Declared Dead At War, He Returned Alive To Locate His World Had Moved On Without Him
Walter Dixon along with his son Russ Dixon at their StoryCorps meeting in Waynesville, Mo. Modupeola Oyebolu/StoryCorps hide caption mail-order-bride.net russian dating
Walter Dixon along with his son Russ Dixon at their StoryCorps meeting in Waynesville, Mo.
StoryCorps’ Military Voices Initiative documents tales from people in the U.S. military and their own families.
Walter Dixon have been hitched for only five times as he shipped down to Korea for their war that is second implementation.
In regards to a 12 months later on, at age 22, he had been announced dead. When his obituary ended up being published within the neighborhood paper, their spouse home in Waynesville, Mo., had absolutely no way of understanding that the headlines had been untimely.
The truth is, Dixon had been alive behind enemy lines.
A 90-year-old veteran of three wars, spoke to his son Russ Dixon about how, after a case of mistaken identity, he returned home to find that his world had moved on without him in an interview at StoryCorps last month, Dixon.
Dixon had been serving into the Army’s 38th Infantry Division when, he claims, he had been captured while wanting to help their troops that are fellow.
He had been in regards to a half-mile from his post as he saw five guys from their product down get shot by an artillery round. “One of ’em’s feet were both broken, therefore I took my industry jacket and covered around their legs to hold them together,” he claims.
As he came back to their gun, Chinese forces giving support to the North Koreans came up behind him.
“When i acquired captured, those guys for the reason that gap with my industry coat here, they just got blown all to heck,” Dixon claims.
Once the systems had been later discovered, Dixon’s coat, which carried letters from their spouse in the pouches, had been the piece that mistakenly linked him to a deceased other soldier.
“I’m certain this is exactly why they reported me personally dead as opposed to captured,” Dixon claims.
For the following two . 5 years, he had been held prisoner in a north camp that is korean.
It had been a harrowing experience, Dixon recalls. To keep warm, he’d look around for timber to burn off and, often times, prepared rats as sustenance. 1 day, a guard thought he strayed past an acceptable limit.
“we started initially to make smarter headway and also this guard hollered for me personally to prevent, but i did not,” he says. “therefore, he stuck me personally along with his bayonet. Style of a time that is rough here.”
Dixon escaped 5 times, but each right time he had been caught, and punished. Whenever fighting stumbled on a halt, the Red Cross stumbled on the camp and notified the prisoners of the launch.
Back, because Dixon have been reported killed, their spouse had managed to move on. She remarried together with a young kid with another guy.
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During the time, Dixon claims, he did not have much to say.
“we can’t blame her. I happened to be dead. Then she learned I became alive. The actual only real thing that is obvious do would be to divorce certainly one of us.”
Dixon along with his spouse would divorce. But he could not resent her, he states.
“Anger do not do you any worthwhile on something such as that, you cannot do absolutely absolutely nothing about this,” he states. “You simply gotta handle it the most effective way you understand how.”
Despite every thing he experienced, Dixon thought we would remain in the army. It is a determination that their son Russ nevertheless wonders about.
“It ended up being my entire life,” Dixon stated. “you ain’t afraid of absolutely nothing. once you proceed through all that,”
Russ stated he’s pleased with their dad, whom continued to provide in Vietnam. “we tell many people about your seven Purple Hearts and all that, and I also brag he told his father about it just about every day.
In terms of Dixon himself, he states he could not care just just just how others keep in mind him. It is enough he made for him alone to know the sacrifices.
“I’m able to remember me personally,” he states. “I don’t have wants or requirements of memory. I recently enjoyed my armed forces solution . We’d try it again. And I also’m happy with it.”
In terms of that regional obituary journalist? Dixon finished up marrying her and achieving three kids together, including Russ.
Sound produced for sunday Edition by Kelly Moffitt.
