submitted by Mary Lou Walters
At the base of the Taconic Trail in Petersburgh there is a memorial to man who surely never saw the Taconic mountains. However, to John Parkinson, the man who lives at the home there, the memory of Robert E. Devins has been there since he moved in ten years ago. In fact, ever since John Parkinson, now 86, turned 21 Sergeant Devins has been a constant presence.
[private]A year ago, John made the memorial to Sergeant Devins, “He was the most squared up Marine that I ever saw. He was always sharp. We always said he was a post card Marine.” The memorial consists of a majestic maple tree that has mounted an American flag on one side, the Marine Corps flag on the other side and between them a beautiful wooden plaque that says:
“IN MEMORY OF SGT ROBERT E DEVINS USMC KOREA 11/27/50 W3/7 CHOSIN RESERVOIR”
The story that led to that memorial is a powerfully moving one and one that John asked to have shared before he moves to East Hollow next month.
John joined the Marine Corps in 1945 and in 1950 was in the Weapons Company, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines in the 1st Marine Division. In mid-October, they had been sent north on the Korean peninsula and had fought their way to the Manchurian border at the village of Yudam-ni. At that point, the Chinese intervened and crossed the border with six divisions. There was one division of Marines and one regiment of the U.S. Army. Our Americans were outnumbered 16,000 to 250,000.
There were high winds, snow to the men’s waists and the temperature was -30° to -60° F. “They hit us at 3 am on my birthday, November 27th, 1950,” John said. “We were a roadblock to [prevent] mechanized equipment [from coming down] but now there was no way out. There were ninety-six of us on that road and six came out. Bob got killed… (from bullet wound to his head)… and died in my and my buddy’s arms. We put him in a sleeping bag and laid him by the road, knowing graves registration would pick him up. We moved on, we had to. I never knew what happened to him for forty years.”
The fighting was fierce, and the weather was brutal. Men’s feet froze in their boots, and heels and toes came off when the boots were pried off. The frozen dead were stacked on truck beds and the armed wounded were put on top to fight through enemy roadblock ambushes. Meanwhile, those still standing walked and fought the seventy-eight miles back to the sea.
Once, John and another Marine brought a wounded marine into an aid station. There was a stove in there, and they paused to feel heat again. All around, there were wounded men on straw mats on the floor. John kept his right hand in his coat, and when one of the wounded asked why he did that John explained that he had lost his glove. The next question was if they had to go back (out and fight). John said, “Yes.” Then the wounded Marine said, “Then take this I won’t need it anymore,” and he handed John his right hand glove. As John reached for it he saw that the Marine did not have a right arm anymore.
They had little food and were often starving. Once John was down to his last can of K rations, his favorite was ham and lima beans. They came upon a running American Jeep with its hood blown off. John saw his opportunity for a hot meal. He cut into the frozen can with his K-Bar and stuck it on the engine. He turned away and when he turned back the jeep was driving away with the last of his food!
On Thanksgiving, a hot turkey dinner was brought in and every third man was allowed to get his food. After he ate the next man could go forward. When John’s turn came, he was asked where his mess kit was. John said he threw that out long ago – the kit was too noisy and there was no food anyway. So he talked the cook into putting the food in his helmet, and he ate his hot meal with his bare hands. He said later that they fought on that hill and there were so many turkey bones there that they named it Turkey Hill.
There were few men left as they, starving and in rags, straggled toward the sea. When they came down the last mountain and saw the ships, they found themselves falling into formation. Then, as they marched, they began singing the Marine Corps hymn. As they went by the final aid station a Navy Lieutenant stepped out of the tent and yelled “Look at those magnificent bastards. They made it.”
When they were loaded on the ships, their clothing was taken and burned and they were given navy clothes to wear. John saved and still has a holey, blood-stained shirt that his fellow Marines signed. They arrived in South Korean for a little rest before they went back to fight, and it was more chaos. A chaplain came around with written postcards saying, “I made it and am OK. I will write more later.” They quickly addressed those postcards to be sent home. John’s arrived Christmas eve in Jefferson, NY, on the last mail run at 5 pm. The Postmaster, Whitman B Nickels, made a special delivery in his old Model A to John’s family that evening.
After a rest, John returned to North Korea to fight again. At one point the tanks he was supposed to be defending came under fire by a Chinese 120 mortar hidden in the mountain above him. The front tank and back one were hit. John and other men were thrown back into the field behind them. As he came to John saw the glint of the barrel in the mountain. He sprinted to the tank that was still working and banged on the hatch until it was opened up. He convinced the tank commander that he knew the where the enemy gun was and that he needed to fire a white phosphorus burst to help him give the right coordinates. When the Tank Commander did that John was blown off the tank again. Then, despite others warning to stay put, John went back to the tank and gave the coordinates that took the gun out. He learned that he earned the silver star for his actions that day. John also said that he has worked hard to try to get a citation for Sergeant Devins but has been told that “that can only be done by an officer and there were none left.”
John Parkinson was wounded in his second tour in Korea and lost most of his teeth and his lower lip was nearly torn off. He was told by the corpsman that he was out of the war now and to go to the VA when he got home and he set for life. Instead, when John “Red” Parkinson heard that a Marine who had no field experience would be leading his men, he returned to the fight (bandaged up and without medical approval) for another three months. John is happy to see veterans allowed home after a few months in combat. He did not come home once for the full four years he was in on his second enlistment.
John survived, returned home and married. But the war never left him. With all the horror of the war that John endured, he was most haunted by leaving Sergeant Devins’ body behind. “I used to always ask ‘Why did we leave Bob behind?’ The Marines always take their dead. We took a lot [of men] but that night it was so confusing.”
His wife, Ginny, became a casualty as well. She was often awakened with John’s violence toward her as he fought Chinese in his sleep. She tried to understand and help him. She just said, “Oh John, it is okay now. Just go back to sleep, go back to sleep.” She would soothe him back to sleep and when he finally slept, she would tend to her wounds.
Each year on his birthday, John would walk to the top of the mountain on the farm and “just think about Bob and that night.” The kids would ask, “Where’s daddy, mommy?” And mom would say, “You know. He is up on the hill.”
John didn’t go to the VA for forty years. He never got treatment for his PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) and his significant war related injuries were left untreated. In 1995 he decided he could not put his wife through anymore. He said he “turned himself” into the Albany VA Medical Center and his healing slowly began. He learned he had PTSD. He had his broken teeth removed. He developed a cancer from having his flesh being frozen, and that was removed. He also took psychological counseling with Dr. Nozick and social worker Becky Friedman. With the tools he learned he now helps other veterans. He has done much to teach doctors about freeze injuries and other veterans how to advocate for themselves in the VA system.
But still Robert E. Devins weighs heavy on him. “Oh why did we leave him?” In 2004 when he was driving south he stopped at Devins’ hometown of Wilkes-Barre, PA. There he went through the phone book calling all the Devins. On his fifth call he spoke with Sergeant Devins’ brother. He, then at last, learned what had become of his buddy Bob. Bob’s body had stayed where it was left for five years. Korean civilians had covered it with stones. It was found in 1956 with the dog tags still intact. He was brought home and buried in the family plot in Oak Knoll Cemetery in Wilkes-Barre.
“I called the five other buddies and told them I found Bob, John said. “We were the six survivors, and we needed to [pay respects]. Within 48 hours, they had come from all over the United States. Together we went to his grave, and we placed a Chosin Reservoir Plaque there. Afterwards, the family invited us back to their home; they wanted to know how he died. We didn’t want to talk about it, but it was important to them so we told them how it happened. They forgave us for leaving him. It was so emotional. So with one day there, I was finally able to get closure after forty years.”
John did not want his story to be told in such depth. He only wanted Sergeant Devins honored. But he agreed to allow this to be printed in the hopes that it will let other veterans know that he would be honored to help them access VA services. John’s number is 518-658-2929.
He also deeply wants the Korean War acknowledged. To that end he is donating in honor of his friend to the Chosin Few Memorial that is being built in Quantico, Virginia. John said that often the Korean War is overlooked in memorial services. He does not see it as a worse war than others or the men who fought in the Marine Corps as more important. He honors and respects the warriors of other wars and their unique problems. And he is so appreciative of all branches of the services, without which South Korea could not have been liberated. He said, “Korea is said to be the forgotten war, but we will never forget it. We call it the Forgotten Victory.”[/private]