With Occupation Force in Korea
Sioux City Corporal Welcomes Rest From Hazards of War
Cpl. John Herman Jelkren is taking a rest under the care of obsequious Japanese in Korea and counting the days until he and other members of the Seventh division will be shipped home for discharge.
The rest is well earned and the solicitude of the Japs for the happiness of their guests was taught to them the hard way, over a long period of time and under varying climatic conditions.
Cpl. Jelkren has been in the army more than four years, and has been overseas more than two years. At Attu, his division had the honor of recapturing the first bit of American soil held by the Japs.
Capture Jap Soil
And at Kwajalein in the Marshall Islands, the Seventh division, in Cooperation with the Fourth marines, won the first of the ground held by the Japs before Pearl Harbor. The Seventh began its fight against the Japs in May, 1943, when it hit the frozen beaches of Attu. The division went ashore on Kwajalein early in 1944 and completed the conquest within six days.
In the bloody battle for Leyte, the division made one of the initial landings; then encountered one of the crack divisions of the Japanese army. The Nips were eliminated.
The toughest fight of all for the Seventh division started last Easter Sunday when they landed on Okinawa in the face of everything the Japs could throw at them. One of the bloodiest battles of the war saw the Seventh division assault hill 178 for six days before taking this anchor position in the enemy defense line.
Different in Korea
Cpl. Jelkren and other fighting men of the division landed in Korea September 10, from the same little assault boat which had carried them ashore on other and more dangerous mission. He said in a recent letter to his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Iver Jelkren, 2200 Villa Avenue.
“This time, it was different. Not a shot was fired. The Jap officers and guards watched us with polite interest. The natives turned out to wave flags in our faces. Some of them had homemade American flags, which were painted on cloth.
“We are quartered in a large concrete building, which formerly was a hospital, and have all the facilities for comfortable living. Rumors are that we will be shipped home within the next 30 days.”
Source: The Sioux City Journal, September 30, 1945 (photo included)
