Vets: U.N. must become involved

Among the people watching the tenuous situation developing with North Korea are Luzerne County Korean War veterans. Four of them told The Times Leader the threat is global and deserves a world response.

Almon Long, Neno Sartini, Bob Alper and Fred Searles said they can vividly recall their days in battle in the early 1950s. They said a second war with North Korea should not end like the first one. The veterans said if the U.S. gets involved, this time the job should be finished.

According to an Associated Press story, fears of military conflict have increased this week, particularly regarding disputed waters off the western coast, after North Korea conducted an apparent nuclear test on Monday and then renounced the armistice that has kept relative peace between the Koreas. It has held since the two sides fought to a standstill in the 1950-53 Korean War. The AP story said although the U.S. has a relatively small ground force of about 28,500 troops in South Korea, the key to American support in the event of a sudden invasion would be air and naval power.

The growing possibility of a confrontation with North Korea has Long, Alper, Sartini and Searles more than concerned.

Long, 79, of Larksville, is an Army veteran of the Korean War, having served with the 822nd Aviation Battalion, the 49th Bomber Wing, the 5th Air Force and the 8th Army. Long was a heavy vehicle driver from September of 1951 to September of 1952 while he was in Korea.

“We really didn’t win,” he said. “There was a cease-fire declared and the country remains divided today and they still want to kill us. Their military leaders were wicked people.”

Long said the persistent unrest in Korea makes him feel like his time there was wasted. “So many people gave their lives and North Korea appears to be a bigger threat now than they ever were,” he said. “They are threatening us and the entire world.”

Long says the United Nations has to get involved and there has to be a “world response” to North Korea’s actions.

“We can’t bring our dead soldiers back,” he said. “It’s going to take the entire world to stop them, whatever it takes.”

Searles, now 77, was held captive by the North Koreans for 33 months. The Kingston Township resident said most diplomats won’t agree with him, but he says the North Koreans have to be stopped. Searles says he knows how their minds work – he called them a “very cruel people.” He said it’s time for the U.S. and the world to show strength.

Searles said he hasn’t changed his opinion about North Korea in the 50-plus years since his imprisonment. He said he would favor going over there and “knocking the hell out of them.” He said North Korea is playing games with everyone’s lives.

Neno Sartini, 78, served with the 19th Communication Squadron of the 19th Bomb Group on Guam that provided bombardment over Korea. He said he hopes to see China join with the U.S. to seek a diplomatic end to the North Korean reign of terror.

“Nobody wants to get involved with nuclear war; nobody wins in that situation,” he said. “War is horrible.”

Bob Alper, 76, of Kingston, served in the Marine Corps during the Korean War. Alper said Luzerne County lost 141 soldiers in the Korean conflict out of more than 54,000 U.S. soldiers killed there. He said he remembers the chill of the winter winds and snows were bone chilling. He said American soldiers often couldn’t recognize the enemy.

“So many hopes and dreams were shattered there,” he said. “Most Americans really don’t know what happened there. Seeing buddies die made killing easy; five decades later I can still smell the stench of death.”

Alper is concerned about what is going on now, based largely on his experiences there. He is also concerned about Iraq and Afghanistan and U.S. soldiers in those countries.

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