Jerrie LeDoux, aide to U.S. Congressman Mike Johnson, visited Kinder this week to interview two of the town’s veterans to be included in the Veterans History Project (VHP).
In 2000, the United States Congress created VHP as part of the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. The program allows veterans to share their personal stories in a first-person narrative.
LeDoux interviewed both men for her boss who plans to include the interviews in the project.
The Kinder Courier was present at the interview for Charles Tippen, 92, who served in the Korean War.
LeDoux inquired about how Tippen joined the service, his involvement in the conflict and his thoughts on military life and his own personal life.
Tippen, who was born in Natchez, Texas, in 1929, lost his mother at three and his father at 15. He said he had a step mother, step brother, step sister and biological sister. He chose to enlist at 21 in the Korean War instead of being drafted. He did not want to be in the army, he said, so he chose to enlist in the navy in the summer of 1950. He enlisted in Houston, Texas, and then was sent to San Diego, California, for a six to eight week training course. When his group left to go to San Francisco, Tippen said he did not go with the men he had trained with due to a foot injury. He left approximately two to three weeks later for his destination in the navy.
From San Diego, he traveled to San Francisco and then to Treasure Island where he boarded a ship for Japan. He said training prepared the men to work as a group and not as an individual. On the boat to Japan, he said it felt like it took forever to get there. He said many people became seasick, so life was not easy. He added one couldn’t go outside due to the cold weather and rough seas, so they spent their time indoors on the ship.
Tippen said he was fortunate to get to use a top bunk. He said that was very important, because there was no one above you who might get sick on top of you. He said he had worked on a tanker when a family member got him a job. He traveled on the tanker to the East Coast and to New York. He remembers celebrating his 16th birthday on the tanker.
First he was assigned to a hospital ship working in the engine room. He said his job included making fresh water from salt water. He recalls he was in asbestos doing this job and says he is “very fortunate” he has no lung issues today. Then Tippen took a test to change his ranking and went to work on diesel engines. About a year later, he took the tests to become a salvage diver.
Tippen went to school in New Jersey. He said the dive suit was very heavy and when fully dressed, the suit weighed 200 pounds. However, in the water, it weighed a lot less. The helmet had to be screwed on to the suit for the diver.
His training included learning how to dive, welding under water, utilizing a cutting torch, etc. He said approximately 35 men started the program but only 25 completed it. He said some couldn’t do the job due to claustrophobia or unable to handle diving under the water.
Tippen recalls training in the New York Harbor. He said the bottom was mostly mud and that is where the famous diver’s quote, “Pull me up, I’m stuck in the mud,” originated.
After training, Tippen returned to California and then to Pearl Harbor before heading to northern Korea to perform his duties.
In North Korea, he said the icy conditions were unbearable. Tippen said there was about two feet of ice on top of the sea. They would have to break the ice with the ship. He recalls these two islands that were held by South Korea and wanted by North Korea. He said they would break the ice around the island to prevent them from crossing into their area.
Sometimes, he said divers had to dive to retrieve the ship’s anchor. He said the conditions were really bad. He added they kept bubble gum in their mouth when diving. Because of the cold water, he said the jaw muscles moved to the “tune of the temperature” – teeth chattering. He said the gum stopped someone from breaking all of their teeth off in their mouth.
In his interview, Tippen said he considered remaining in the service after the Korean War ended but he would not have been able to keep his rank so he retired. He returned to Texas and married and had two children. His second marriage is to his wife now – Verian. They reside in Kinder.
