Interview Outline- Korean War

Introductory Information: Interviewers should state the following at the beginning of each interview:

Interviewee Background:

When & where were you born?
Where you grew up?
- What did your parents do for work?
- Do you remember growing up during the Depression?
Any early interest in the military?
- Do you remember Pearl Harbor?
- What was it like growing up during WW II?
- How closely did your parents follow the events in Europe? Pacific?
Please talk about being drafted/inducted into the service?
- Were you married at the time? Girlfriend?
- Your parents’ reaction?

Initial Service & Training:

Tell us about your boot camp/training experience(s).
- Do you remember your instructors?
- How thorough and effective was your training?
- What helped you cope with the experience?
What was your military specialty & special training you received?
Did you get leave before shipping to Korea?

Wartime Experiences:

When did you deploy to Korea, and how were you shipped overseas?
Do you remember arriving in theater, where you debarked, and what it was like?
- Initial impression of Korea? Visually, sounds & smells?
What was your unit of assignment? Your specific job/assignment/MOS?
Impressions of your first day on the line?
(Please include questions specific to veteran’s own experiences, developed after your pre-interview session)

Reflections:

The experience of COMBAT:
- Can you describe your emotions during your baptism of fire in combat?
- What motivated you to keep going, of doing your duty?
Are there any other memorable combat experiences we’ve not already covered?
Were you injured? When, Where & How of injury?
Were you awarded any medals or citations? If so, for what?
The toughest part about your service in Korea?
Impressions of the (segregated / integrated) military?
Did any Korean soldiers serve with your unit? If so, your impression of them?
Your impression of other UN forces you encountered?
Your impressions/thoughts about the enemy you faced?
Did you have an opportunity to see or work with Korean civilians?
- Work with an orphanage?
- Adopt (formally or informally) any Korean children?

Military Life: Ask questions about life in the service and/or at the front or under fire.

How did you stay in touch with your family?
What was the food like? What was your favorite C or K ration?
Did you have plenty of supplies?
What did you do when you/your unit was not in combat?
- Were there entertainers?
- What did you do when on leave? R & R?
Do you recall any particularly humorous or unusual event?
- What were some of the pranks that you or others would pull?
Were you on the point system? A rotation policy?
Describe your rotation home: When? How?
Can you describe your reunion with your family when you came back home?
Do you have photographs? Letters? Personal diary?

Life After Service: Appropriateness of questions will vary if the veteran had a military career.

Tell us a little about the friends you made while in the service.
Discuss your release from service, where it was, what you experienced, and what you were feeling?
What did you do in the days and weeks afterward?
Did you work or go back to school?
- Was your education supported by the G.I. Bill?
- What was your career/professions after the war?
Did you continue any of the relationships you formed while in the service?
- For how long?
- Did you join a veterans’ organization?
- Do you attend reunions?

Later Years and Closing:

Do you think your sacrifice during the war was justified? If so, why?
How did your experience change you / your outlook on life?
Did your military experience influence your thinking about life; about our current situation?
What do you think people today should know about what you went through? Or “What lessons could we today learn from your experiences?”
What advice or wisdom would you pass on to future generations?

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