CPL ‘Sig’ Front organized the Radio Seoul “Tape Team” around Choi Sung Ju, a well-known prewar South Korean radio broadcaster. Capturing and having “local voices” explain activities added credibility to the efforts of KBS.

PSYOP HISTORY

4th Mobile Radio Broadcasting Company (MRBC) in Japan & Korea

1951-1952

By Charles H. Briscoe, PhD

From Veritas, Vol. 8, No. 1, 2012

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Shortly after the main body of the 1st Radio Broadcasting & Leaflet Group (1st RB&L) arrived in Tokyo in early August 1951, the Far East Command (FECOM) adjusted its strategic Psywar priorities. Radio Tokyo program management was number one. Inherent in that mission was responsibility for Voice of the UN Command (VUNC) because broadcasting would originate from Radio Tokyo studios. Second Lieutenant (2LT) William F. Brown, II, the 1st RB&L Psywar officer at Kaesong, Korea, was the first UN line of defense against Communist disinformation and propaganda during the Armistice talks. His daily teletype reports served as the official UN statement on the status of negotiations.1 Restoring the Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) radio stations to full operation was the 1st RB&L second priority.2 Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) Homer E. Shields, the Psywar group commander, functionally realigned his staff, “dual-hatted” the most experienced officers, and pulled in talent from his subordinate units to begin addressing FECOM priorities.

Organizationally the 4th Mobile Radio Broadcasting Company (MRBC) had the majority of assets in the 1st RB&L for radio broadcasting missions in Japan and Korea. The pressure to field the 1st RB&L, get officers and soldiers Psywar-trained, and deploy overseas left little time to practice collective unit tasks, solidify assignments, and develop work procedures. The internal restructuring had little impact on the soldiers because the 1st RB&L had a large number of WWII veteran lieutenants and captains whose leadership and management skills included professional writing, commercial radio, television, publishing, and advertising experience. Shifting priorities were taken in stride.3 The reshuffling was done while the soldiers settled into billets, got oriented in Japan, learned staffing procedures, created work areas, and became familiar with their duties.4

This article shows how the 4th MRBC adjusted to theater Psywar priorities in Japan and Korea and conducted “combat” training. The explanation shifts back and forth between Korea and Japan until mid-February 1952 when company headquarters relocated to Seoul. Veterans discuss their jobs, the challenges, and overseas duty. The reader will be kept current on soldier activities in Tokyo and Korea. Weekly 1st RB&L newspaper articles from The Proper Gander, contemporary commercial news articles, veteran interviews, U.S. Army FMs and TMs (Field Manuals and Technical Manuals), U.S. Army General School, Psywar Division POIs (Programs of Instruction), official documents, the USNS General Brewster personnel manifest, and the unit “yearbooks” (1952 and 2002) provided invaluable source material. Once in Japan, the 1st RB&L quickly adjusted to its wartime requirements.

1st RB&L broadcast script writers and programmers were consolidated to support Radio Tokyo and VUNC. The Headquarters & Headquarters Company had one Sergeant First Class (SFC) chief script writer and three script writer Sergeants (SGT) with the same MOS (military occupation specialty): 0288.5 The majority of soldiers with this MOS were assigned to the Programming Section, 4th MRBC, under the direction of Captain (CPT) Frederick P. Laffey. Since the situation in Korea had not stabilized sufficiently to relocate the MRBC there, the simple solution was to attach all script writers and programmers to the Group S-3 Radio Section. Thus, soldiers with journalism degrees or writing experience were summarily detached from the 3rd Reproduction (Repro) Company. The programmers and script writers were moved into the programming department of Radio Tokyo to learn production, draft propaganda messages and news reports, and develop as announcers.6 Since the studios of Radio Tokyo would be used for VUNC initially, both requirements were covered by this manpower shift.

The rationale for the reorganization and broadcast duty rotations in Korea was provided by CPT Edward C. Janicik, Group S-3: “Creative writers and technicians of Radio Operations need actual field experience in the combat area so that their work can be more accurate and effective. Conversely, it is important for [4th MRBC] Korea personnel to gain experience in Tokyo, programming, writing, and producing Psywar programs. The quality of work will be greatly improved by these on-the-spot orientations.”7

While the rest of 1st RB&L reorganized to accomplish the top FECOM priority, Psywar broadcasting from Radio Tokyo and the creation of VUNC, LTC Shields had to assess the KBS facility in Pusan. Rebuilding South Korea’s radio stations was his number two priority. In mid-August 1951, he chose Chemical Corps 2LT Jack F. Brembeck, who had Army Expeditionary Radio Station experience in postwar Italy, to evaluate and supervise KBS operations in the Korean port city.8

2LT Brembeck, script writer Corporals (CPL) John L. “Stod” Stoddard and Alvin R. “Al” Busse, and Private First Class (PFC) Leon H. “Lee” Nelson, a programmer, were to write and broadcast daily news and commentaries on current events. This was critical because the South Korean (Republic of Korea [ROK]) president, Syngman Rhee, and his government were in Pusan. The 4th MRBC detachment had to upgrade the KBS broadcast capabilities to cover the Communist-occupied South and into North Korea.9 A family emergency led to Brembeck’s replacement by 1LT William J. Eilers who had served at Armed Forces Radio (AFR) in Tokyo, 1946-1948, and 2LT Eddie Deerfield, a WWII veteran with newspaper experience, in August 1951.10 The KBS Radio Pusan station would be the first RB&L link in Korea.

UN soldiers were paid in Military Payment Certificates (MPC) or “script” instead of U.S. dollars or South Korea won during the war. This example is a Ten Dollar MPC.
UN soldiers were paid in Military Payment Certificates (MPC) or “script” instead of U.S. dollars or South Korea won during the war. This example is a Ten Dollar MPC.

Until the 4th MRBC mobile radio systems arrived in theater, UN programs would have to be broadcast over KBS stations that were being rebuilt by the American Army.11 Since each of the three MRB platoons was authorized four officers and twenty-two enlisted men, LTC Shields had a pool of talent to task organize into detachments for “kick starting” the KBS stations. Once Radio Pusan was well-established, expansion would follow UN offensive operations.12

In the meantime, the advance echelon (ADVON) (July 1951) and main body (August) of the 1st RB&L would be joined by two more contingents in September and October. Sarcasm best described the “Gander” train rides from Fort Riley, KS, to catch their ship overseas: “The most special part of the train [to Camp Stoneman, CA] was the air-conditioning system. Air, flowing in the doors and windows, was conditioned by a pall of coal smoke from the locomotive. The soot never became a problem because a fireman would come through every few hours with a wheelbarrow and shovel,” reported The Proper Gander.13 The major organic equipment, three mobile radio broadcast systems and the Harris LTV 35” X 45” multi-lithograph presses, arrived at the end of October 1951. By then, the Psywarriors, like the rest of the FECOM Headquarters Support Command (HSC) were doing weekly field training.

PFC Richard George, armed with an M3A1 .45 cal submachinegun “Grease Gun” kept aggressors from seizing Hama Park.
PFC Richard George, armed with an M3A1 .45 cal submachinegun “Grease Gun” kept aggressors from seizing Hama Park.

With the exception of the 3rd Repro personnel who went straight to Motosumiyoshi, 1st RB&L soldiers started maneuvers in Japan on 10 October. CPT Robert A. Leadley, the dual-hatted 4th MRBC commander and group Radio Officer, was in charge of defending Hama Park while 2LT William Brown, back from the Armistice talks in Korea, led the aggressors in the attack. “Due to another day of disgustingly ‘clement’ weather, [1st RB&L] radiomen were crawling all over Hama Park. The first enemy soldier declared ‘killed’ was Headquarters Company first sergeant [1SG] Russell E. Beckwith. PFC [Donald R.] Newman, manning a machinegun, did not see any aggressors. His biggest triumph of that afternoon was the fierce look he used to impress some Ginza girls nearby. Most men spent the afternoon ‘valorously combatting a great variety of flying insects.’”14 Hibaya Park behind Radio Tokyo was another site for field training and close order drill.15 After their exercises, “Gander warriors” enjoyed cold “nickel beer” and Cokes in the third floor lounge of the Finance Building. Those “social Ganders never had it so good” when 360 Japanese yen was the exchange for a U.S. dollar in MPC (Military Payment Certificate) script.16

On 14 October 1951, Private (PVT) Herbert A. Stevens, the 4th MRBC company clerk with a Kansas State Teachers College degree in accounting and commerce, wrote: “We sure have it nice here. They have planned a week or more of tours and entertainment. I don’t know when we are going to start work. The food is fine and the service is hard to become used to, after eating in a hot chow hall and that place aboard ship. I never was hungry then, but I can eat now. Labor is so cheap that we only have to clean our own room. There is 12 o’clock curfew and you’d better be in. They take your pass if you come in a minute later.”17

Field training, while mandated for all Army units in Japan, was quite casual for the 1st RB&L ‘Groupers’
Field training, while mandated for all Army units in Japan, was quite casual for the 1st RB&L ‘Groupers’: (L to R) PFCs Milton Banta, Herbert A. Stevens, Nick H. James, and Sigmund S. Front relax afterwards.

SGT James McCrory, a Marquette University grad and former Milwaukee Sentinel reporter, provided a more illustrative description of life in Occupied Japan: “The first time I ever had ‘Baked Alaska’ was in the enlisted mess on top of the NYK building where Escoffier-trained Japanese chefs prepared meals with menu choices, and you ate at tables for four that had flowers. This was the tail end of the MacArthur empire, and it vanished about four months after we got to Tokyo.”18 Stevens continued, “The EM [Enlisted Men’s] Club membership costs $5. If I join the club and bring my blood donor card, I’ll get a free $1.50 meal, the highest priced regular meal they have. I finally got a stripe and hope to add another before too long. Then, I’ll be satisfied. I’m not looking for a lot of rank in the Army.”19 While enjoying the “good life” in Japan, the 1st RB&L assumed the strategic Psywar load for FECOM in October 1951.

The Army Chief of Psywar in the Pentagon, Brigadier General (BG) Robert A. McClure, wanted to show the military how Psychological Warfare had already proved that it was a “force multiplier” in Korea. That month an Army Signal Corps film team went to Tokyo to capture the 1st RB&L in action, conducting Psywar for FECOM. The motion picture team started filming live radio broadcasts being done by “Ganders” (nickname for 1st RB&L Psywar soldiers taken from the name of its weekly newspaper) in the studios of Radio Tokyo. On the second day, the cinema photographers captured the preparation of propaganda leaflets. They finished filming at the 3rd Repro where Psywar leaflets were printed and packaged for air and artillery delivery. “Needless to say, the 1st RB&L soldiers were all looking sharp for that Hollywood moment.”20

But, by November 1951 the 1st RB&L was losing original members. The majority of the group consisted of Army Reservists “called up” by the president and draftees serving two years. Three activated Reservists elected to go home and a couple of soldiers took reassignments.21 The Headquarters Company lost its first sergeant, Russell E. Beckwith, a WWII Psywar veteran, who had fifteen years of service. He left with two other veteran Reservists from the 4th MRBC, SGTs William H. Cedar and Paul Lennhoff. Beckwith was replaced by Master Sergeant Charles D. McColery, a Regular Army veteran, best-remembered for the fine job his cooks did aboard the train to Camp Stoneman, CA. CPLs Jerry K. Delano and Harold L. Fenwick, Message Center, volunteered for the infantry in Korea. Fenwick had been wounded twice while in the 1st Cavalry Division before being medically evacuated to the States. He was reassigned to Fort Riley after leaving the hospital.22 The 1st RB&L had been created by Army Field Forces as a (T/D) Table of Distribution unit. Assigned to FECOM as such, the overseas command could determine the level of personnel fill in theater.

January 1952 brought more changes. The 1st RB&L was redesignated the 8239th Army Unit (AU) by FECOM and its motor pool was incorporated into that of GHQ Headquarters & Service Command. Some script writers and programmers were “drained away” by the FECOM G-2 Psywar Division, also located in the Empire Building, two floors below. LTC Shields was criticized by some “Ganders” for allowing the higher headquarters command and staff to bleed off organic resources.23 He had little choice; his Psywar group staff had been absorbed into G-2 Psywar with the assignment of Army civilians.

The reality was that G-2 Psywar, after assigning Department of Army Civilians (DAC), English-speaking Japanese typists, and Japanese, Chinese, Korean, and Russian linguists and artists (temporary DACs and contract employees) to the 1st RB&L, had simply amalgamated the Psywar unit into the FECOM staff.24 The internal reorganization along commercial advertising and publishing lines inadvertently facilitated this “melding.” It likewise allowed the G-2 Psywar to reduce its role to executive authority for strategic Psywar and guidance. These subtle nuances went unnoticed as the busy 1st RB&L staff expanded its KBS mission to Seoul.

During the Army Signal Corps film team visit to the 1st RB&L, PFC Sigmund S. Front discussed an upcoming broadcast script with a Korean announcer in a Radio Tokyo studio of NHK, the Japanese government radio system.
During the Army Signal Corps film team visit to the 1st RB&L, PFC Sigmund S. Front discussed an upcoming broadcast script with a Korean announcer in a Radio Tokyo studio of NHK, the Japanese government radio system.

Seoul was recaptured by UN forces a second time and the 4th MRBC dispatched a second radio detachment to the South Korean capital in the fall of 1951 to reestablish Radio Seoul. PFC Sigmund S. “Sig” Front was producing news reports in Chinese that were being broadcast three times a week on NHK, the Japanese government radio system, the equivalent of America’s NBC, CBS, and ABC systems combined. This was a challenge because the Nippon Electric Company was simultaneously rebuilding the war-damaged Tokyo electrical grid. This meant constantly changing broadcast times and frustration. When someone was needed to program broadcasts for Radio Seoul, it was former infantry radioman Front who volunteered.25 His description of early days at Radio Seoul in late 1951 and the beginning of 1952 capture the enthusiasm, initiative, and positive attitudes essential to Psywar success during the Korean War.

While the rest of the 1st RB&L soldiers were recovering from Thanksgiving dinner in 1951, PFC Front was off to Korea. “The C-46 (Commando) flight was four and a half to five hours from Tokyo to Seoul. I rode on the floor, leaning against my pack and duffle bag. When we arrived at Kimpo Airport, 1LT Henry A. Glowacki and the Supply Sergeant, [Eugene W.] Roberts, were waiting in a jeep. It was a beautiful day, but I was stunned by the war damage. As we entered the capital and drove down the main traffic stem, destruction was everywhere. Walls of the few standing buildings were heavily pockmarked by bullet holes and shrapnel. There were supposedly only 60,000 Koreans in Seoul,” recounted Front.26 LT William Brown on the way to the armistice talks in July 1951 described the city for The Proper Gander: “Seoul is a city of shambles; of shacks and broken buildings; of shattered window panes and shell-pocked masonry; of hungry civilians and soldiers in fatigues.”27 That was reaffirmed by PFC Front, the former West Virginia disc jockey.

“The U.S. Army engineers had gotten a roof on our facility, an old bus barn two miles from the radio station. Some Army signal guys were cannibalizing the remains of a room-sized 100 KW RCA [Radio Corporation of America] transmitter to build a 5 KW one. I was given a cot, typewriter, field desk and folding chair, and told to get to work,” recalled Front.28

Repromen enjoyed the Shiga Heights Hotel after skiing in the Japanese Alps.
Repromen enjoyed the Shiga Heights Hotel after skiing in the Japanese Alps.
Shiga Heights Hotel
Shiga Heights Hotel
The GHQ Honor Guard controlled access in and out of the Finance Building (GHQ Service Command) in Tokyo where 4th MRBC troops were billeted.
The GHQ Honor Guard controlled access to the GHQ Service Command in Tokyo.

Despite having another 4th MRBC detachment at Radio Pusan, there was no interface with Radio Seoul. “LT Glowacki was sent to get Radio Seoul on the air,” said PFC Sig Front. “He was involved in hiring station staff, engineers, announcers, and arranging entertainment. I was told to collect the news, write it up, get it translated, and program the daily broadcasts. We got ‘on the air’ the evening of 9 December, but could only broadcast to North and South Korea three hours a day.”29 Life was quite different for the rest of the 4th MRBC back in Tokyo.

The 4th MRBC orderly room was in the Finance Building according to PFC Stevens, the unit clerk. By December 1951, “Ganders” could make three-minute short wave radio-telephone calls home via MARS (Military Auxiliary Radio System).30 Stevens provided the orderly room telephone number (Tokyo 57-8692) so that his family could assemble in Pittsburg, KS, to make their call.31 Typical for soldiers there was a little bitching: “The weather has been too good. If it rains we don’t have to get up at 5:30 for PT [physical training]. But, it hasn’t rained a single day this week. We can see Mt. Fuji from the rooftop of the Finance Building on a clear day,” wrote CPL Broderick, a 3rd Repro man detailed as a script writer.32 Duty for most 4th MRBC soldiers continued to be very good in Tokyo.

“We certainly don’t miss a chance to go anyplace. Our main concerns are how to get out of training and inspections and what to do on weekends,” said Stevens in January 1952.33 He and some friends had just returned from a three-day pass at the Atami Hot Springs Hotel with its golf course, “run by Special Services so it is very cheap. It costs $1 a day per person for a room and the meals are free. The food was very good and service wonderful. The trip including train fare [$1.50] was about $2.50 a piece.”34 In Seoul, PFC Sig Front established a news collection “beat,” augmenting it with visits to front line units.

The Tae Wha Hospital supporting refugees in Seoul was overwhelmed, understaffed, and had few medical supplies until UNCACK took it under wing.
The Tae Wha Hospital supporting refugees in Seoul was overwhelmed, understaffed, and had few medical supplies until UNCACK took it under wing.
CPL Sig Front enlisted 1st RB&L in Tokyo to support orphanages in Seoul.
CPL Sig Front enlisted 1st RB&L in Tokyo to support orphanages in Seoul.

“The international press corps of fifty or sixty correspondents was billeted in a large Japanese-style house. The mayor’s office in Seoul was at one end of the main stem; the capital building was on the other. The Eighth Army [EUSA] PIO [Public Information Officer], Colonel Herman Smith, the future mayor of Ponca City, Oklahoma, took me ‘under his wing,’ and suggested that I tell the folks back home about the destruction in Seoul. I made three large reel tape recordings as I discovered how bad conditions were in the orphanages, especially for infants. The majority of them had no food or medicine for children that ranged in age from six months to four years,” remembered Front.35 The young Psywarrior had been motivated by his visits to the AAA Orphan’s Hospital and the Samae Orphanage and the work being done by the Seoul UN Civil Assistance Command, Korea (UNCACK) team.36

“I sent a TELEX [radio telegram] to Tokyo asking the 1st RB&L to solicit donations. SGT Roberts accomplished miracles on the black market with the first hundred dollars provided. Thus, the ‘Ganders’ became an orphanage sponsor. The Associated Press [AP] correspondent, Bill [William C.] Barnard wrote a story about the orphanage and included photos of SGT Roberts and me. It got nationwide coverage on 24 December 1951, making the front page of my hometown newspaper. “I was a celebrity for a day,” chuckled Front.37

1LT Robert B. Shall, Radio Seoul, and CPT Frederick P. Laffey, 4th MRBC Radio Manager, pose with the KBS station mascot.
1LT Robert B. Shall, Radio Seoul, and CPT Frederick P. Laffey, 4th MRBC Radio Manager, pose with the KBS station mascot.
The address given by General James A. Van Fleet, the EUSA commander, celebrating Korean Independence Day (1 March 1919), was recorded by CPL Sig Front’s “Tape Team.”
The address given by General James A. Van Fleet, the EUSA commander, celebrating Korean Independence Day (1 March 1919), was recorded by CPL Sig Front’s “Tape Team.”

“The head of BBC [British Broadcasting Corporation] in Korea, George Marshon, asked me if Radio Seoul could broadcast to Tokyo,” explained Front. “He had five minutes of airtime to fill before the King gave his holiday greeting from Buckingham Palace. Our primary news broadcaster, Choi Sung Ju, rounded up fourteen ten and eleven year-old children to sing Christmas carols. After they sang an ancient folk song, ‘Arirang,’ they did ‘Silent Night’ in Korean. Then, Mr. Marshon wished everyone a ‘Merry Christmas from the British Forces in Korea.’ Seventeen seconds later, Australia received the broadcast and relayed it on to San Francisco where it was routed through New York to London on time.”38 Just as 2LT Eddie Deerfield at Radio Pusan “won the hearts and minds” of the KBS staff by convincing the UNCACK hospital doctors to admit a seriously-ill seven year-old Korean girl in “the true spirit of Christmas,” so Psywarrior Front had done in Seoul.39 But, recording interviews using 1950s technology was a “crap shoot.”

“Choi Sung Ju deserves full credit for the ‘Tape Team’ idea. He spoke good English and was a top newscaster before the war,” related Front. “We attached a shoulder strap to the bulky reel-to-reel tape recorder to carry it for live interviews. It was hand-cranked, tube technology which froze up in the cold weather. Sergeant Roberts found lighter fluid hand warmers used by hunters in the States. We stuck one inside the tape deck to warm it up before interviews. Some days, we discovered afterwards that our recordings were unintelligible.”40 “Local voices” made the special events in Korea more appealing to the people.41 This was the primary function of the American program staff (two 4th MRBC enlisted men). Because Seoul was a source of pride to most Koreans, what was happening in the city since the evacuations and liberations “to and fro” was of considerable influence. Tape recordings of the “local goings-on” were aired nightly over VUNC in Tokyo and called the “SEOUL REPORT.” Most taped features dealt with UNCACK activities.42

“Since there were no movies and entertainment was limited, we recorded a well-known woman violinist and collected human interest stories. We tried to ‘put life back into the Korean society.’ — PFC Sigmund S. Front

“Since there were no movies and entertainment was limited, we recorded a well-known woman violinist and collected human interest stories. We tried to ‘put life back into the Korean society.’ We covered the reopening of the Poong Gook Biscuit factory [a staple for all Koreans] to the North Koreans. Highlighting the event showed that the South was not devastated by the war. Choi Sung Ju concentrated on the working people mechanics, factory workers, laborers, farmers, and street cleaners—to provide up-to-date, honest news,” Front said. “We sent four to five tapes a week to Tokyo. I didn’t find out until later that some of them were used by Voice of America.”43 A new program, “WOMEN IN THE NEWS,” consisting of interviews with women leaders in Seoul was prepared for weekly broadcast by Radio Pusan.44 Work filled the daylight hours.

1st Marine Division SSI
1st Marine Division SSI
1st ROK Marine Regiment lapel insignia and coin
1st ROK Marine Regiment lapel insignia and coin

“I got so busy that I forgot how really cold it was until I crawled, fully dressed into my sleeping bag. Field jackets were the extent of our winter gear,” related Front. “My time with the 1st Marine Division [MARDIV] and the 1st ROK Marine Regiment netted me some ‘Mickey Mouse’ boots, wool socks, a parka, sweater, and vest liner. Those items saved me from frost bite. I also got a No. 10 tin can of peanut butter and an impromptu introduction to SGT ‘Rocky,’ a 5’ 9” Jake LaMotta [the boxer] look alike, who had two Silver Stars, a Bronze Star, and three Purple Hearts. Having been given a cot in his bunker, he woke me at 4:30 A.M. by shooting a foot-long rat with a .45 automatic. Still zipped up in my sleeping bag I tumbled from the cot with a crash. Discovereing my company, ‘Rocky’ offered me cookies, Schrafft chocolates, and a cold beer.”45 Life in the field in Korea was tough; bathing was a luxury as were hot meals.

Having been given a cot in the dark, he woke me at 4:30 A.M. by shooting a foot-long rat with a .45 automatic. Still zipped up in my sleeping bag I tumbled from the cot with a crash. Discovering my company, ‘Rocky’ offered me cookies, Schrafft chocolates, and a cold beer.”45b — PFC Sigmund S. Front

“It was a real treat to have dinner with the press corps. I had not taken a shower for seven or eight weeks, but no one seemed to notice,” explained Front. “There were eight Americans at Radio Seoul for almost five months before the 4th MRBC main body and mobile radio broadcast equipment arrived. In the meantime 1LT Glowacki was feeding the forty Korean station workers and their families with local rice acquired by SGT Roberts on the black market.”46 Technical assistance, like that provided at Radio Pusan, often included food, potable water, fuel, tires and parts, as well as transportation for KBS personnel when deemed critical to broadcast operations. This was categorized as “aid in material goods.”47

The Radio Seoul team had four major tasks: (1) supervise and advise KBS personnel on the installation and operation of radio broadcast equipment; (2) take the lead for all programs aired over the network, not just Psywar; (3) promulgate FECOM and UN Command policy with ROK government and KBS officials; (4) sell Psywar by developing a close working relationship with the Koreans.48 This was initially done by one officer, a Korean DAC interpreter-translator, and two enlisted men in the Psywar program section. Tubes and replacement components for the 300 watt transmitter and power units to supply electricity were critical to broadcasting.49 Most of these requirements were coordinated by TELEX with the 1st RB&L staff in Tokyo.

Supporting the constant needs of independent radio broadcast detachments in Korea soon became burdensome for the Psywar group staff. Since the South Korean capital had been seized twice by the Communists and repatriated two times by UN forces in less than a year and bombed regularly while the enemy held the city, Radio Seoul was in the worst shape and needed the most help. The possibility that Seoul would again become the seat of government prompted the group S-3 Radio staff to augment them in order to retain the policy influence enjoyed in Pusan.50 It was time for the MRBC headquarters to assume support responsibility for its radio detachments at the KBS stations.

The remaining 4th MRBC personnel with the exception of broadcast script writers were being prepared to move to Korea. The company clerk, PFC Herb Stevens, got his second stripe on 29 January 1952, almost doubling his pay ($130.60 per month), and just in time to file federal income taxes. The daily routine had changed. “Now we are taking PT on the roof at 6:00 [A.M.] three mornings a week so I guess I’ll get more exercise. I don’t mind the PT but it sure is cold & early. I shouldn’t complain as it could be a lot worse,” lamented the new corporal.51 About two weeks later, CPL Stevens was in Korea.

The WWII troop ship USNS Marine Phoenix T-AP-195 was acquired from the Maritime Commission Reserve (“Mothball”) Fleet in Suisun Day, California by the U.S. Navy.
The WWII troop ship USNS Marine Phoenix T-AP-195 was acquired from the Maritime Commission Reserve (“Mothball”) Fleet in Suisun Day, California by the U.S. Navy. Operating out of San Francisco and Seattle, the Marine Phoenix carried troops and supplies to Sasebo and Yokohama, Japan, and Pusan and In’chon, Korea during the war. The ship is pictured in Elliott Bay, Seattle, WA in the 1950s.

It was St. Valentine’s Day, 14 February 1952, when the 4th MRBC main body (personnel) led by 1LT Frank H. Preston, Jr., the company executive officer, and 1LT Richard M. White, the unit administrative officer, reached Seoul. They left Yokohama aboard a WWII troop ship, the USNS Marine Phoenix, for In’chon. There, they sat for six hours awaiting transportation to Seoul.52 1LT Glowacki had found a small compound that could be secured and arranged to lease the facilities with the Seoul Area Command.53 The mobile radio broadcasting systems with their antennas had arrived earlier. Two were stored in the gated, half-acre, walled-in complex. The third AN/MRT-5 unit had already been set up adjacent to the damaged Radio Seoul studio. It was being used for tape recording, live broadcasts, and master control work.54 Access to the “new 4th MRBC home,” originally a small truck and bus repair facility, was controlled by armed Korean gate guards reported CPL Stevens, the company clerk.55

The recent arrivals had some adjustments to make. Gone were “the good old days” in Occupied Japan. In a letter home CPL Herb Stevens wrote: “We don’t have running water here yet, but they’re working on it. We can go to the 8th Army Headquarters and take showers any time. The latrine is outside, but there’s an oil heater in it so it isn’t so bad. We have a regular mess hall and the food is very good.”56 A motor pool truck was available to take soldiers to the movies every night. “We are supposed to carry a loaded weapon after dark if we’re out running around, but I don’t intend to do much of that. The orderly room is on the second floor of Radio Seoul. We have a large room with plenty of windows. In fact it’s a nicer office than we had in Tokyo. We work 6½ - 7 days a week. Korean laborers do most of the dirty work, K.P., cleaning and janitor work, etc.,” added Stevens.57 Outside the compound, the city was still badly torn up, but the street cars were running and daily life continued. Since the closest battle lines were 35-40 miles away, CPL Herb Stevens assured his Aunt Mabel in Pittsburg, KS that “we’re not up here to fight but rather to broadcast propaganda.”58 Combat time in Korea had not been a priority for everyone in the MRBC.

Visiting officers of the 1st RB&L pose with 4th MRBC personnel following the official opening ceremony for Radio Taegu.
Visiting officers of the 1st RB&L pose with 4th MRBC personnel following the official opening ceremony for Radio Taegu: (Back L to R): 1LT Jack F. Brennan, CPT Robert A. Leadley, LTC Homer E. Shields, 1LT Jerry Stose, and 1LT Jack G. Morris; (Front L to R): 1LT Ray Guth, 1LT William J. Eilers, 2LT Eddie Deerfield, and 1LT Ernest H. Luick.

The administrative 1SG, a master sergeant and a WWII Italian campaign veteran, elected to stay in Tokyo because his tour ended in less than six months. CPL Stevens and the field first sergeant shared a room in Radio Seoul adjacent to the orderly room. The nominal MRBC commander, CPT Leadley, only visited Korea periodically. His primary duty as 1st RB&L S-3 Radio Officer took precedence. Radio Tokyo was the unit’s top priority. But, Leadley’s brother-in-law, PFC Jerry Swanson, another University of Nebraska grad, did come to Korea.59 Visits by 1st RB&L leadership were normally bi-monthly, overlapping two months to accrue combat pay for the senior Psywarriors.60

“Several officers from Tokyo including the Company Commander [CPT Leadley], Group Commander [LTC Homer Shields], and the CO at Riley [Commanding Officer, 1st RB&L Rear Detachment, CPT Victor U. Trevola], are here and of course stirring up things,” confided CPL Stevens in late February 1952.61 CPT Trevola stayed in Korea to inspect, test, and evaluate the mobile radio broadcast systems and antennas.62 The visit was part of a whirlwind command visit to the 4th MRBC sites in Seoul, Taegu, Taejon, and Pusan.

Koreans relax outside Radio Seoul.
Koreans relax outside Radio Seoul.
1SG Preston Owens and the company clerk, CPL Herbert A. Stevens, ran the 4th MRBC in Seoul.
1SG Preston Owens and the company clerk, CPL Herbert A. Stevens, ran the 4th MRBC in Seoul.
Cover of 1st RB&L Life and Times 1952.
Cover of 1st RB&L Life and Times 1952.

“They brought along a new 1SG as things haven’t been running according to Hoyle lately,” Stevens wrote.63 “The whole administrative set-up of the company and group is pretty badly fouled up, but that gives us something to think about and keeps our minds occupied. The 1SG [Owens] was going to straighten things out. But, he ran into complications and soon gave up,” explained the company clerk.64 By mid-March 1952, there were telephone lines connecting the four 4th MRBC sites and Stevens felt “a little nearer to civilization” talking with his buddies. Individual mess kits had been replaced by metal trays. The group had a photographer visiting to take pictures for a yearbook (1st RB&L Life and Times) scheduled for publication in June 1952.65

“We’re getting things fixed up here pretty good. We have a one-stall shower with hot & cold water. We all have air mattresses too. Between 2 houseboys I get my boots shined at least once a day, sometimes twice. Yesterday, one of them cleaned my carbine. The wife of one of the Korean workers here does the laundry for most of the fellows. It only costs about $2 a month or the equivalent in won,” CPL Stevens explained. “We now have teletype service from the orderly room in Seoul to Pusan and the Empire House in Tokyo.”66

Infantry 1LT Robert L. Darcy, the S-3 Radio Propaganda Officer, described the MRBC set-up in a “Circuit Tour” report: “The company, located in the northeast corner of the city, not far from the 1st L&L [Loudspeaker & Leaflet] Co [EUSA], is comprised of 45 men, about a dozen vehicles, a first-rate company mess, a private club, a half dozen houseboys, and three or four untouchable morale boosters. Radio Seoul operations has LT Don [2LT Donald E.] Smith, a pair of CPLs in Vic [Victor] Lee and Sig [Sigmund S.] Front, and the usual indispensable staff of translators, a typist, etc. Between broadcasting bomb warnings and making tape recordings, they manage to keep busy and do a fine job.”67

By the end of March 1952, 4th MRBC headquarters in Seoul and Radio Seoul had sixty-eight personnel; 3 officers, 36 enlisted men, a bilingual Korean DAC (Chief Interpreter and Translator), and 28 local workers (from a female stenographer to guards and KPs). Radio Pusan had forty-four personnel. The antenna riggers in the Repair & Services Section of the three MRB platoons had been spread among KBS radio stations with fewer assigned to the more developed sites: Pusan (1); Taegu (1); Taejon (4); and Seoul (3).68 1LT Darcy’s “keeping busy” comment was a misleading description of the frantic daily broadcast production at the stations.

  • Symbol displays on the South Korean cities of Seoul, Chungju, Taejon, Iri, Taegu, Mokpo, Kwang-ju and MasanRadio stations that shared air time.
  • Symbol displays on the South Korean cities of Seoul, Chungju, Taejon, Iri, Taegu, Mokpo, Kwang-ju and MasanStations that broadcasted Psywar.
  • Symbol displays on the South Korean cities of Wonju and Namwon.Radio stations under construction, or anticipated.
  • Symbol displays on the South Korean capital, Seoul.HQ 1st RB&L elements.
  • Symbol displays on the South Korean cities of Seoul and Pusan1st RB&L 5kw moble transmitter.
  • Symbol displays on the South Korean cities of Seoul, Taejon, Taegu, and Pusan1st RB&L technical detachment.
  • Symbol displays on the South Korean cities of Seoul and Pusan1st RB&L programming detachment.
  • Symbol displays on the South Korean city, PanmunjonSpecial news correspondent for the 1st RB&L covering the armistice talks.
  • Symbol displays on the South Korean cities of Seoul, Panmunjon, Wonju, Chungju, Taejon, Iri, Taegu, Mokpo, Namwon, Kwang-ju and MasanTown or city where a 1st RB&L detachment, radio station, or leased transmitter was located.
  • Symbol displays on the South Korean city, PusanHQ of the national radio network (Korean Broadcasting System) and the major Psywar studios in the country.
  • Symbol displays on the South Korean cities of Seoul, Taejon, Taegu, and Pusan4th MRBC sites.

While the 4th MRBC headquarters focused on everyday military administration, supply, and support for the four radio detachments, the daily “routine” in the radio stations, though somewhat established, was a hectic scramble to fill three broadcasting windows: 0600-0830 hours; 1130-1430 hours; and 1700-2315 hours. After scanning news teletypes, The Korea Times, USIS (United States Information Service, the overseas name for the United States Information Agency) daily news bulletins, and the U.S. Embassy press translations, typically three enlisted broadcast script writers typed (wrote) multiple assigned fifteen minute presentations, had them edited and approved by the station OIC, got them translated, assigned to Korean and Chinese announcers, briefed their announcer just before air time, and then got back to their associated writing assignments. There were no days off; they did this “routine” seven days a week.69

Kun Ha Kim, one of the bilingual translators who worked at Radio Pusan and Radio Seoul after the Armistice, was born in Seoul, but raised in North Korea. In August 1945, his family fled south when the Russians drove the Japanese military from Chung’gin. His family, living north of the Han River, were trapped between the fighting forces when the ROK Army blew up the bridges. They survived the North Korean and Chinese occupations of the capital. Kim, a high school graduate with a couple of years at the Seoul and Pusan Universities, was a welcome asset. Daily he translated the AP and United Press International (UPI) wire service news that came by teletype to the 4th MRBC-supported KBS stations.70 Daily programming tasks also included sending broadcast material to the 1st RB&L in Tokyo.

Interspersed among these broadcast writing duties at Radio Seoul was the requirement to courier four copies of The Korea Times and translations of Seoul KBS radio station broadcasts to Tokyo every day. This was their compilation of local activities/events or “local news budget” which could be used immediately in Tokyo or give sufficient information immediately useful in the overall situation. “While it is a good to keep the ‘budget’ within these limits, remember also that a good-size chunk of news going over the wire to Tokyo is fine eye-wash,” explained CPL John L. “Stod” Stoddard in the Radio Pusan SOP. (Standing Operating Procedures).71

“A weekly Progress Report had to be sent to Tokyo by teletype by Tuesday noon. Every Monday someone had to collect the weekly report from the UNCACK PIO. This roundup of the week’s news in and about South Korea stressing reconstruction, UN cooperation, and progress was recorded. That tape recording with three copies of the script had to be couriered to Tokyo to SGT [George K.] Menkart, S-3 Radio Section by Tuesday morning.”72

Seven to ten-day visits to 4th MRBC radio stations in Korea were made by group S-3 and S-2 officers to assess the viability of programs and to “show the flag” reminding the “forgotten company” that the command appreciated the fine work that the “creative” broadcast people and technical specialists were doing in Korea. Courtesy calls with the EUSA G-3 Psywar at Seoul University and the 1st L&L gave the officers a better understanding of the differences between tactical and strategic Psywar.73 LT Robert Darcy was fortunate to participate in the interrogation of a North Korean defector, but what he learned was somewhat unsettling.

The highlight of LT Darcy’s 1952 trip was “interrogating” a North Korean Army (NKA) security officer who defected at Panmunjom on 5 September. Darcy accompanied EUSA interrogation officer, LT Robert Greenman, to the “cage” (transient POW camp) at Yongdung-po. After two hours of listening to the questioning, Darcy was anxious to have the POW to tell “the people of Korea what he thought about the Communists.” Hawaiian-born, Korean (P’yongyang) raised, CPL Victor Lee taped his comments for possible use in a Psywar radio broadcast.74 But, often the best laid plans go awry.

The cooperative North Korean and Chinese Communist POWs readily agreed to tape-recorded radio broadcasts encouraging defections by their fellow comrades.
The cooperative North Korean and Chinese Communist POWs readily agreed to tape-recorded radio broadcasts encouraging defections by their fellow comrades.
1LT Calvin J. Sing (glasses) interviews a Chinese POW while SGT Sol S. Gamis records the session for future broadcast.
1LT Calvin J. Sing (glasses) interviews a Chinese POW while SGT Sol S. Gamis records the session for future broadcast.

The twenty-nine year old NKA defector, LT Lee Dong Yup, dispelled a few myths about the effectiveness of UN Psywar. While he admitted listening clandestinely to VUNC as well as other broadcasts from the South, LT Yup particularly enjoyed newscasts, but felt that the combat losses were vastly exaggerated. Surrender leaflets promising candy and cigarettes were laughed at by the soldiers. Yup thought that political propaganda was much more effective. Of the UN Psywar leaflets he had seen, he liked those best that contained stories of North Korean deserters with photos showing them being treated like heroes.75

After cross-checking other interrogations it became apparent that LT Yup deserted for personal reasons (untrusted by superiors and slow promotions) rather than for having seen the “light of freedom and democracy versus the dark world of Communism.” He was simply an opportunist. There was nothing to indicate that Psywar prompted his defection. However, the North Korean lieutenant did confirm that a special team had briefed his unit that the UN was using biological warfare against them. Bottles filled with dead insects were proof that germ warfare had been used. Yup did not believe it, but also admitted that he did not know how the war started until he got to Kaesong. LT Yup was insulted by his treatment as a “common POW.” He expected to be released in the South much like a civilian tired of a job, leaving to seek better employment elsewhere, according to Darcy.76 While the results were not what he anticipated, the Radio Propaganda officer returned to Tokyo more aware of the effectiveness of some strategic Psywar programs and products and recognized “value added” of the 4th MRBC headquarters in Korea.

With the company administration and support and the mobile radio broadcast systems in country, the 1st RB&L could more easily expand coverage to additional KBS stations. Because Radio Pusan was the best established, it remained the “mother station” for Korea, getting radio Psywar guidance direct from Tokyo. The MRBC provided administrative command and control and was responsible for shifting organic personnel and equipment assets where most needed to best accomplish KBS technical and program support. In March 1952, Radio Taegu had an eight man element while the newest station, Radio Taejon, had eleven personnel counting an antenna rigger team. Radio repair and parts were being provided to Radio Iri at Kwanju. After setting up an interim Radio Namwon to support of the ROK anti-guerrilla Operation RAT KILLER, the 4th MRBC detachment convinced the local government of its value, secured approval from the ROK Office of Public Information, Minister of Communications, and KBS, and prepared construction plans and specifications for a 50M won facility. And, the MRBC helped KBS identify capabilities and equipment needed expand facilities at Radio Kangnung, arranged transport of the new radio equipment, and coordinated with UNCACK to acquire and ship construction materials to expand the station.77 It was the MRBC headquarters in Korea that linked the radio stations together with teletype and telephones.78 Psywar radio reality in Korea was well-documented officially and by The Broadcaster, the 4th MRBC newsletter published weekly in Seoul beginning in early March 1952.79

The 1st RB&L Radio Operations Division report covering August 1951 through March 1952 “told it like it was.” Without U.S. Psywar assistance the KBS could not have transported or installed newly bought transmitter equipment made by Nippon Electric in Japan. First, FECOM G-2 Psywar, then 1st RB&L Radio Section, and then the 4th MRBC headquarters, through Army channels arranged to transport the equipment to Korea by water, coordinated its unloading from ships in Pusan to freight cars, and scheduled its delivery to KBS sites for installation. 4th MRBC augmented KBS stations with its organic mobile radio broadcast equipment during the interim. Psywar radio technicians and repairmen supervised the installation of new equipment and then trained Korean engineers and radio specialists on its operation, broadcasting and tape recording techniques, preventive maintenance, safety, and repair. While these were cooperative ventures with KBS, it was understood and accepted that American Psywar soldiers were “in charge” at least until the Armistice was signed.80 4th MRBC Radio Officer lieutenants at the KBS stations, as best demonstrated by 2LT Eddie Deerfield, Radio Pusan, and his relationship with President Syngman Rhee, were the “tip of the strategic Psywar spear” in Korea, not the commanders or staff in Seoul and Tokyo.

ENDNOTES

  1. William F. Brown, II, interview by Dr. Charles H, Briscoe, 27 September 2010, USASOC History Office Classified Files, Fort Bragg, NC, hereafter cited by name and date. [return]
  2. Brown interview, 27 September 2010. [return]
  3. Retired LTC Eddie Deerfield, interview by Dr. Charles H. Briscoe, 16 September 2010, USASOC History Office Classified Files, Fort Bragg, NC, hereafter cited by name and date; “Operations Shuffle Changes S-3 Set-up,” The Proper Gander, Vol. 1, No. 16, 18 August 1951, 1, 1st Radio Broadcasting & Leaflet Group, Tokyo, Japan, Charles R. Broderick Collection, USASOC History Office Classified Files, Fort Bragg, NC, hereafter cited as The Proper Gander with date and collection; Field Artillery 2LT William F. Brown II was made the Group S-2 (Intelligence) by LTC Homer A. Shields shortly after his arrival. He was forthwith dispatched to the Pentagon to be briefed on Yugoslavia. When he returned the Princeton graduate and former Look magazine writer joined a group preparing Psywar classes and developing Programs of Instruction (POI) for the officer and enlisted Psychological Warfare Courses at the Army General School, Fort Riley. He was attending the Psywar Unit Officer Course No. 1 when drafted for the 1st RB&L Advance Echelon (ADVON) to Japan. Brown interview, 27 October 2010;On 19 October 1951, the 4th MRBC Radio Section supporting the Far East Command (FECOM), G-2 Psywar Section was praised by MSC LTC Thomas O. Mathews, for “the quality of programming, script content, and style.” U.S. Army, General Headquarters (GHQ), Far East Command, Psychological Warfare Section memorandum, SUBJECT: Commendation for 4th Mobile Radio Broadcasting Company dated 19 October 1951. [return]
  4. Deerfield interview, 16 September 2010; “Operations Shuffle Changes S-3 Set-up,” The Proper Gander, Vol. 1, No. 16, 18 August 1951, 1, Broderick Collection; Brown interview, 27 October 2010. [return]
  5. Army Field Forces. Table of Distribution (T/D) 250-1202, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, Radio Broadcasting and Leaflet Group dated 18 July 1950, Robert L. Darcy Collection, U.S. Army Heritage & Education Center, Carlisle, PA, hereafter cited as T/D 250-1202, Darcy Collection. [return]
  6. Deerfield interview, 16 September 2010; “Operations Shuffle Changes S-3 Set-up,” The Proper Gander, Vol. 1, No. 16, 18 August 1951, 1, Broderick Collection. [return]
  7. “Tokyo-Korea Traffic Heavy With Groupers: Radio Ops Keep Men Between Japan-Korea,” The Proper Gander, 1:27 (8 November 1951), 1, Broderick Collection. [return]
  8. Deerfield interview, 16 September 2010; “Nelson, Brembeck Invade Radio Pusan,” The Proper Gander, Vol. 1, No. 16, 1, 18 August 1951, 2 and “Don’t Get Blinded! Mickelsen, Sing, Wearing Silver Bars,” The Proper Gander, Vol. 1, No. 22, 4 October 1951, 1, Broderick Collection; Thomas M. Klein, Robert J. Herguth, and Robert McConaughey, Psychological Warfare in Korea: 1952 Life and Times in the First Radio Broadcasting and Leaflet Group…50 Years Later 2002 (Round Hill, GA: Round Hill Productions, 2002), 148, hereafter cited as Life & Times 2002. [return]
  9. Deerfield interview, 16 September 2010; “Nelson, Brembeck Invade Radio Pusan,” The Proper Gander, Vol. 1, No. 16, 1, 18 August 1951, 2 and “Don’t Get Blinded! Mickelsen, Sing, Wearing Silver Bars,” The Proper Gander, Vol. 1, No. 22, 4 October 1951, 1, Broderick Collection. [return]
  10. Life & Times 2002, 167. [return]
  11. SB, “New Weapons, Complementing Bombs and Bullets Go Forth to Wage A War With Words,” GHQ Headquarters and Service Command’s Weekly Publication, The Reporter, Vol. 2, No. 28, 11 April 1952, 3, Broderick Collection. [return]
  12. HQ, U.S. Army Forces Far East Command, APO San Francisco 343. Table of Distribution Number 80-8239-2, 4th Mobile Radio Broadcasting Company, 1st Radio Broadcasting and Leaflet Group, 8239th Army Unit, APO 301 dated 1 May 1953 in retired Major Nevin F. Price Collection, USASOC History Office Classified Files, Fort Bragg, NC, hereafter cited as Price Collection. [return]
  13. “Goslings See Frisco; Blue Pacific, On Trip,” The Proper Gander, Vol. 1, No. 24, 1, 2, 18 October 1951, Broderick Collection. [return]
  14. “Gigantic Battle in Hama Park; Beckwith Awarded Purple Gander,” The Proper Gander, Vol. 1, No. 23, 2, 19 September 1951, Broderick Collection. [return]
  15. Gary Thalheimer and Bill Sloyer, “Personal Remarks,” in Remembrances of the 1st RB&L Group: 57th Year Reunion, October 24, 2009, 26, 30, hereafter cited as 57th Year Reunion. [return]
  16. “The Gander Meanders: Big-City Life Offers Plenty to See and Do; Social Ganders Never Had it So Good,” The Proper Gander, Vol. 1, No. 23, 3, 19 September 1951, Broderick Collection. [return]
  17. Stevens letter (Tokyo) to Margaret and Mabel Stevens, 14 October 1951. [return]
  18. Jim McCrory, “Personal Remarks,” 57th Year Reunion, October 24, 2009, 33. While there were changes after General Douglas A. MacArthur’s relief, it was the end of the Occupation period on 28 April 1952 that terminated “the good life” in Tokyo for the Allied victors. [return]
  19. Stevens letter (Tokyo) to Margaret and Mabel Stevens, 28 October 1951; “79 Groupers Sign in Blood Drive,” The Proper Gander, Vol. 1, No. 25, 25 October, 1, Broderick Collection. [return]
  20. “’Psywar Story’ Stars 1st RB&L,” The Proper Gander, Vol. 1, No. 25, 3, 25 October 1951, Broderick Collection. [return]
  21. “Toda Transfers Camp Yokohama,” The Proper Gander, Vol. 1, No. 25, 19 September 1951, 1, Broderick Collection. [return]
  22. “Reserves Return to States; HQ Co Has New First Sergeant” and “Two Leave Group,” The Proper Gander, Vol. 1, No. 27, 1, 4, 8 November 1951, Broderick Collection. [return]
  23. Charles R. Broderick letter (Yokohama) to The Brodericks, Marion, Illinois, dated 5 January 1952 in Broderick Collection; “Personnel Changes Hit Group: Job Switches, Transfers, Keep Men Moving,” The Proper Gander, Vol. II, No. 2, 3, 17 January 1952, Broderick Collection. [return]
  24. Deerfield interview, 16 September 2010; “Operations Shuffle Changes S-3 Set-up,” The Proper Gander, 1:16 (18 August 1951), 1, Broderick Collection; 1st RB&L Group,Life and Times in the First Radio Broadcasting and Leaflet Group 1952 (Tokyo, 1952), hereafter cited as 1952 Life and Times; Broderick interview, 3 October 2010. CPL Broderick was tasked to write up local sports and entertainment events, like the “Powder Puff Football Game,” visiting jazz artists, and the ongoing combat in Korea based on Army teletype reports and POW interrogations which were classified SECRET. GHQ headquarters (Dai Ichi building) had a good library for regional research. [return]
  25. Sigmund S. Front, interview by Dr. Charles H. Briscoe, 2 June 2010, USASOC History Office Classified Files, Fort Bragg, NC, hereafter cited by name and date; Shortly before PFC Sig Front arrived at Radio Seoul in Korea, 2LT Robert B. Shall, the original advance party OIC, had returned to Japan. “Tokyo-Korea Traffic Heavy With Groupers: Radio Ops Keep Men Between Japan-Korea,” The Proper Gander, Vol. 1, No. 27,8 November 1951, 1, Broderick Collection. [return]
  26. Front interview, 2 June 2010. [return]
  27. LT William Brown, “History in the Making: Tales from South Korea,” The Proper Gander, Vol. 1, No. 16, 16 August 1951. [return]
  28. Front interviews, 2 and 3 June 2010; Sig Front, “Personal Remarks,” 57th Year Reunion, 13. [return]
  29. Front interview, 3 June 2010; Front, “Personal Remarks,” 57th Year Reunion,13. [return]
  30. Stevens letters (Tokyo) to Margaret and Mabel Stevens, 28 October 1951 and 2 December 1951. [return]
  31. Stevens letter (Tokyo) to Margaret and Mabel Stevens, 5 December 1951. [return]
  32. Broderick letter (Tokyo) to The Brodericks, Marion, Illinois, dated 18 October 1951, Broderick Collection; Anthony Severino and Larry Meyer. “Personal Remarks,” 57th Year Reunion,6, 20. [return]
  33. Stevens letter (Tokyo) to Margaret and Mabel Stevens, 27 December 1951. [return]
  34. Stevens letter (Tokyo) to Margaret and Mabel Stevens, 6 January 1952; Bob McCrory, “Personal Remarks,” 57th Year Reunion, 33. [return]
  35. Front interview, 3 June 2010. COL Thomas McNamara, the FECOM PIO, the former general manager of a radio station in Los Angeles, CA, helped CPL Sig Front publish several stories discovered by the Radio Seoul “Tape Team.” [return]
  36. UNCACK. Civil Assistance Team, Kyonggi Province, APO 59 letter, SUBJECT: Psychological Warfare Group Supports UNCACK Program, 2 April 1952 (This letter was signed by COL Charles R. Munske, the former CA team leader in P’yongyang, North Korea, from October-December 1950); 1st Radio Broadcasting & Leaflet Group, APO 500, Radio Operations Division. “Report on Psywar Radio Operations in conjunction with the Korean Broadcasting System August 1951 – March 1952,” USACOC History Office Classified Files, Fort Bragg, NC, hereafter referred as “Report of Psywar Radio Operations, August 1951-March 1952.” CPL Sig Front became the star of a UNCACK- sponsored film, the House Boy, made in Seoul in the spring of 1952. He played an American MP (military police) who helped a Korean house boy and his family. Front, “Personal Remarks,” 57th Year Reunion, 67. [return]
  37. Front interview, 3 June 2010; Front, “Personal Remarks,” in 57th Year Reunion, 13. [return]
  38. Front interview, 3 June 2010; Sig Front, “Personal Remarks,” in 57th Year Reunion, 13. [return]
  39. “Today’s Heroes: Korea Christmas Story,” Chicago Times, 10 December 1951; “Hospitalized Korean Girl Eats Solid Food Again,” Stars and Stripes Pacific, 14 December 1951, Deerfield Collection; Deerfield interview, 16 September 2010; Charles H. Briscoe, “Radio Pusan: Voice of South Korea,” Veritas, Vol. 7. No. 2, (2011). [return]
  40. Front interview, 3 June 2010. [return]
  41. “Ideas in Action,” Stars & Stripes (Tokyo) undated, James B. Haynes Collection, USASOC History Office Classified Files, Fort Bragg, NC. [return]
  42. “Report on Psywar Radio Operations, August 1951 – March 1952.” [return]
  43. Front interview, 3 June 2010; “Report on Psywar Radio Operations, 1951 – March 1952.” [return]
  44. “Report on Psywar Radio Operations, August 1951 – March 1952.” [return]
  45. Front interview, 3 June 2010; PFC Sig Front probably missed the 1st RB&L Group executive officer’s advice when he returned from Korea in late October 1951. MAJ William H. Buckley said, “Anyone making the trip in the future had better have ‘long-handles,’ two blankets, and a sleeping bag. It is definitely getting cold in Korea.” “Cramped, Cold and Weary Officers Return to City,” The Proper Gander, Vol. 1, No. 25, 1, 2, 25 October 1951, Broderick Collection. Who “Rocky” was cannot be determined. However, no Navy Cross or Silver Star was awarded to a U.S. Marine named Rockefeller during the Korean War. “Full Text Citations for Award of The Navy Cross to U.S. Marine Corps Personnel Korean War 1950-1953,” http://www.homeofheroes.com/members/02_NX/citations/05_Korea-nc/nc_08korea_usmc … Accessed 11/1/2011; “U.S. Marine Corps Awards of the Silver Star for Conspicuous Gallantry in Action During the Korean War,” http://www.homeofheroes.com/members/04_SS/3_Korea/indexes/index_USMC.html accessed 11/1/2011. [return]
  46. Front interview, 3 June 2010. [return]
  47. “Report of Psywar Radio Operations, August 1951-March 1952.” [return]
  48. “Report of Psywar Radio Operations, August 1951-March 1952.” [return]
  49. “Report of Psywar Radio Operations, August 1951-March 1952.” [return]
  50. “Report of Psywar Radio Operations, August 1951-March 1952.” [return]
  51. Stevens letter (Tokyo) to Margaret and Mabel Stevens, 30 January 1952. [return]
  52. Life & Times 2002, 189-191. [return]
  53. Stevens interview, 15 September 2010; “4th MRB Moves Company Headquarters to Seoul,” The Proper Gander, Vol. II, No. 5, 4, 1 March 1952, Broderick Collection; Marine Phoenix T-AP-195” at http://www.historycentral.com/Navy/ap/marine%20phoenix.html accessed 11/7/2011; “USNS Marine Phoenix (T-AP-195)” at http://www.navsource.org/archives/09/22/22195.htm accessed 11/7/2011. [return]
  54. “Report of Psywar Radio Operations, August 1951-March 1952.” [return]
  55. Stevens interview, 15 September 2010; “4th MRB Moves Company Headquarters to Seoul,” The Proper Gander, Vol. II, No. 5, 4, 1 March 1952, Broderick Collection. [return]
  56. Stevens letter to Mabel Stevens from Korea, 24 February 1952. [return]
  57. Stevens letter to Mabel Stevens from Korea, 24 February 1952. [return]
  58. Stevens letter to Mabel Stevens from Korea, 24 February 1952. [return]
  59. Stevens interview, 15 September 2010; Stevens letter (Tokyo) to Margaret and Mabel Stevens, 20 January 1952; Herb Stevens, “Personal Remarks,” 57th Year Reunion, 16. [return]
  60. Arnold Tepfer,interview by Dr. Charles H. Briscoe, 2 November 2010, Fort Bragg, NC, USASOC History Office Classified Files, Fort Bragg, NC. [return]
  61. Stevens letter (Seoul) to Margaret and Mabel Stevens, 29 February 1952; Stevens interview, 15 September 2010. [return]
  62. Stevens letter (Seoul) to Margaret and Mabel Stevens, 29 February 1952; Stevens interview, 15 September 2010; “’Brass’ on Tour of Korean Radio Plants,” The Proper Gander, Vol. II, No. 5, 4, 1 March 1952, Broderick Collection. [return]
  63. Stevens letter (Seoul) to Margaret and Mabel Stevens, 29 February 1952; Stevens interview, 15 September 2010. [return]
  64. Stevens letter (Seoul) to Margaret and Mabel Stevens, 13 March 1952. [return]
  65. Stevens letter (Seoul) to Margaret and Mabel Steven, 13 March 1952. [return]
  66. Stevens letter (Seoul) to Margaret and Mabel Stevens, 19 April 1952. [return]
  67. 1LT Robert L. Darcy, 1st Radio Broadcasting & Leaflet Group, Far East Command, “Circuit Tour” Report, September 1952, Box 2, Folder 6 and “U.N. Swaps Warnings and Bombs For Peace Table at Panmunjom,” Newsweek, 18 August 1952 in Box 2, Folder 10, Darcy Collection. [return]
  68. “Report of Psywar Radio Operations, August 1951-March 1952.” [return]
  69. John Stoddard, Radio Pusan S.O.P. undated, 4th Mobile Radio Broadcasting Company in Box 2, Folder 11, Darcy Collection. [return]
  70. Dr. Ken Kim, interview by Dr. Charles H. Briscoe, 11 August 2010, Fort Bragg, NC, USASOC History Office Classified Files, Fort Bragg, NC, hereafter cited by name and date. [return]
  71. Stoddard, Radio Pusan S.O.P. undated, 4th Mobile Radio Broadcasting Company in Box 2, Folder 11, Darcy Collection. [return]
  72. Stoddard, Radio Pusan S.O.P. undated, 4th Mobile Radio Broadcasting Company in Box 2, Folder 11 Darcy Collection. [return]
  73. Darcy, “Circuit Tour” Report, September 1952, Box 2, Folder 6, Darcy Collection. [return]
  74. Darcy,“Circuit Tour” Report, September 1952, Box 2, Folder 6, and “Psychological Warfare Interrogation of North Korean Security Officer Who Defected at Panmunjom, 5 September 1952,” Box 3, Folder 8, Darcy Collection. [return]
  75. Darcy, “Psychological Warfare Interrogation of North Korean Security Officer Who Defected at Panmunjom, 5 September 1952,” Box 3, Folder 8, Darcy Collection. [return]
  76. Darcy, “Psychological Warfare Interrogation of North Korean Security Officer Who Defected at Panmunjom, 5 September 1952,” Box 3, Folder 8,Darcy Collection. [return]
  77. “Report of Psywar Radio Operations, August 1951-March 1952.” [return]
  78. Stevens letter (Seoul) to Margaret and Mabel Stevens, 13 March 1952. [return]
  79. 4th MRBC, 1st RB&L Group, Seoul Korea, The Broadcaster, 8 April 1952, Herbert L. Stevens Collection, USASOC History Office Classified Files, Fort Bragg, NC. The 8 April 1952 Broadcaster announced that Radio Seoul began broadcasting on 6 April 1952. [return]
  80. “Report of Psywar Radio Operations, August 1951-March 1952.” [return]
  81. Front interview, 2 June 2010. [return]
  82. Front interview, 2 June 2010. [return]
  83. “Goslings See Frisco; Blue Pacific, On Trip,” The Proper Gander, Vol. 1, No. 22, 1, 4 October 1951, Broderick Collection. [return]
  84. Front interview, 2 June 2010. [return]
  85. Front interview, 2 June 2010. [return]
  86. Stevens interview, 15 September 2010;http://www.navsource.org/archives/09/22/22110.htm accessed 28 September 2010. [return]
  87. Robert L. Darcy, interviews by Dr. Charles H. Briscoe, 10 August 2010 and 10 September 2010, USASOC History Office Classified Files, Fort Bragg, NC, hereafter cited by name and date. [return]
  88. Darcy interviews, 10 August 2010 and 10 September 2010. [return]
  89. Darcy interviews, 10 August 2010 and 10 September 2010. [return]
  90. Darcy interviews, 10 August 2010 and 10 September 2010. [return]
  91. Kim interview, 11 August 2010; Fred Brown, “Local man recalls Korea,” Knoxville (TN) News Sentinel, 2 August 2010, A1, A9. [return]
  92. Kim interview, 11 August 2010. [return]
  93. Kim interview, 11 August 2010. [return]
  94. Kim interview, 11 August 2010; Life and Times 2002, 29; 2LT William C. Shepard had been the commanding officer of the 2nd Loudspeaker & Leaflet Company when the 1st RB&L was at Fort Riley, Kansas. “Old Friend Visits 1st,” The Proper Gander, Vol. II, No. 2, 17 January 1952, Broderick Collection. [return]