John Machian
Omaha
1343rd Engineer Combat Battalion, U.S. Army
Served in Korea from 1953 to 1954.
Memory: “I was a radio operator, so I was reasonably safe from being shot. Just a matter of sending and receiving radio traffic all night or all day. (Morse code was in at that time.) Just a little nervous about where you walked. Any casualties were usually from stepping on a mine.
“I probably made the best friends I ever had, even though I’ve never seen them since. As far as coming home, there were no parades or celebrations. You simply came home, changed clothes and went looking for a job.”
