Weird dreams

I was a dog handler in Korea. (I was in 1965, with 1st Cavalry Division and then 2d Infantry Division, but not like in the dream.) My dog and I were assigned to a large city. Our job was to kill rats. Poisoning was out of the question, since the rodents were a primary food source for city people. We killed lots of rats, the dog and I. So many rats that the Army gave me a herd of cats … 20 cats. Each night I released the cats in the city and followed the cats until morning. So in addition to being a dog handler, I became a cat herder as well.

Another: I operated a small front-end loader at a refuge camp in Sudan or Somalia. There were hundreds of tents and thousands of people. I moved dirt from place to place and delivered charcoal for cooking fires. The job was pleasing. I was disappointed when waking up.

Today: With another soldier. I returned from a mission, dressed in camouflage uniform and carrying a rifle, pistol and large rucksack. I had to go into the Fort Worth Star-Telegram office, so I procured cases for the weapons. Still, when I went into the newspaper office, people were all “Oh, goodness! How did those soldiers get in here?”

119 pictures from the Korean War

http://blogs.denverpost.com/captured/2010/06/17/on-war-korean-war-60th-anniversary/2125/

The Denver Post published the pictures three years ago. Photographs capture places and times that never change.

I was in the 1st Cavalry Division and the 2nd Infantry Division in Korea, 1965-66. Michael, my oldest, was with the 2nd his second tour in Korea. Casey, my youngest was with the 2nd from 2004-2010 at Fort Lewis, with two of those years in Iraq.

Sometimes I stood at the bottom of those steep, bare hills and wondered how the soldiers ever got to the top.