Military Veterans

Jimmy Ray Anderson was drafted into the Army December 2, 1952.  Jim first went to Ft. Leonard Wood, MO, for assignment to Camp Chaffee, Arkansas.  He left El Dorado on the “Doodle Bug” to Wichita, KS, then by train to Ft. Chaffee for basic training of six to eight weeks.  He took some tests which showed he had skills to qualify for radio school.  He went to radio school while at Ft. Chaffee and also was kept there guarding prisoners for awhile.  He was a rifleman in the Infantry, Company D, 120 Engineers, 45th Division.  

From there he was sent to Ft. Lewis in Seattle, WA in June.  He went by ship to Japan and on to Puson, Korea, in the Yanggu Valley Pass.  He arrived to fight on the front lines about two weeks before the cease-fire in June 1953.

Jim was kept there for 15 more months after the cease-fire to build fences along the demilitarized zone.  He left there in October 1954, on a plan to go back to Seattle.  The plane immediately started having engine problems, so they flew back, loaded on another plane, and headed for Seattle.  From there he flew to Colorado Springs, CO, for six to eight days; and from there, upon discharge on October 20, 1954, he took a train to El Dorado.

Jim told the story that after the cease-fire, the U. S. Army would bring in Korean entertainers to do shows for the troops.  One night the show was over and Jim offered to drive a jeep to take the entertainers home.  On the way, he became stuck in a rice paddy.  As they were working to get the jeep out, two South Koreans came along and started fighting and trying to kill the entertainers.  One was hit in the head with a shovel and severely injured before police finally came and took them all to jail, including Jim.  

About 10:00 a.m. the next day, the police told Jim he was lucky to be alive.  The two South Koreans were planning to kill everyone, then take the jeep and sell it on the black market.

Jimmy married Drucilla Jane Smith.  They had one daughter: Betty Jane.  They later divorced.  He married Alice Gooch.  They had one child:  Robin Rene.  They divorced.  He married Phyllis Irwin Choens.  She had two sons by a previous marriage, John and Joseph.

Jimmy is the son of John and Capitola Scobee Anderson of El Dorado, KS.

Corporal

Korean War