Carl Hughes' recollection of the 581st Signal Radio Relay Company - Page 6

With the Marines

When we hooked up with the Marines we proceeded north and they assisted a trapped Regiment of the Second Infantry and a Battalion of Turks. The commanding officer was Paul Abrams and he received an award for his defense against a superior Chinese force. It may have been the Twenty Third Regiment. As we passed through their line, the men gave us a big thumbs up; we didn't do anything, but they were just glad to see other Americans. It was night time and they were out of danger and they had the ever present fires to warm up and celebrate not being surrounded. The Marines were our longest assignment. We were with them about six months. There were other assignments which I don't remember too much about. There was a ROK unit and the First Calvary. Our last circuit was out of an old AT&T building on the road to Panmunjom.

I go Home

I think I rotated home after that circuit. Some of the team had been transferred to other units and the only original members left were Malloy, Bowes, Harris, Meisels, Nails and myself. About this time I went to another team or Bowes left and I was working for a Sgt. Harbach from the Minnesota area. I was a Corporal and he had put me in for Staff Sgt. About this time a Captain, I think, Rutherford came through on a "let's extend the mission" with promises to give you a one rank promotion. Well, Harbach was a character. He locked on to this statement and said "Really, I have put Hughes in at least once before and he is still a corporal." Rutherford's response was, "I'll find out about this and take care of it immediately." And he did. As I was leaving for home, the company clerk came running out of the First Sgt.'s tent and gave me a piece of paper and told me, "Don't lose this, it's your promotion." Now, perfectly timed, as the truck was about to leave, Captain Rutherford came out of the tent and jumped into the front seat of the truck. That was the last I saw of him.

Aboard Ship

I'm not sure where we boarded the troop ship to return home. I do remember that it was a two stacker and the name was The Marine Phoenix. That was rough trip. We encountered a storm that tossed that ship around like a ping pong ball. The bow would plough water and it would run down the deck from bow to stern. We would go into a passage way between the port and starboard sides and watch the water flow from the bow to stern. When we were inside the ship and the stern pitched up, the propeller would shake the whole ship. That was an eerie sensation. When the troop ship tied up at the pier in Fort Lewis, Washington state there was a military band that played the national anthem. It was emotional. We were home! I saw more than one grown man wiping his eyes.