Speaker 1: Welcome to Veterans Chronicles. I'm Greg Corumbus. Our guest in
Speaker 1: this edition is Delmar Beard. He's a US Navy veteran
Speaker 1: of World War Two and a US Army veteran of
Speaker 1: the Korean War and the Vietnam War. During World War II,
Speaker 1: he served a board an LST in the Pacific and
Speaker 1: took part in the landings at both Ewojima and Okinawa.
Speaker 1: After the war, mister Beard left the Navy and joined
Speaker 1: the Army shortly thereafter. He served in a non combat
Speaker 1: role in Korea, but returned to combat in Vietnam as
Speaker 1: a command sergeant major, overseeing major gun batteries near Quinyong
Speaker 1: from nineteen sixty seven to nineteen sixty eight. Delmar Beard
Speaker 1: was born into a farming family in May of nineteen
Speaker 1: twenty six.
Speaker 2: I was born in North Carolina, and my dad was
Speaker 2: a farmer in Cumberland County, just outside of Fort Bragg
Speaker 2: and Fedville, North Carolina.
Speaker 1: Beard was fifteen years old and spending his Sunday morning
Speaker 1: as he normally did when he first heard about the
Speaker 1: Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December seventh, nineteen forty one.
Speaker 2: I was a church It was only Sunday, and we
Speaker 2: heard that did at bum Pearl Harbor. That's why I
Speaker 2: first heard of Pearl Harbor.
Speaker 1: At that time, Beard was too young to enlist, but
Speaker 1: a couple of years later, on one of the most
Speaker 1: pivotal days of the war in Europe, he got his
Speaker 1: chance to join the war effort. Not only did Beard
Speaker 1: live in North Carolina, he lived very close to Fort Bragg,
Speaker 1: one of the most well known US Army installations. But
Speaker 1: Beard and a buddy said no to the Army at
Speaker 1: that time shows the Navy.
Speaker 2: Well, I guess one of the reasons I joined the Davy.
Speaker 2: My brother was already in North Africa and I was
Speaker 2: born raised right there where I could see the per
Speaker 2: trooper jump on Fort Bragg, and I had a lot
Speaker 2: of contact with the Army, and so I said, my
Speaker 2: buddy and I were, let's go into Navy. So it
Speaker 2: was just something that we decided to do that we
Speaker 2: had seen enough of army in Fort Bragg there for
Speaker 2: sixteen years. I was born in over d Day in Raleigh,
Speaker 2: North Carolina, and went to Camp Perry, Virginia, which was
Speaker 2: located just outside of Williamsburg, Virginia. Had thirteen weeks of training,
Speaker 2: and then after we finished herd, we called a train
Speaker 2: to Algiers, Louisiana.
Speaker 1: It was in Algiers, Louisiana that Beard got a signed
Speaker 1: to the LST, on which he would serve for the
Speaker 1: remainder of the war. And he and the rest of
Speaker 1: the crew got a good taste of life aboard the
Speaker 1: LST as they sailed it from the Gulf coast to Hawaii.
Speaker 2: Well, the unit that I was signed to, if I
Speaker 2: got to Algiers, there were thirteen of us went aboard
Speaker 2: LST seventy one five and the second day there we
Speaker 2: headed through the Panamaca now to Hawaii. And after we
Speaker 2: get out of Hawaii, we did a lot of praction WITHST,
Speaker 2: beaching on beaches for training, and then I went to
Speaker 2: gunners mate school to learn to clean and operate and
Speaker 2: load the twin forty that I served also on LST.
Speaker 1: We'll hear much more about those twin forties when Beard
Speaker 1: describes his experience off the coast of Okinawa. But he
Speaker 1: did give us some insights into how the guns served
Speaker 1: as the most potent weapons of board the LST.
Speaker 2: The twin forty, well, it was the biggest guns we
Speaker 2: had had them on the bow and the fan tail
Speaker 2: of the ship. And as I say, we had gunners
Speaker 2: mate that took care of him. But I went to
Speaker 2: school for a week to learn how to do certain
Speaker 2: things because I was signed to a twin forty in
Speaker 2: case of Morocco the mortar attax or or earlier air
Speaker 2: at tax or anything like that, and I served over
Speaker 2: that as an extra duty.
Speaker 1: And when asked if he was a quick study on
Speaker 1: those guns, Beard said, his years growing up on the
Speaker 1: farm came in very handy for this assignment.
Speaker 2: My first gun was a gun I purchased at age fifteen,
Speaker 2: big old double bar shotgun, so I was used. I
Speaker 2: was used to shooting.
Speaker 1: As for the ship itself, Beard explained the design of
Speaker 1: the LST and how it was used.
Speaker 2: Well, the first thing is flat bottom, almost flat bottom,
Speaker 2: roll over and pick up water and roll over the
Speaker 2: other side. It's just like that. We have a what
Speaker 2: we call a port side on the starboard side and
Speaker 2: a big tank dick put the holding ammunition and trucks
Speaker 2: and tanks and all of that. And I forgot how
Speaker 2: long it is, but we had a crew of one
Speaker 2: hundred and nineteen.
Speaker 1: For the record. The standard LST in World War Two
Speaker 1: was three hundred and twenty eight feet long and fifty
Speaker 1: feet wide at the beam. After weeks and months of training,
Speaker 1: by early nineteen forty five, it was time to get
Speaker 1: into the war, leaving Hawaii with an eventual destination of Ewojima.
Speaker 1: Delmar Beard tells us about a couple of stops along
Speaker 1: the way and what it was like coming ashore on
Speaker 1: Ewojima as the battle was underway.
Speaker 2: After we left and trained in Hawaii, an early you
Speaker 2: where we took off and we went for our base
Speaker 2: port that we operated out love mostly was Saipan and Tinian.
Speaker 2: That's where the planes took off for the atomic bum
Speaker 2: plane that took off later on. But we trained there
Speaker 2: and after there a short while we picked up part
Speaker 2: of the fourth Marine Division and we headed for Ewagima.
Speaker 2: We didn't know what Ewajima was. You never heard of it,
Speaker 2: you know, little island, you know, we didn't hear of
Speaker 2: it until we got to see and they brought a
Speaker 2: mark of it and explained eve Regima and explained where
Speaker 2: we were going to go in at where district Mount
Speaker 2: Sarabachi we went and eventually anchored right as the first
Speaker 2: ship from Mount Sarabachi. So We got there three days
Speaker 2: later and we went in very early in the morning,
Speaker 2: at about four point thirty, and we took the part
Speaker 2: of the fourth Marine Division is to Mount Serbacia on
Speaker 2: the LCVPs to land. You had to take those LSTs
Speaker 2: in when the tide is in so you can go
Speaker 2: up on the beach. Well. Early the next morning we
Speaker 2: went in and put the LST on the beach where
Speaker 2: we could unload the ammunition and octane gas and tanks
Speaker 2: that we had on the ship.
Speaker 1: The horrors endured by the Marines on the black ash
Speaker 1: beaches of Iwo Jima are well documented. The Navy service
Speaker 1: members unloading personnel vehicles, fuel, ammunition, weapons, and more did
Speaker 1: not face the same intensity from the Japanese, but they
Speaker 1: were not immune from deadly fire either.
Speaker 2: I came that close to being hit. I was lined up.
Speaker 2: I didn't have two hours in the office, but I
Speaker 2: wanted to be out of it. But the guy marine
Speaker 2: was facing me here and I was here with passing
Speaker 2: the box ammunition out, putting it on the beach, and
Speaker 2: he got a bullet right in the back. He was
Speaker 2: about here and I was here. Two of us. We
Speaker 2: took him, drug him up on the beach and hollered medic. Well,
Speaker 2: the medic came down and he was already dead. Yeah,
Speaker 2: And we could see the dead Marines laying on the
Speaker 2: beach because it takes a while for two people were
Speaker 2: to pick him up and take him away. You know,
Speaker 2: there was someone laid there half a day on the
Speaker 2: beach because there was so many, so many of them.
Speaker 1: Beard says he heard constant reminders that the Japanese bullets
Speaker 1: were not far away.
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, yeah, we could hear it ricksheaning off the
Speaker 2: side of the ship being be you know. But if
Speaker 2: they were shooting more seemed like at the ship than
Speaker 2: there was us in the line hoping that he could
Speaker 2: do something damage there. We could hear there was not
Speaker 2: that much fire coming down there because they were business
Speaker 2: shooting the ones on the Marines on the beach.
Speaker 1: Even for those fortunate enough to survive the deadly enemy fire,
Speaker 1: the trauma of the experience could still be overwhelming. Beard
Speaker 1: remembers one sailor who had to be evacuated.
Speaker 2: We had some that went, some that couldn't. We got
Speaker 2: shell shark. We had the kid got so shell shark.
Speaker 2: It took four people to hold it, and then all
Speaker 2: we could do is is take our LCVP and took
Speaker 2: him over to the hospital ship. It was the USS Mercy,
Speaker 2: which is still operating.
Speaker 1: While Beard only ventured on shore far enough to unload
Speaker 1: some flies, he was still perfectly positioned to witness two
Speaker 1: of the most indelible moments of the battle. The first,
Speaker 1: of course, was the raising of the American flag atop
Speaker 1: Mount Surabachi. But he also had a front row seat
Speaker 1: as the US Marines used their flamethrowers to force the
Speaker 1: Japanese out of their underground fortresses.
Speaker 2: And we could see where we was at was real
Speaker 2: good position. We could see the Marines going up Mount
Speaker 2: Sarabachi with the flame flowers in the cage, and as
Speaker 2: a Japanese got on fire, they run out and rolled
Speaker 2: into Volcadi Cash trying to put it down. But on
Speaker 2: Mount Clara Bachi, for as I know, there was only
Speaker 2: four or five people that surrendered and captured, and they
Speaker 2: built a little fence right there above our ship, and
Speaker 2: that's where they was at when the war ended.
Speaker 1: You Beard is grateful for certain things that happened at
Speaker 1: Ewojima or didn't happen. He says, the Navy did not
Speaker 1: have to endure many Japanese attacks from the air, you know.
Speaker 2: Surprisedly, in Ewajima, we didn't have a lot of air
Speaker 2: raid because we had two aircraft carriers out in the
Speaker 2: ocean a little ways from the island, and they intercepted
Speaker 2: the planes before they got in. Only two or three
Speaker 2: got in, So far as the navy go, we didn't
Speaker 2: have too much problems with aircraft in Ewajima.
Speaker 1: That's Delmar Beard. He's a US Navy veteran of World
Speaker 1: War Two and the battles of Ewojima and Okinawa. He
Speaker 1: later served in the US Army in both the Korean
Speaker 1: War and the Vietnam War. In just a moment, Beard
Speaker 1: takes us into the intense combat he faced against the
Speaker 1: Japanese at Okinawa. I'm Greg Corumbus and this is Veterans Chronicle.
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Speaker 1: This is Veterans Chronicles. I'm Greg Corumbas. Our guest in
Speaker 1: this edition is del Mar Beard. He's a US Navy
Speaker 1: veteran of World War II and the critical battles of
Speaker 1: Ewojima and Okinawa. He later served many years in the
Speaker 1: US Army, including in a non combat role during the
Speaker 1: Korean War. He then rose to the rank of command
Speaker 1: Sergeant major and commanded gun batteries in Vietnam. But we
Speaker 1: pick up mister Beard's story with some more thoughts on
Speaker 1: his service at Ewojima and how he shifted from service
Speaker 1: at Ewojima to taking part in the invasion at Okinawa.
Speaker 1: After dropping off the initial load on the beaches, Beard
Speaker 1: says there were two more trips to pick up personnel
Speaker 1: critical to completing the mission on Ewojima.
Speaker 2: Our nick trip because the airstrip was quite bummed the runways.
Speaker 2: We went back to Taipan and we picked up a
Speaker 2: Navy construction cartgage steal cartigated to lay on and make
Speaker 2: the runways where the planes could land. And then we
Speaker 2: went back and got another marine unit, mostly medical. A
Speaker 2: lot of them was medical to take care of the
Speaker 2: people and the bodies and what not.
Speaker 1: And after that third and final drop off, and while
Speaker 1: the fighting was still raging on ewo Jima, Delmar Beard
Speaker 1: and other Navy personnel were already getting prepared for the
Speaker 1: next massive invasion.
Speaker 2: We made a trip to the Philippines right quick, then
Speaker 2: came back to Taipan. Then we picked up the troops
Speaker 2: for the invasion of Okinawa.
Speaker 1: As Beard mentioned earlier, the Japanese air resistance at ewo
Speaker 1: Jima was quite limited. At Okinawa, as Allied forces moved
Speaker 1: even closer towards the Japanese mainland. He says, the enemy
Speaker 1: air raids were very intense.
Speaker 2: Now, Okanawa, as far as navy was, was worse worse
Speaker 2: than eve Rejima because we had the damn many air raids.
Speaker 2: We had air raids every day, and there was so
Speaker 2: many we couldn't get into unload our ammunition. We sat
Speaker 2: out there with a shipbload of ammunition and hearks hain
Speaker 2: gas with air raids every day dropping all around. We
Speaker 2: had one drop down between us and the destroyer that
Speaker 2: got hit by a plane with twenty I think there
Speaker 2: was twenty six people killed on it. Well, it was
Speaker 2: suicide plane and it was just over from us, just
Speaker 2: a little way, and we were just lucky that we
Speaker 2: didn't get hit because they were nothing left.
Speaker 1: And he says the Japanese consistently brought air raids and
Speaker 1: kamikazi attacks in the middle of the night. Beard says,
Speaker 1: you could almost set your watch by it.
Speaker 2: Every night. It seemed like at fifteen minutes after two
Speaker 2: o'clock in the morning we had air raids, And I
Speaker 2: guess that was a time thing. Like when they left
Speaker 2: Japan to ride there and they writhed about a quarter
Speaker 2: after two, about six nights in a row.
Speaker 1: The American sailors soon got wise to the schedule of
Speaker 1: Japanese attacks, so much so that they didn't even bother
Speaker 1: to change clothes when they went to bed.
Speaker 2: It of her, the people didn't even take the clothes off.
Speaker 2: They have just a shoes because they knew there's gonna
Speaker 2: be an air rage after two. If you was on duty,
Speaker 2: I didn't attend guard, but because of a job, except
Speaker 2: during combat combat, I had to I understand myttire. And
Speaker 2: if you got off at twelve, you might as well
Speaker 2: just lay up there? Would you close them? Because you
Speaker 2: had to get up a quarter after two?
Speaker 1: And that's when Delmar Beard leapt into action to operate
Speaker 1: those twin forties, the forty millimeter twin barrel anti aircraft
Speaker 1: guns that he learned quickly thanks to his proficiency with
Speaker 1: firearms while growing up on his father's farm.
Speaker 2: The twin foarders we had at that time. We had
Speaker 2: a porter and a trainer, and then we had two
Speaker 2: people in the gun tub where the ammunition was, and
Speaker 2: David hand it up to me and Vernon Law, who
Speaker 2: was the gunner's mate, and we would push him down
Speaker 2: into the chamber and shoot him.
Speaker 1: Yeah, he says, despite the threat of Japanese attacks, he
Speaker 1: and the other gunners got into an efficient groove of
Speaker 1: loading and firing those twin forties.
Speaker 2: It been hard and you and hear you raige you
Speaker 2: subisi prak fast as you could to load that then
Speaker 2: and ever third bullet shale is a tracer and you
Speaker 2: could see word's going.
Speaker 1: That's Delmar Beard. He's a US Navy veteran of World
Speaker 1: War Two and the battles of Ewojima and Okinawa. He
Speaker 1: later served for twenty two years in the US Army
Speaker 1: and was deployed to both Korea and Vietnam. Later in
Speaker 1: our discussion, Beard will tell us about his command in
Speaker 1: Vietnam and the challenges he dealt with during some of
Speaker 1: the toughest fighting of the war. He will also share
Speaker 1: his advice with young adults and young service members in particular.
Speaker 1: But up next, we'll hear more from Beard about fighting
Speaker 1: against Japanese Kamakazi missions in World War II and the
Speaker 1: vivid memories he had of that eighty years later. He
Speaker 1: will also tell us about the surprise he found on
Speaker 1: an island near Okinawa and what he's most proud of
Speaker 1: from his many years in uniform. I'm Greg Corumbus, and
Speaker 1: this is Veterans Chronicles. This is Veterans' Chronicles. I'm Greg Corumbus.
Speaker 1: Our guest in this edition is del Mar Beard. Just
Speaker 1: moments ago, Beard explained what it was like to operate
Speaker 1: the twin forty guns aboard LST seven one five during
Speaker 1: numerous air raids and Kamakazi attacks off the coast of Okinawa.
Speaker 1: He says, shooting as fast as he could and watching
Speaker 1: plane after plane get shot down short of its targets
Speaker 1: is a memory vividly etched in his mind.
Speaker 2: Well, it was quite a show, a particular at night
Speaker 2: seeing all those bullets go up for planes. Most everything
Speaker 2: that we did, ninety some percent was at night. We
Speaker 2: had a few daytime attacks. The comic Causa that hit
Speaker 2: the destroyer was daytime. There was there was only a
Speaker 2: they must have come of cruiser because there was only
Speaker 2: four flew in and we got knocked all of them
Speaker 2: down except the one comic cause that they hit that
Speaker 2: crashed into the destroyer and you just see all of
Speaker 2: those bullets from about fifty ships uh going up in
Speaker 2: the air. There was quite a show. I hate to
Speaker 2: say that show that something you'd never see but one
Speaker 2: time in your life.
Speaker 1: The battle also stays with Beard in another way, as
Speaker 1: you can tell, perhaps by the volume of his voice,
Speaker 1: he struggles to hear well, and part of that is
Speaker 1: due to a military oversight towards Beard and many other
Speaker 1: gunners during World War Two.
Speaker 2: The trouble wiz that there are me. Your Navy did
Speaker 2: not issue troop here in age until Vietnam, so so
Speaker 2: in World War Two in Korea we didn't have here
Speaker 2: in age.
Speaker 1: Beard just gave us an excellent description of his actions
Speaker 1: fighting off Japanese air raids and Kamakazi's suicide bombings. Ewojima
Speaker 1: is often referred to as the bloodiest battle in the
Speaker 1: Pacific because of the incredibly high casualty rate for American forces.
Speaker 1: Nearly seven thousand Americans died on Ewojima, an island of
Speaker 1: just eight square miles. Twenty thousand were wounded. The Battle
Speaker 1: of Okinawa registered a devastating toll of twelve thousand Americans
Speaker 1: lost in a battle that raged for more than two months.
Speaker 1: Some forty nine thousand more Americans were wounded. While the
Speaker 1: battle on Okinawa continued, Beard and his shipmates were tasked
Speaker 1: with scouting a nearby island where the Japanese had recently
Speaker 1: been seen. But when they actually explored the place, Beard
Speaker 1: and his buddies were in for a big surprise.
Speaker 2: We made about three trips to Okinawa. The second one
Speaker 2: there was another island called i he Shima. We were
Speaker 2: going to have an attacked on that, and we went
Speaker 2: over there and they were bumming it and they were
Speaker 2: ruckus was going in on it. The Marie went in.
Speaker 2: No Japanese. The ages of the island said they moved
Speaker 2: out two days ago, and they moved out. I guess
Speaker 2: at night to the other islands where there was fighting
Speaker 2: going on somewhere. I know where they got out, but
Speaker 2: they say they left the island. And then then we
Speaker 2: went back to Taipan again. As I told you, we
Speaker 2: brought the navy in, and then we went back for
Speaker 2: troopers again and brought them back. So we made through
Speaker 2: trips to Okinawa, including one to Lady in the Philippines.
Speaker 1: The Battle of Okinawa was one of the last major
Speaker 1: battles in the Pacific Theater of World War two. The
Speaker 1: war came to an end just two months later after
Speaker 1: the US drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The
Speaker 1: Japanese announced their surrender just six days after the second blast,
Speaker 1: with the formal surrender taking place in early September. Beard
Speaker 1: says when the news of the Japanese surrender came in,
Speaker 1: he and the rest of his crew were busy preparing
Speaker 1: for what they thought would be the final and most
Speaker 1: costly battle of the war.
Speaker 2: We will own our way to how Waiiat and we
Speaker 2: were told at that time we fought with having invade Japan,
Speaker 2: we will own our way to pick up troops. Forty
Speaker 2: invasion of Japan. And then we heard the first toomaic
Speaker 2: Oabama was dropped, and then we heard the second was
Speaker 2: dropped on our way to Hawaii, and then we heard
Speaker 2: the japan had surrendered. He said, oh boy, we're gonna
Speaker 2: get to go home. Well, we got there, picked up
Speaker 2: a truck and company and headed for Japan and went
Speaker 2: to Sasebo round on the side between Sasibo and North
Speaker 2: Korea in that area, and then we went to the Philippines,
Speaker 2: picked up a group and took them to Wakayama. Then
Speaker 2: we went back and got another load and took them
Speaker 2: to Niguoy Navy group that time to Negoya because that's
Speaker 2: a seaport. After that, it was time that I had
Speaker 2: to start discharging, sending people home, and went to the
Speaker 2: back to the Philippines, and I was a yeoman. I
Speaker 2: was in charge him because we had already transferred to
Speaker 2: other yeoman to Philadelphia, so I had to transfer all
Speaker 2: of them off my mos. Being a yeoman, I was frozen,
Speaker 2: even though I was Navy reserved, because they had to
Speaker 2: keep all yeoman to muster out everybody in the States
Speaker 2: or wherever there was at. So I had to go
Speaker 2: with the LST and we get in Samarrow, the Philippines.
Speaker 2: I decommissioned the LST and turned it over to the
Speaker 2: Philippine government and they were going to use it for
Speaker 2: supply ship for the mind sweepers, cleaning out all the
Speaker 2: mines and everything in there before I could go home.
Speaker 1: After the war, Beard came home and eventually left the Navy,
Speaker 1: but it wasn't long before he was back in uniform,
Speaker 1: this time as an enlisted man in the US Army.
Speaker 1: He joined the Army on Labor Day nineteen forty eight.
Speaker 1: Just a couple of years later, Beard found himself back
Speaker 1: at war, this time in Korea. However, in that conflict,
Speaker 1: he served in a non combat role, working mostly in
Speaker 1: finances for the army. But as years passed, Beard started
Speaker 1: to focus again on combat and quickly rose in the
Speaker 1: enlisted ranks. Beard explains how quickly he was promoted and
Speaker 1: tells us about the assignment that led to his tour
Speaker 1: of duty in Vietnam. In nineteen sixty seven and sixty eight.
Speaker 2: I was the command sergeant major. I made command Target major,
Speaker 2: but as soon as almost it open. I was one
Speaker 2: of the youngest command sergeant majors in the Army. I
Speaker 2: made it when I just had fifteen year servers and
Speaker 2: my unit was signed to the first cab Division feel
Speaker 2: Our Chillery in n k and we had firing batters
Speaker 2: from there to the DMZ.
Speaker 1: Nineteen sixty seven and sixty eight were some of the
Speaker 1: toughest years of the Vietnam War, and Beard definitely dealt
Speaker 1: with his share of tragic moments. You just heard him
Speaker 1: explain the gun batteries he commanded. However, one night enemy
Speaker 1: forces infiltrated the perimeter of one of those batteries.
Speaker 2: Okay what it was with Derick quinnyon and they came
Speaker 2: in and did Viet Kung cut the wire and crawled
Speaker 2: in under the wire and started shooting, and we killed
Speaker 2: every one of them there was. There was over one
Speaker 2: hundred of them came in on our little fire batter.
Speaker 1: The Vietcong forces were all eliminated that night, but not
Speaker 1: before thirteen Americans were killed. Beard got the news the
Speaker 1: next morning and immediately went to the site of the
Speaker 1: sneak attack along with the colonel he served under.
Speaker 2: I wasn't with him, I was in base camp well. First.
Speaker 2: The first Calves Division was located between Cambodia and Quinnyon.
Speaker 2: We caught a chopper the colonel now and flew up
Speaker 2: there earlier the next morning. We didn't know it to
Speaker 2: I didn't know it until earlier the next morning. They
Speaker 2: told me real quick that that we had a bunch
Speaker 2: of guys killed. The colonel said, get ready, we're going
Speaker 2: to fly up there, and we went. We him and
Speaker 2: I flew up there to see nothing we could do.
Speaker 2: In fact, that our people that was killed was already
Speaker 2: transported into Quinnyon, which they had a hospital, and take
Speaker 2: it in there, but they were all dead.
Speaker 1: The other difficult moment from Vietnam that clearly stays with
Speaker 1: Delmar Beard is the death of that same colonel who
Speaker 1: was also lost in a shocking manner.
Speaker 2: I hate to say it. He was a real nice colonel.
Speaker 2: I enjoyed working for him, but he was sort of
Speaker 2: a glory on him. And the WARN officer flew up
Speaker 2: to Touriwa and there was an infiltration there. The vietnase
Speaker 2: was only on the base and he told the WARN
Speaker 2: officer to let's laying down there in the island. And
Speaker 2: the one officer told him, you don't want to land
Speaker 2: down there. The viat COR's down there, he said, I
Speaker 2: said to land, And as soon as he landed and
Speaker 2: hit the four, he got a bullet right in the head.
Speaker 2: The warner warn auser naturally took off right quick and
Speaker 2: came back to base camp. It was just a little
Speaker 2: little bad miss decision he made to land down there,
Speaker 2: because we had had two at base camp in k
Speaker 2: One was in our motor pools right across the little
Speaker 2: road from me. I went across there and saw and
Speaker 2: I went in and called detok our little base camp there,
Speaker 2: and they came down and sort of quit then. And
Speaker 2: we have a fan where we can get of one
Speaker 2: hit and you can test and see the direction and
Speaker 2: how far that mortar came in. So then we radio
Speaker 2: up on the fire batter to shoot out there where
Speaker 2: they were at.
Speaker 1: With roughly a quarter century of service in the Navy
Speaker 1: and Army combined, there as much for Delmar Beard to
Speaker 1: be proud of, but he quickly points to his time
Speaker 1: in combat, both in World War Two and Vietnam as
Speaker 1: the most meaningful for him.
Speaker 2: You had to say it was being even Jima, Korea
Speaker 2: and Oakland, not career so much because I was in
Speaker 2: base camp and in Korea, I had an administrative job and headquarters.
Speaker 2: In Korea, I had no combat. But if Eva, Jima,
Speaker 2: Oklanawa and First Calf Division was the thing I was
Speaker 2: most proud of that I served in combat.
Speaker 1: His advice for young people and especially young service members
Speaker 1: is to meet as many people and forge as many
Speaker 1: professional relationships as possible, because he says that will benefit
Speaker 1: you throughout your career. He says, even eighty years after
Speaker 1: World War Two, he's still giving that advice.
Speaker 2: It's funny that you asked that. Being Navy, I went
Speaker 2: up and talked to the Navy, get people to hear
Speaker 2: from Norfolk, the captain, the lieutenant, and they listed me
Speaker 2: in and I told them all about a Korea and
Speaker 2: what we did in Vietnam, and they were wonderful why
Speaker 2: they sent us to such meetings that in this we
Speaker 2: could be back doing our job. I said, you don't
Speaker 2: know how important it is to get out to know
Speaker 2: people because you don't know how much they can help
Speaker 2: you in time to come. I said, I got to
Speaker 2: know people that helped me in my signments, help me
Speaker 2: in promotions and everything because I used them later on
Speaker 2: in my career. I said, don't turn anything down if
Speaker 2: you can go out and know people. I said, I
Speaker 2: got to know colonel in Korea and I used him
Speaker 2: in Vietnam. When I came back from Vietnam, I had
Speaker 2: orders to go to Fort w Yuka, Arizona, and I
Speaker 2: didn't want to go there. I wanted to go back
Speaker 2: to Fort Seal because my family was there and I
Speaker 2: was going to retire. And I got my orders from
Speaker 2: DA I wrote them a letter and said, I'm going
Speaker 2: to be retiring in a couple of years. Can you
Speaker 2: get my orders seen back to Fort Seal because I'm
Speaker 2: going to retire. In nineteen seventy, I got a letter
Speaker 2: signed by a major said your assignment stands firm. Well,
Speaker 2: I knew the guy, I knew the colonel and fort seal.
Speaker 2: I called him and told him. He called DA and
Speaker 2: got my orders change. I said things like that will
Speaker 2: help you in time to come. So don't turn down
Speaker 2: going to deceivers, to swee of meetings like you came here.
Speaker 2: You'll learn some information that heppy if you just listen.
Speaker 1: And Beard says, despite all the difficulty and the harrowing
Speaker 1: moments he faced, he's very thankful to have served the
Speaker 1: United States in uniform.
Speaker 2: I've enjoyed my service. I enjoyed everything about it. I
Speaker 2: had a good twenty six year career, and if I
Speaker 2: had to do it over a good again.
Speaker 1: That's del Mar Beard. He's a US Navy veteran of
Speaker 1: World War Two and the critical battles of Ewojima and Okinawa.
Speaker 1: He later joined the US Army, served an administrative role
Speaker 1: in theater during the Korean War, and later rose to
Speaker 1: command sergeant major and was in charge of a series
Speaker 1: of gun batteries during his tour in Vietnam from nineteen
Speaker 1: sixty seven to nineteen sixty eight. I'm Greg Corumbus, and
Speaker 1: this is Veterans Chronicles Hi, this is Greg Corumbus and
Speaker 1: thanks for listening to Veterans Chronicles, a presentation of the
Speaker 1: American Veterans Center. For more information, please visit American Veteranscenter
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Speaker 1: again for listening, and please join us next time for
Speaker 1: Veterans Chronicles