PAST Book Signing Honors Koren Vets

Several of my Byng friends are members of an organization I admire and respect. It is called PAST (Preserving Area Stories in Time). Last Saturday's book signing for Clarence Oliver's book "Tony Dufflebag and Other Remembrances of the War in Korea" did an admirable job of preserving area stories, both published and unpublished. The event honored local members of the 45th Infantry Division, and many local veterans of that group came to the Arts and Heritage Center for an afternoon of remembering.

Memorabilia from their years of service with the National Guard were provided by numerous local men. Photos, service medals, dog tags, and K Rations were among the decorations on individual tables which were draped with brown covers overlaid with camouflage material and Army-drab netting.

PAST member Ann Klepper had made for each veteran a "Remembrance from Korea," a small spiral bound photo album whose cover featured an outline map of Korea and the legendary Thunderbird logo of the 45th. Men pictured in the album included not only the author, Clarence Oliver with Tony Dufflebag, the Korean orphan who was befriended by company "C," but several local men: SFC Paul Scott, SFC Ben Floyd, SFC Joe Hill Floyd and Sgt. Joe Mac Floyd, SFC James West, Cpl. Bill Bass, Capt. Orville Wood, Paul Heuatt, Sgt. Bill Ork, Sgt. Jay Howry, Cpl. ,Forest Chapman, Lt. Fank Fleet....

Bill Newport, Stonewall, showed a movie film he had taken during his stay in Korea. Many of those present remembered the locales and people shown in the film.

The author, who was born and grew up in Ada and joined the newly organized National Guard at the age of 17, was kept busy not only signing his book, which the veterans present claimed as "our" book, but also talking with his many friends and fellow soldiers.

The book "Tony Dufflebag" tells the story of the starving Korean orphan whom Sergeants Joe Hill Floyd and James A. West rescued from Seoul and returned to Company "C" in a duffle-bag. The six-year-old remained with the Unit until the battalion commander issued orders that he must be released so he could be placed in an orphanage. After his release from military service, Oliver made several unsuccessful efforts to relocate the child. He says Tony's stay with Company "C" was mutually beneficial to the orphan and the infantrymen....

If the room decor brought back memories to the Korean vets, the refreshments also struck a familiar chord. Though the usual fare of cake, punch, fruit and raw vegetables with dip was served, the refreshment committee also presented a taste of G.I. food including chipped beef on toast (SOS), Spam, and beanie-weenies. Of course, the chipped beef was served from an elegant chafing dish; the Spam and potato pieces were skewered and broiled, and the beanie-wienies were served in miniature cups with a parsley garnish. As one vet said, "The food tastes familiar, but it sure looks of a painful but worthwhile time in Oliver's life. It tells of the rescue of their unit's first wounded infantrymen, Oliver's life-long friend, Joe Mac Floyd. Floyd was seriously wounded when his foot struck a hidden trip wire and exploding metal fragments ripped into his head, arm and hand. After emergency care from a medic, Floyd was taken from the top of a snow-covered mountain by a human chain of 12 soldiers who passed the stretcher with the inert body of Sgt. Floyd from one set of hands to another. The journey up one icy hill and down another took five hours and called for mountain climbing skills. Floyd, at 19, was taken to a MASH unit and eventually returned to the U.S....

Reading this book is a bit like sitting down for a conversation with a friend who has had an adventuresome life. I had classes with Oliver, who was a fellow English major at ECU after he was released from military duty, and I am impressed with his ability to include history and journalism as well as autobiographical material. The book has warmth and humor despite dealing often with heartbreak and disappointment.

The author went from the rank of private to that of major but chose to become an educator after the war. He became a school superintendent Broken Arrow, served as dean of Oral Roberts II University and was a tireless leader in his community. He is the author of an "Administrator's Guide on Ethics and Values in Education" and "A Memoir of a Depression-Era Kid." He was also a contributing writer and co-editor of "Broken Arrow: The First Hundred Years."