Dean, I decided to read more about the Korean War. Even though I thought he answered the questions about the war quite well, I was still eager to learn even more. I got to read books as well as internet sites having to do with information about the Korean War, which enabled me to get an even better understanding of the stories that Dean had told to me. Some of the benefits of learning the past through the interview process, is you get to learn about it from a friend or relative who you can better relate to, as opposed to reading it in a book from someone you do not even know. A drawback is while doing the interview;
you might not always receive quite the response you are hoping for. The interviewee either provides you with too little or
too much information than is really needed. Overall, I feel that learning the past through these interviews is very effective. Not only can you better understand it because it is coming from someone you know or care deeply for, but you also learn to appreciate and respect them more for what they have done or been through during their life.
ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY
Seventh-Day Adventist Church
is a website that talks about the Seventh-Day religion such as the history, origin, practices, and beliefs
of what the whole religion is based on.
Korean War
is a website that talks about the historical background, the conflicting issues, and all the countries which were
involved in the occurrence of the Korean War.
Osaka and Otsu
is a map of Japan and Osaka and Otsu were the two places that Dean was stationed at, before he was drafted off
into the battle of the Korean War.
Foxhole
is an image of an actual army foxhole which is used as a cover while in battle with the opposing
enemy fire. Many soldiers learn to accept this as their home, because many of them are in this
foxhole 24/7.
38th parallel
is an image of the 38th parallel which is a line of latitude that cuts across Asia, the Mediterranean and the
United States. It has been especially important in the recent history of Korea. After the surrender of Japan in 1945,
the parallel was established as the boundary between the Soviet (north) and American (south) occupation zones in Korea.
In 1948, the dividing line became the boundary between the newly independent countries of North and South Korea.
Return to Oral History Projects
