581st Signal Co. on Hill 775 (1951)

Local Han River Truck Wash

The infrastructure of South Korea has been destroyed and all try their best to make a living. These enterprising young lads have discovered a way to make money for their families. They run a "car wash shop." This is the Han River that eventually runs through Seoul to the sea. For the price of 100 Won (Korean Dollars) they will wash your truck and trailer. That is 1.6 cents US. I always had them wash my truck whenever I came this way. I wanted to help out those who were trying to help themselves. We became good friends especially when they discovered I could speak Korean.

Whenever I went out into the native population I would speak only Korean so I could improve my grammar and increase my vocabulary. My favorite words were, "Ee go sun boi shim ni ka." That means, "What is this?" Korean has just 24 letters and they are always pronounced exactly the same. After 50 years I still remember my Korean.