The purpose of this newsletter is to help bring together the veterans and families of the 143rd. It is free to all 143rd veterans and their families. I would prefer to send this via e-mail but would gladly mail it to those without e-mail access. This all started with a project for my Dad. From there it turned into a web site and now also a newsletter. As a former veteran myself I have always had a patriotic fire burning in my heart. With the state of our nation a lot more people are feeling that fire.

I plan on sending these newsletters out periodically to pass on and gain information. I have created a web site for the sole purpose of honoring the Korean War veterans of the 143rd. The address to the site is: https://143korea.tripod.com/index.html

Domenick F. LaRosa. He is the fella featured in the attached photos. He is holding the round in the center photo. His son would love to hear from anyone who remembers him. I would like to know who the other fellas by the gun are and what type of gun is pictured.

Lt. James A. Barber. I write regarding my father who served in Korea in 1952-1953. I believe he served with the 143rd Field Artillery Bn. based on a citation my Mom found recently. My dad was wounded in December 1953 near Mundung-Ni. I was wondering if you had a list of people serving in that unit during the Korean War or if you could recommend any source that could provide me with additional information. Thanks.

Sgt. Charles Bost. I'm trying to find anyone who may have served with my uncle in the Korean War. He was a medic assigned to the above mentioned unit, If anyone can help, your information will be appreciated. I can be reached at 61231@msn.com, thanks -Chuck Bost

Event: A surprise 70th Birthday party for my Dad, Ronald G. McCormick with his immediate family. We will honor his service during the Korean War with the presentation of the ROK Republic of Korea service medal. A display board with all his medals and ribbons will be presented as well. If you are interested in sending Dad a note please send it through me.

"Bob Sherwood was a classmate of mine at OCS, he also was assigned to B Btry, 143rd FA Bn. He was a Forward Observer and an LT. He lives close to me and we get together periodically for dinner or something, I know he has sent you some info on Barber who also was from our class in OCS and assigned to B Btry. He is listed on that list of personnel from our Btry. Hope this answers your query, Sincerely, Geo

The information on Lt. James Barber came in and was passed on to his son. I hope that all inquiries to the web site can get a quick response like this. His OCS class photo can be found in the Picture gallery on the web site.

Thanks to all the assistance I have received from all of the 143rd veterans and their families. Our web site continues to grow and improve. Here is part of a recent e-mail received from the California Military Museum Librarian.

Ron: I have just spent the last couple of hours touring your site for the California Military Museum, I extracted much useful data that I will file for the museum and emailed your email to our webmaster, CSM Dan Sebby, the author of your division history. If he does not already have a connection, I recommended he establish one from our site to yours. I complemented your site in the guest book. It truly is a remarkable accomplishment, congratulations!!!

I have added a Time line to the web site that can be found in the History section. It was compiled from information I retrieved from the California Military Museum. If any of you vets would like to add significant dates to the time line please let me know. There also has been added a few more pages to the History section. One contains the ship newspaper for the USNS Gen. W.M. Black. She was a troop transport used to bring some of you back from Korea. Very interesting reading. If you have a copy of a similar paper from your voyage home please share it with me. Domenick LaRosa has also given me copies of his Dad's orders home from the 143rd in Korea to Camp Kilmor in NJ These are just the types of items that I am looking for to add to the web site. His Orders provided me with several more names of 143rd veterans from all 5 Batteries. On the members list I have added a page for 143rd vets who have passed on. Pass on to me please, the names of any of your buddies who have passed on.

A suggestion came in from Don Lentz. If we could find someone that could identify the members of each gun section it would be easier for us to identify individuals in photos. I would like to make this easier if someone can help me reconstruct an Artillery Battery. Here is my version from past conversations.

The following list contains the 143rd vets or families that I have located to date. They all will receive this newsletter. With your help we can watch this list grow each month. If any of you have contact with any other 143rd vets or their families not listed please pass their information on to me. I will not share any addresses, phone numbers, or e-mail addresses of anyone without permission from that vet or their family. Please pass on my contact information.

B Battery - Arnold, William - Barber, James A. Lt WIA (to his son) - Beringer, Willard - Bost, Charles non-hostile casualty (to his brother) - Curran, Cornelius - DeCarlo, Joe - Foy, George Lt XO - Goheen, Mel - Haen, Al - Knight, Ray - LaRosa, Domenick F. (to his son) - Lentz, Don - McCormick, Ronald G. - Narveson, Leroy - Powell, Walter - Sherwood, Robert Lt. - Theros, Angelo.

From the shores of the South Pacific, To the rocky Korean hills, The fame of the 40th Division, Pride in our hearts instills. The artillery, the mortars, the engineers, the riflemen medics and tanks, all work together in peace or in war, with a union found rarely in ranks. The 40th is a fighting Division, Where ever may be the call, The boys to the left and the boys to the right, Know the Fireball's best of all.

I want to know about this Division newspaper "THE FIRE BALL." Do any of you have old copies of this? Please photo copy them if you do and send them to me. If postage is ever a problem please let me know. I am very interested in seeing the types of articles that graced the pages of such a prestigious paper.

For those of you who do not know there is a 40th ID Korean War Memorial at Vandenberg Air Force Base in Central California (formerly Camp Cooke). The Base Public Affairs offers free tours of Vandenberg Air Force Base Wednesdays at 10 a.m., mission permitting. The tour lasts about two hours. Reservations are required. The tour includes stops at the Korean War memorial. For reservations call (805) 606-3595. At the 40th ID memorial you can purchase a stone with you name and unit on it to be placed around the monument. I have attached pictures of these stones. I believe they run about $100.00.

One last thing before I sign off. I was told that when you went to church the infantry would say "Watch out, here come Baker Breaker The 143 Undertakers." Any of you vets care to comment on this? Sounds like there is a story here.

Holliday Greetings to you all. As we, the veterans and families of the 143rd, gather together to celebrate the Christmas Season I trust that you remember the reason for the season. As you exchange gifts and visit family remember the greatest gift of all, Jesus Christ. His love is free to us all. No matter where you stand on the issue Christ will always be a part of Christmas. For those of you that do not know Christ, do not be offended. It is the Christmas season, and it is a time for joy and family. Please enjoy your time with family and friends.

In 1951, I was stationed in Japan in the United States Army. It was early November. On a Sunday afternoon, as several of my fellow soldiers and I were thinking about the coming holiday, our morale was very low. This would be our second Christmas away from home.

We were all ready when the big day arrived. Finally, the orphanage drove up to the service club. This would be a new chapter in these children's lives. Japanese people are Buddhist and didn't know about Christian ways.

The plan was to have each soldier take a child's hand and march around the hall while music was being played. About this time, the children were catching on and loving it. But the best was yet to come On the last round of the hall, Santa stopped at the Christmas tree and gave each child a stocking filled with candy and small toys.

Want another surprise? Yes! The service club women brought out chocolate ice cream, cake and milk. We soldiers again took a child and proceeded to help these little ones to eat these new and delicious treats.

It was a good thing there was a plentiful supply of napkins because wiping noses and chocolate ice cream from their faces kept us busy. But this was our day, and we were enjoying every second of it.

All good things must come to an end. I hate goodbyes, and so did these children. When the women from the orphanage said it was time for (sayonora), they cried. Some tried to hide. Some just got on the bus. The others were carried. When roll call was called and all were present, the bus door closed, and the bus slowly drove away.

Yes, we had our Christmas with the excitement of children and all the goodies that went with it. This was the best present we could get. It helped ease the pain and loneliness of being away from the ones we loved at Christmas.

My Father, who some of you know, will be flying to Florida for two weeks. My brother and I who live in Florida are doing this for a gift for my folks. Our plans to go north for the Holidays changed due to my broken back. My Dad will see these newsletters and the web site for the first time. I have made arrangements with the local National Guard Captain and the Korean War Veterans Chapter to have an impromptu presentation of the ROK Service Medal at the local Armory. With his new medal I will present him with a display board I made from an Ike jacket and a little imagination. I will take pictures and post them on the site.

New pages update. On the Members list page a link to a page in memory of 143rd Korean War vets who have since passed on was added. Please e-mail, write, or phone me with any names that need to be added to the list. A series of poems written by M/SGT W. E. Newman, SGT/MAJ, 143rd FA Bn during the New Guinea campaign of WWII can be found on the War stories page. I’ve also added about 270 photos from my Dad’s collection to the Pictures page. I hope you enjoy viewing them. Those of you with no access to the Internet might consider your local library. Most have computers and will help you log on and view the site.

Happy New Year to all of you. We had a wonderful Holiday season and I trust that you did as well. My Father, "Grumpy" to his Grandchildren, and rightfully so, had a good time here in Florida. Pictures of his display board, his citation, and a letter from CPT. Preston, the current Battery Commander of B/143rd Field Artillery, can be found on the web site in the Picture Gallery under the title Dad's medals and ribbons. I would like to thank my Mom, Dad’s Army buddies, and the other former and current members of the 40th Infantry Division for your assistance in completing this project. Here are a couple pictures of the display board and my Dad.

If any of you would like one of the citations I created for yourself please let me know. I would be glad to print one with your name on it. They are suitable for framing. I am also working up a diagram on the material needed to make the display board (shadow box) I made for my Dad. If anyone is interested in making a similar display board I can provide a basic diagram and list of materials. It can be a great way for family members to be reminded of the service of their loved ones. I created my Dad’s for his grandchildren as well as for him.

Thanks to Robert Sherwood for more pictures of the late Lt. James Barber. The pictures will be forwarded to his son Chris. Chris has sent me a copy of his Fathers General Order issuing him the Purple Heart. Lt. Barber served as a Recon & Survey Officer for Charlie Battery, a Forward Observer for Alpha Battery, and an Air Observer for Battalion Headquarters. He received his Purple Heart while a Forward Observer for Alpha Battery.

I am looking for anyone who lives in the College Park, Maryland area that can help me retrieve some record’s. The National Archives at College Park has on file Command Reports filed by the 143rd Field Artillery Battalion Commander to the 40th Infantry Division. The reports cover Camp Cooke, Japan, Korea, and back to the states. For me to order them through the mail I am looking at over a thousand dollars. That pays for their time and assistance at 50 cents a copy plus a $10.00 handling charge. If someone were to go there they could make copies for 15 cents a copy. Please let me know if you reside in this area and would be willing to look into getting these records for me. I will pay for the copies and the shipping to Florida. I would like the information for the web site.

After navigating this web site it is easy to see that the job you did was not an easy one. I want to thank you for being soldiers and doing a job that was surely difficult. You may not know it, but your service continues even today. It continues because many of the pictures on the web site now are on display in the armory that B/143 FA occupies. Our current soldiers now see the faces of the men of the battalion that answered the call and served in combat in Korea. These pictures are real life examples of what our job as National Guardsmen is all about. Your example as shown by these pictures has given current soldiers an immeasurable sense of unit pride and a new standard to live up to. A high standard indeed.

The next few newsletters will every other month as I am preparing to take my Residential Contractors test and working on building a new home. I am not sure which one is more challenging. They both have their moments.

Cornelius was a friend to my Dad and many of you. His service to our country will not be forgotten. If any of you care to share something special about Cornelius I will be setting up a memorial page in his honor on the web site. Since I did not know him I will need some help from some of you.

Cornelius "Irish" Curran, Thurman, Kinsey, and Berringer at the top of Mt Fuji. The guys are plenty cold as they forgot their field jackets. The lesson learned is to never climb a 12,395 foot mountain without your field jacket.

Thanks to Willard Berringer we have added another B Battery vet to our ranks. Jim Craft contacted me via e-mail while he and Willard enjoyed sunny Hot Springs, Arkansas. I do appreciate it when any of you that receive this newsletter share it with other 143rd vets. Feel free to pass on my e-mail and regular mail address to other 143rd vets.

Willard topped off my week with two photo albums from his tour to Korea and Japan. Many of those photos are already up on the web site for all to enjoy. They are in excellent condition and mostly hail from Leroy Naversons C-3 camera. I am looking forward to going through them. Willard was wise enough to label them with names, dates, and locations.

"HI Ron, A friend of mine here in the U.K. is, after many months of hard work, about to finish the restoration of a Dodge M37 truck. He knows that it was in Korea but any information on what units it was with are not available to him. I showed him your site, he's not on the net, and he thought the 143rd would be a great unit to have his truck represent. Do you have or do you know where he can obtain precise unit markings and color information from in order to finish his M37? Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. Best Wishes, Ken."

What an honor to have your unit memorialized across the pond. I have gathered some of the information this guy needs from my Dad's pics. If there is anything special he needs to know please let me know. I look forward to getting photos of the finished truck for your viewing.

Greetings from sunny Central Florida. The past few months have brought many names and photos to the web site. Since our last newsletter four former 143rd members and the daughter of a 143rd vet have contacted me. All of them had found the web site on the internet. This is what makes all the effort worth while.

Edwin R. Wong from California, a Guardsman who joined the 143rd before Korea sent me e-mail with congratulations on the wonderful website. Ed is in the 1950 photo 2nd row. I had an opportunity to call Ed and chat with him about his experiences with the 143rd. Ed stayed with the 143rd until Japan then he transferred to a unit in Korea.

Jim Stubchaer, another, who joined the 143rd before Korea, contacted me from California. Jim served with the 143rd from 1948 to 1951. He joined the National Guard (143d) in Santa Monica in 1948. Jim and I shared many e-mails and some of Jim’s photo’s are on the web site under "Your pictures" in the picture gallery. Jim and Ed both reside in California.

Bob Reiland, the third vet to contact me was enlisted when he joined the 143rd in 1948 as a T/Sgt in the FDC. In August of that year he was commissioned to 2nd Lt. as Battalion Survey Officer. In July of 1952 Bob returned home from Korea as the Assistant S-3 in Hq & Hq Battery. He left the 143rd as the Battalion Executive Officer in 1955. Bob resides in Florida not too far from me. Some of his photos are on the wed site in "Your pictures".

Frank Jacobs from Redondo Beach, Ca. was the latest vet to find the site. I had Frank’s name on the roster but did not have contact with him. He has a web site at http://www.f9j9.com/. Frank served with the 143rd from 1953 to 1954. He was assigned to the 143rd in Kumwha just as the Korean War ended and moved to Chorwon and remained there until the 40th returned to the states. His civilian career led him to the life of a Scientist/Engineer/Project Management in Flight Test for Polaris Missile, F-89, T-38, F-5, F-18, F-20, B-2, Cruise Missile, Advanced Weapons Delivery applications and mystery craft.

Lori Pumphrey the daughter of Richard Pumphrey contacted me seeking information about her fathers time with B Battery 143rd FA. She has several pictures from Korea. She is trying to find anyone that might have known him or the men that are in the pictures. Her father passed away ten years ago and she is in need of any information. One photo shows a part of the ship the Marine Lynx.

The Marine Lynx was used to transport many troops back and forth from Korea. Some of the men from the 143rd sailed on her. There is a picture of Richard on the web site in the "Unit members" under "Searching for". Lori has a web site with pages to honor her father Richard Pumphrey. Please if you could contact her if you knew her father at e-mail: lori35@kp.org"

Some time ago I shared with you the display board I had made for my Dad. It was a project I enjoyed very much. Domenick LaRosa has made one for his Dad, Domenick F LaRosa, and I want to share it with you. These boards were made to honor our fathers and are equally important to the entire family.

If you have your medals and ribbons stored away in a box I would like to encourage you to share them with your children and grandchildren. I realize that every ones experience is different and displaying your medals and ribbons may not be what you want to do. However, if you do decide to make a display board and find that you do not have all the medals and ribbons you rate check out the "Links" page on the site. I have some links to web sites with great prices on replacement medals as well as a link to a sight that will show you the proper order to display them in. Replacement medals are available through the Government if you have plenty of time and patience. Links for this option are on the site as well.