1950 Christmas gift wasn’t exactly what Guard member wanted

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In December 1950, Williamsport resident Norman Probst got coal in his stocking for Christmas.

That was when Probst, a member of the National Guard, learned that he and his unit were being placed on active duty and sent to Korea.

"That was my Christmas present," Probst said. "We were all surprised."

It was peace time when Probst enlisted in the National Guard in 1949, but in June of the following year when hostilities broke out in Korea, Probst's days as a weekend warrior were numbered.

After being notified of its impending activation, the unit remained in Williamsport until the summer of 1951, when it was sent to Fort Campbell, Ky., to train.

After training and a 15-day furlough, the unit was sent to Seattle, Wash., where it shipped out in August 1951. Probst and his comrades landed in Japan 10 days later. They stayed there just long enough to receive equipment and ship out again, he said.

Probst said he and his friends did not really grasp what they were in for until they got to Korea.

"We were young and foolish back then," Probst said. "We really didn't know what was in store for us."

Once in Korea, Probst was assigned to a 105mm howitzer crew with the 8th Field Artillery of the U.S. Army's 25th Division, which was stationed near the front lines north of Seoul. The crew was composed of 10 men split into two five-man shifts. Probst was a private first class acting as a sergeant in charge of a shift.

The Army's 27th Infantry Division - the "Wolf Hounds" - were entrenched in front of the artillery, Probst said.

His unit was in a position opposite a large hill where Chinese forces had dug fortifications that were almost impervious to artillery fire.

"They were dug into that hill like rats," Probst said. "We could put a shell right into the hole, but they'd come right back out again, firing back."

"We could see them and they could see us," he said.

Probst said he initially was issued a small "pup tent" when he got to Korea.

"They finally came around with 24-man tents and two potbelly stoves to put inside them," he said. "We dug them in so that just the top of the tent was above ground. It was like being in a fox hole."

A frequent visitor to the American lines was a Chinese pilot flying a small plane. "Bedcheck Charlie" as he became known, flew over the lines "spittin' and sputtering every day at 5 p.m.," Probst said.

"I'm not sure whether he came over just to harass us, or what, but he came over," Probst said.

After about six months at the post north of Seoul, Probst's unit was moved to a bowl-shaped valley surrounded by mountains, called the Punch Bowl.

"It was beautiful, but there was only one road in and one road out," Probst said. "It was like being in a trap."

From there, the unit was sent to a place called Heartbreak Ridge, which was the scene of intense fighting. According to Probst, U.S. forces trained so many spotlights on the surrounding terrain "it looked like daytime at night."

Probst said that while he was involved in no close combat with the Chinese, he observed accidents that could have been avoided.

"Sometimes our own men were our worst enemy," he said. "I saw a lot of accidents just through stupidity."

On one occasion, a soldier sitting next to Probst was shot in the stomach by another soldier playing with a .45 caliber pistol. The wounded soldier was taken to a hospital in Japan. The culprit was court-martialed, Probst said.

On another occasion, a 155mm howitzer exploded, instantly killing two members of its gun crew. A section of the gun smashed a nearby outhouse, which fortunately was unoccupied, Probst said. The explosion was due to improper maintenance of the artillery, Probst said.

"That day, (ordinance) was up there fixing all of (the howitzers)," he said.

Probst said morale in Korea varied from soldier to soldier.

"It depended on the people. Some had good morale and some didn't," he said. "Some were bitter because they didn't want to be there, but you had to learn to take it as it came, to live with it."

"It's a job. If you do it right, you'll be alright," he said.

After 10 months in Korea, Probst was sent back to the United States. He was offered the rank of corporal if he enlisted for an extra six months, but he declined.

"I said, 'You couldn't make me a corporal before, you can't make me a corporal now. I'm going home,'" Probst said.

After leaving the service, Probst married his wife, Nancy. They had six children, five of whom survive. He took a job at Bethlehem Steel - now Williamsport Wirerope - but was laid off and never called back.

He then was hired by the Williamsport School District and worked there as a custodian and bus driver for 30 years. He retired in 1990.

Probst was among the first group of veterans to join the Korean War Veterans of Lycoming County. He is a member of the organization's honor guard.

"We have an organization where more members come to meetings than any veterans organization I know of," Probst said. "What we are doing right, we don't know, but 60 or 70 men come to a meeting and there are guys that come from all over the state."

Probst said he never graduated from high school, yet believes his life experience, particularly in Korea, was schooling enough.

"You have to learn how to survive. You have to learn how to take care of your equipment. You have to learn a lot of stuff," Probst said. "In the military, nobody is going to do anything for you. We had to use our heads.

"I'd say I got an education, anyhow," he said.