I met Chet Risio at Boalsburg, PA during the Memorial Day weekend event in 2001.  Chet was there with his grandchildren.

Chet, a very thoughtful and generous man, and I spoke about his military experience in the US Army during the Korean War era.  He thought that I might not be as interested in his service because he never left CONUS.  However, I believe that even those whose lives were interrupted by their military service deserve our recognition and gratitude.  Chet may not have gone into a war zone, but he was probably no less concerned about the possibility than those who actually served in any war zone in any war.

Chet generously donated his Korean service uniforms to the 109th to help young people who want to get into the hobby.

He generously gave permission for us to publish the letter that accompanied the gift of his uniforms.

The 109th (recreated) would like to thank Chet, but especially the new guys who received uniforms from him.

We also want to give Chet a BIG thank you for his service.

Dear Mike

Enclosed are the US Army clothes I wore fifty years ago during the Korean War. I can’t believe these things fit me then. I was 5 ft. 8 inches and weighed 150 lbs. Now I’m one inch shorter and 22 lbs heavier, mostly around the middle. I had a 31 waist then , now it’s 36.

I presume you and whoever will receive these would want to know something about the person who wore them, so here goes.

I was drafted and entered the service Feb. 15, 1951. I was 22 years old. I was processed through the induction center at Whitehall Street in New York City. That night we were bussed to Fort Devens, Massachusetts. I spent about a week there getting outfitted, drilling and generally being oriented into army life. I had been a commercial artist and , during the aptitude exam, I was asked what I’d like to do in the service. I told the interviewer I would like to be back at a drawing board. I sort of got my wish but not in the way I expected.

From Fort Devens about 20 of us were put on a train and taken to Camp Rucker, Alabama. (Now it’s designated as a fort.) We were fillers for a National Guard outfit from North Dakota, the 188^th Field Artillery Battalion of the 47^th “Viking” Infantry Division. We were assigned to Headquarters Battery and I was put in the Fire Direction Center and given the job of Horizontal Control and Vertical Control Operator. So I did get my drawing board. It involved plotting coordinates called in by the forward observer and then reading them off to the plotters, one for each of the batteries.

During a live fire training session a call came to redirect fire on a previous target, the forward observer expecting the shells to drop on precisely the same area. When I read the same coordinates again I read the lines differently (a thick pencil line can mean fifty yards depending on the chart scale) and the orienting shell fell very close to the troops. Fortunately every one was well dug in and no one was hurt.

A cease fire was called along the line and soon a three-star complete with entourage came bustling into the Fire Direction Center. After a number of questions to determine the cause of the problem it came down to me. I showed him the coordinates and he said, “Sharpen that pencil, son.”

I was concerned that this would not happen again so I devised a firing plan in which all firing coordinates, once established, would be assigned a number. Then all related information like the number of charges, elevation of the piece, etc., would be recorded. Then, if the Forward Observer wanted to redirect fire to a previous target, he simply called it in by the number. This eliminated the problem of refiguring everything with the possibility of a mistake. We used slide rules in those days.

I submitted the plan up through the ranks where it was received with interest. I was told the plan was at Divarty HQ and might be sent to Washington for approval. That was the last I heard of it. Years later, on two occasions, I met young guys who were in artillery and asked about the plan. They both said that was the way it was done and, as far as they knew, had always been done that way. So my plan was adopted but I never got credit for it. Of course, it’s more than possible other people had the same idea.

Back to my drawing board. When the officer staff heard I was an artist, they immediately set me to work. I painted signs, names on helmet liners, etc. Then I was sent up to Division HQ and given a studio in the projection room of an old theater. There I produced all kinds of posters for safety, directions, etc. This in addition to regular duties.

Camp ( Fort) Rucker was in the middle of nowhere in the heart of what was called, the “wiregrass’ country. It was okay but a little too “country” for me. I had always wanted to go to Washington, DC where they made training manuals. They were full of illustrations which I could do. However, to get there would first require a transfer to Third Army headquarters in Atlanta, GA.

I found out there was an opening for an illustrator in Special Services there. So I went up to Fort McPherson there and got an interview for the job and was hired, so to speak. When I got back to Camp Rucker they had put in a request for my transfer and I was soon in Fort Mac. It was class A post with brick barracks that dated to the Civil War. A short bus ride would take you to downtown Atlanta which was a very cosmopolitan city. All in all, it was a great place for a GI.

I was put in charge of the Craft Shop and spent the rest of my tour making posters, doing safety exhibits, making displays for all the holidays, etc. My other duty was on the firing squad of the Honor Guard. We were called upon for burial services for veterans .

About the only thing of note that I did was win first prize in a shooting contest. I guess the Army felt that everyone on this cushy post was getting too lackadaisical and needed to be brought up to speed on firing an M1 carbine. I got the highest score out of approximately 800 men. Not too bad for a guy who spent most of his time drawing pictures.

.I never saw combat and obviously had it pretty easy. I was discharged Feb. 14, 1953 and the ceasefire for the Korean War came about a month later. I went back to being a civilian, got married and had two children. I made my living in commercial art and was happy with that.

My two years in the service was a fine experience. I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I met a lot of fine people and came away with a better understanding of myself and the country we live in.

I hope I haven’t bored you with all of the above and I hope these clothes are of some benefit to someone.

Sincerely

Chet Risio