Where Does My Family Fit?
Amanda Tegner
Before The War
My great great Uncle, William George Anderson, Fought in the Korean war. He did have a life before the war, though. He had a job before he was accepted into the army, but no one is sure exactly what it was. He was said to be single his whole life, but he had mentioned in some letters he wrote to his sister Lillian he would discuss finally being a free man. He tried to get into the army twice before he was accepted, because he had severe asthma. His asthma prevented him from being accepted the first time because he couldn't run very far or long.
The Korean War
William was finally accepted into the war on January 4, 1951. A few days later on January 6, 1951, "Pardon our French" closes at Broadway theater in NYC. He started in the his training on April 11, 1951. He started his training the same day Harry Truman, the president, fired Gen Douglass McArthur. He became part of the army/navy on June 26, 1654. During the ship rides over to Japan and Korea he would write letters to his family. In his letters he would discuss how much he misses his family, That he is still safe and alive, and he also would talk about how the war was. He always would end his letters with "xoxoxo please write when you can."
William's middle graduating certificate
He graduated the 15 of June 1945
Military and Chinese money
My great great uncle got these while he was in the war
Some of the many letters William would send home
War Souvenirs
During the war my uncle got many items from the places he visited. One of the items we still have today was The Golden Dragon. The Golden Dragon was a piece of cloth that had a golden dragon was sew on to it, Also he got a paper with it that stated he was welcome into the 'SILENT MYSTERIES' of the Far East and will be recognized as a TRUSTY DRAGON BLACK. Another big Thing that was given to him during the war was some Chinese and military money. The military money was about half the size of a dollar and their costs were in cents. The Chinese money was about a whole size bigger than the normal dollar and worked for 100 Yuan.
Photos taken during the war
The first photo of his and his mother. The rest are either from the war or from the ship
His gravestone
The letter his mother had received
This was one of the many letters that were sent to his mom after his death.
His Tragic Death
During a battle on October 3, 1951, William's remains were lost in battle. This was the day after the Netherlands first TV broadcast ever. His mom got a telegram a few days later informing her about the incident. The a few weeks later she received another telegram informing her the body was found and they would like to know if she wanted the remains shipped home. There was a lot of recognition for my uncle when he died. He was awarded a Purple Heart and was mentioned in the newspaper.