David W. Finsel, Jr., Korean
and Viet Nam Veteran
David W. Finsel, Jr., Korean
and Viet Nam Veteran
For the next several weeks, I will be writing about a local farm boy who graduated from Columbian High School, graduated from OSU in chemistry and had a brilliant career with the U. S. Army. David Einsel, Jr. was just too young to be involved in World War II, but he saw extensive action in Korea and Vietnam. The following information is a brief condensation of his two volume typewritten story titled “From Farm to Major General”
The story begins in 1926 when David Einsel and Naomi Williams ( a 1925 graduate of Heidelberg College) were secretly married. The secret was necessary because Naomi wanted to keep her teaching job. David W. Jr. was born in 1928, Henry in 1930 and Willis in 1934. They grew up on a farm about three and a half miles north of Tiffin that had been in the Einsel family since 1829. That land grant farm still remains in the family. Their father, David, Sr., served overseas in World War I and passed through ten hospitals in France and two in the U.S. before Corporal Einsel was discharged in July, 1919.
David, Jr. graduated from Columbian in 1946. There he was actively involved with choir, debate and in various clubs, particularly the Spanish Club. Two of his best friends were Jim Speck and Jim Wolff, and “they pretty much managed to stay out of trouble.”
In September 1950, Dave graduated from OSU with a combined AB and MA in Chemistry. He had a part time job to help pay for his expenses the first two years, then he received a very nice chemistry scholarship and graduated cum laude.
In the summer of 1949, Dave attended the Chemical Corps ROTC Summer Camp at Edgewood, Maryland as a cadet. He later completed two more tours. He stayed with the Chemical Corps the remainder of his military career. On September 11, 1950, Dave began active duty at Camp Atterbury, Indiana. His pay as a 2nd Lt. was $212 a month. There he was assigned to B Co, 467 Chemical Mortar Battalion. Captain Tisdale from Williard, Ohio was the training and operation officer. Captain Tisdale and William Fahrenbruck tutored Dave in Masonry in the Tiffin Masonic Lodge and he eventually attained the 33rd Degree rank. Captain Tisdale and Dave often drove to their homes from camp in Dave’s first car, a 1950 V-8 Ford sedan.
In September 1951, he received orders to report to Fort Sill, Okalhoma for the Associate Basic Officer Course. Fort Sill was a green oasis in the dry sage brush desert area just south of Oklahoma City. Here he learned gun firing control procedures, surveying and how to operate artillery pieces.
Dave was assigned to B Battery, 553rd Artillery Battalion as the executive officer. Orders came to join a National Guard Artillery Battalion which was formed to go to Korea and assigned to X Corps Artillery. All of the equipment was carefully packed and sent by rail to San Francisco’s Oakland pier. The troops followed to the Oakland Army Base. Their troop ship, the USS Randall departed on November 15th, 1951 for Yokohama, Japan and after an overnight stay went on to Pusan, Korea. From Pusan the newly enlarged 145th F A Battalion went by LST’s to the east cost town of Wonsan.
Traveling the mountainous route inland to the middle of the Korean Peninsula in the snow and ice of November was an exceedingly difficult task. Switchbacks were common and the narrow road did not accommodate, except in a few wide places, any movement of vehicles going to Wonsan. The M-4 tractors of the 145th weighed 10 tons each. Some guns weighed around 14 tons. Jackknifing down the mountainside was common and some pieces were disabled.
The 120 mile trip inland took more than two days and Dave feels that he walked more than 50 miles of it. The C-rations ran out after the first day. They finally arrived at their position just north of Munsan-ni pass.
The next night Dave and Corporal Gamage were dispatched to set up an observation Post (OP) on Hill 940. So with their rolls of telephone lines, radio antenna and BC Scope, they struggled to the top of the hill that was later named Heartbreak Ridge. They dug in, filled some sand bags, moved logs and thought they had a good OP. Near daybreak, the mountainside erupted with heavy artillery and mortar fire. “The hill fairly lit up like a Fourth of July celebration, except parts of trees were flying by.” This was followed by small arms fire, machine gun fire and grenades. Their phone lines, radio and antennae were ruined. Hordes of Chinese, bugles blowing and yelling were intent in coming up Hill 940. They were stopped by friendly fire as Dave and Gamage were digging deeper in their foxhole.
In the morning, after struggling out of their OP, they passed bodies and parts of bodies strewn everywhere on the mountainside. The men in the S-3 Bunker were much surprised when they reported in. They thought they couldn’t have survived the night. They then were ordered to renew the OP. This time they were successful and were able to direct artillery fire where it was needed. Until March, 1952, it became a constant repetition of firing at targets. Dave’s duties rotated between the battery area, the observation post and flying in the battalion’s two planes as an aerial observer.
(To be continued next week.)
– Percy