Page 50 - Senior Link Magazine Fall 2023 - Online Magazine
P. 50
Don Tugwell An Unexpected Tour in
the Army
by Larry Williams
on a smaller ship and sent to
Pusan, Korea. On the way over,
the Armistice was signed at
Panmunjom on July 27, 1953,
just one day before we landed.
They took us to a big prison
camp where I was assigned
guard duty. We had towers
overlooking the camp with .50
caliber machine guns. I would
walk the perimeter guarding
prisoners. One night, we heard
shots ring out. It was the mess
sergeant shooting at either a
North Korean or Chinese soldier
trying to steal food. I’d heard
there were still some guerillas
in the hills who didn’t want to
surrender.
onald Neil Tugwell was 1952. Boy, was he wrong! I “After a month there, we went
born at a farm home was drafted and inducted into to Taegu and pulled guard duty
Dnorthwest of Levelland the Army on March 9, 1953, in with the 105th Army. Then, it
on February 3, 1933. “Just a Amarillo. Basic training was was on to Inchon on the 38th
few days after I was born, the at Ft. Sill, Oklahoma. It lasted Parallel. We took supplies by
temperature dropped to -23 three months, after which I was truck to the Mountain Operation
degrees. My dad kept me in assigned to the 132nd Artillery Point on the DMZ. We had a big
bed with him to keep me warm. Battalion. I was given five days telescope to watch the North
I was the next-to-last of eight leave before I was sent to Camp Koreans, and they’d be looking
children, four boys and four Stoneman near San Francisco back at us.” During Tugwell’s
girls. My dad was a farmer and Bay. We boarded the troopship, time in the area, Operation Big
had a lot of side jobs. He worked USS General M.C. Meigs Switch began at Panmunjom on
as a carpenter, in a grocery (AP-116), the second largest August 5, 1953. The repatriation
store, and doing other jobs. I troopship at the time, carrying of prisoners from both sides
attended Levelland schools and 6,500 troops. It took us 32 days lasted until December. During
graduated in May 1952. I didn’t to sail to Yokohama, Japan. We Operation Big Switch, the United
have a lot of time for sports or spent three days just floating in Nations Command returned
hobbies; I had to work on Dad’s the middle of the ocean. I was 75,823 POWs to North Korea and
farm.” woozy all the time on the ship China, and in turn, they handed
but never really got sick. We over 12,722 POWs (which
Since the Korean War was would eat out of trays, but they
going on, Don figured he’d would slide back and forth, and included 3,597 Americans) from
be drafted soon. “I had one you’d just eat out of the one in the United Nations Command.
brother who was in WWII and front of you. “I spent several months in
one in the Korean War. A guy Inchon. We bivouacked (set
told me during high school “We stayed at Yokohama for up temporary campsites) and
that, if I joined the National three days, were given a series practiced shooting our 105
Guard, I wouldn’t get drafted, of shots, an M-1 rifle and a Howitzers. We were sent to
so I joined up on January 21, full pack. We were then put
50 Lubbock Senior Link
