Herb White, Army, Korean War, one of 17 children
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Herb White
By Missy Klatt
Herb White of Menomonie credits God for his safe return from Korea. Herb grew up on a farm about five miles west of Menomonie. Herb grew up with seven sisters and five brothers. He said that there were 17 siblings but three died as babies and one of his brothers died when he was eight years old. Herb was one of the younger ones, being fourth from the bottom. His youngest sister just recently passed at the age of 90 and now Herb is the only sibling left alive.
He attended the Hudson Road school but didn’t pass the eighth grade so he worked at home on the farm. Herb is a self made man who has had a variety of jobs over the years and became quite successful. He even was on the Menomonie City council for five years and he was a Dunn County supervisor for seven years.
However one job that he didn’t ask for was a position in the United States Army when he was drafted during the Korean War. He served from December 12, 1950 until the fall of 1952. Herb did his basic training at Fort Knox, Kentucky. After basic he got to come home for a month before he made his way to Seattle where he had to wait for a ship to take him to Korea. Herb was a member of the 25th Infantry, 24th Reconnaissance.
Herb tells the story of how when he was young he wasn’t a very good boy and instead of helping his parents when their house burned down he took up smoking and drinking. He carried on this way until about three months before he was drafted when he met a girl, his future wife, Doris and he stopped smoking and drinking. While he was waiting in Seattle for the ship to take him to Korea, thinking he might get shot at or killed, he got down on his knees and asked the Lord to forgive him of his sins and come into his heart. Then he asked the Lord, “if all possible a sinner like me, could [you] watch over me when I’m over seas.” Herb goes on to say that he proved it three times.
Herb White
One time he heard a voice that said move ahead and he did. Where his legs were five minutes before, a mortar landed. The next time three of them were under heavy fire on their tank and there was a shallow wall near. His sergeant said lets get behind that wall. He disobeyed the sergeant and a bomb hit the wall. The third time was when Herb was out on patrol, guarding the tanks as usual as he was in the rifle division but that day he was told to go with the scout group instead. This particular day, the rifle division got pinned down. Herb quoted Romans 8:28 “all things work together for good, for those who love the Lord.”
Herb said before he was shipped out he was given a Bible by the Gideons and he started reading a couple of chapters a day when he had time. He reads the Bible everyday now.
At first Herb wasn’t sure if he was actually going to make it to Korea as he had such a bad case of sea sickness on the ride over. He said they left on Friday and by Monday morning they had to carry him out on the deck and the doctor sat with him till two o’clock that afternoon when he finally came to. After that he was feeling better and wanted to keep busy so he went downstairs and asked the cook if he could help him in the kitchen. He said he stirred the oatmeal with a big boat oar. Then he had to serve it – to 1500 men, one scoop at a time.
While in Korea, Herb spent most of his time on the front lines. One time a bullet went through Herb’s helmet and just missed his head and he got hit in the shoulder. He was in the hospital for almost two weeks in Korea. Herb comments, “they just put a band-aid on me and slapped me right back on the front line.” They told him the medic would take out the stitches. Herb goes on to say that he doesn’t remember if he every took them out but he does say that that spot has itched him all his life.
Another memory from Korea that Herb shared was one time they had a hole dug in the side of a hill where they could go in. “We had a fifty gallon tank in there, a barrel with five gallons of gas sitting in it. If you light it, it would burn all night. But you didn’t dares to move it.” He goes on to say that one time when it was cold he was able to sleep in a tent and he had a pop can full of gas and it would burn for an hour and heat up the area. However, one time he was going to move it from his feet up toward his front and it burned his clothes. He learned his lesson never to move a can of burning gasoline.
During his time in Korea he did get a chance to have some R & R (rest and relaxation) in Japan for five days but for him it wasn’t really that enjoyable.
When he got back from Korea he was sent to Texas to finish out his service. Unfortunately he didn’t let his folks know that he would soon be home and they sold the farm to his oldest brother. Herb laments “I could have had the farm if I told them I would be back in three months.”
When he got back from Korea he married Doris in the fall of 1952. While he was in Korea, Herb said that they wrote back and forth everyday. They were married for 60 years before she passed. Together they had one son, James who sadly died just before his 57th birthday. James and his wife had 12 children, four of whom are currently serving in the Marines. In 2013, Herb married Lucille and they were together for ten years before she passed.
In 2023 Herb was able to go on an Honor Flight to Washington, D. C. to see all the war memorials and monuments. He flew out of LaCrosse with a group of other veterans.