Purple Heart in the Korean War from 7th Infantry Division Infantryman Joseph Mills Wise

Combat Story

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Join our weekly Combat Check-In Newsletter (www.combatstory.com/newsletter) to get a short email from Ryan for people who love and support our veterans, service members, and their families. It has info on a significant event in military and/or intel history, a funny military joke, an update on a current event I'm following, something I'm doing that week in my life, a book I'm reading, a look at an upcoming interview, a reflection on a past episode and more! ======= Today we hear our first combat story from a Korean War veteran, Joseph Mills Wise. Joe was injured while in the front lines in 1951 as an infantryman engaged in fighting that, to this day (and understandably), has not left him.

When Joe was medevaced out of the combat zone he also had frostbite in both feet. He was able to recover only to be sent back to Korea.

While this fighting took place 70 years ago, it’s amazing how so many parts of the veteran experience don’t change from getting letters from your wife, to sneaking off base in the trunk of a car, to freezing outside in the cold, to humping a massive radio and weapon, and so much more.

Joe is part of the silent generation of warriors who, for the majority of his life, did not share these moments of horror with his family and, instead, kept the bottled inside.

At 94 years old, he agreed to sit down and share these with us. His wife, Joice, was in the room for our interview and experienced Joe’s war through letters and telegrams and then, like many military spouses, was the one who supported Joe through the years of nightmares and pain that come with seeing combat firsthand.

This was an honor for me and reminder of this war that came so close on the heels of WWII but with a very different experience for those who fought in it (the war was not even recognized as a war for years). With that, please enjoy this bit of history from someone who lived it.

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Show Notes: 00:00 - Intro 00:55 - Guest Introduction (Joseph Mills Wise) 02:33 - Interview begins 02:49 - Surviving Pearl Harbor 11:19 - Joining the Military 14:52 - WWII 16:12 - Being drafted 19:19 - Not dodging the Draft 19:51 - 4Patriots 21:11 - Atmosphere around the Korean War 24:30 - Sneaking out 27:24 - Getting from the States to Korea 34:56 - Being in Korea 36:30 - Meeting the unit for the first time 39:09 - On the front lines 47:10 - Contact with the enemy 48:33 - Passing time 50:18 - Moving in formation 52:35 - A tough operation 58:56 - Wounded in battle 01:04:01 - Letters to Joice 01:10:38 - Food on the battlefield 01:13:19 - Courageous act 01:15:07 - Hardest personal challenge 01:16:13 - Korean War Memorial 01:18:04 - "The Forgotten War" 01:19:08 - 9/11 01:20:43 - Sentimental items 01:23:15 - Joe and Joice