Double Six: 12 Themes

By Peter Kaufman

In Double Six, Peter Kaufman presents twelve timely themes in a collection that examines and illustrates not only the characters depicted in the themes but many cultural realities. In addition, there are narratives like those in Mr. Kaufmans three prior volumes. Of particular note are: Learning Spanish: a Memoir, a non-fiction work based on the experiences of his long, long-time friend, guitar teacher, and fellow Korean War veteran, Ted McKown, to whom this book is dedicated; in Looking for Karen Johnson, we meet again the principal characters of, The Vetting, in a series of new, dangerous and surprising situations; finally, we visit Ecclesiastes, in three coordinated timely themes; and also have time for Coffee with a Gemini.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Aug 26, 2011
• ISBN: 9781462044924

Peter Kaufman

Peter Kaufman is an eleven year Air Force veteran, active and reserve service, as a Special Agent in the OSI, and is a graduate of Yale and Southern Cal. He writes mostly about emotions, relationships---positive, negative, and tragic; intrigue; crime; and the critical kinds of choices people make. He lives in Oceanside, California.

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Contents

Introduction

Acknowledgments

Dedication

Learning Spanish: a Memoir

A Time to Plant, Jennifer D

The Talent of the Perfectionist

Macro vs. Micro

Opportunities vs. Risks

A Time to Get, Carleton Giles

Le Vrai Café, Part One

Le Vrai Café, Part Two

Looking for Karen Johnson

Coffee with a Gemini

The Emergency Room Dilemma

A Time to End, 50th Reunion

Introduction

After attending a two part lecture series at a local college in the late 70s by Ray Bradbury, I became especially interested in his journal, note-taking system. I adopted it to augment the notes and materials retention and filing program I was using; many thanks to Mr. Bradbury for his assistance to a hopeful writer. Part of the fruit from those special lectures is Double Six.

Also by Peter Kaufman

Road Coffee and Selected Stories

The Vetting and Other Stories

Domino=Razzia two Complete Stories

Acknowledgments

Covers: concept, design and color, P. Kaufman

Covers: Front/Back photographic treatment, Michael Sipia

Author photograph: Sandra Brodie

Poems: The Teeter-totter, The Beach House, Chance and Choice, by P. Kaufman, appear in The Talent of the Perfectionist, Coffee with a Gemini and Looking for Karen Johnson, respectively

Editing Assistant: Sandra Brodie

Electric Failures: City of Oceanside

Computer Recovery: CRS and Rand Sieling

Web Site: concept, design, and installation: Sherryl Maxwell

Web Site: www.quillpapyrus.com

Dedication

For Ted, asi se toca

Men willingly believe what they wish.

Julius Caesar, Shakespeare

Learning Spanish: a Memoir

I A Beginning

I was born in Inglewood, California, late in November 1933 and was the youngest kid in a group of four neighborhood boys. I remember how we all met in grade school: Alfredo, Luis, Ruben and I. We became the best friends. They spoke street style, Pachuco Spanish which I picked up quickly. We used it most of the time rather than English. It was not formal Spanish but more like slang. I recall, too, how I loved music and later in High School began to teach myself to play the Spanish guitar; the music and its informal Spanish lyrics went well with the new language I was learning and using.

1945

"When World War II ended, I was going on twelve; in a couple more years all four of us started High School. We also began thinking about spending money for the Mexican movies we went to all the time and the money we needed to help out at home—or, even more important, to have the cash we wanted and had to have to meet and date girls. All four of us knew what we called plata, (dinero today) was essential, critical to attract girls.

Our problem, though, was how hard it was to find a job, even an odd job in 1947-1949, because by then everyone was out of the military, except for occupation troops, so there were more guys looking for work than was available.

1950

"I don’t remember which of us had the idea first, but it was right after the fighting in Korea started in June of 1950; Ruben, Alfredo and Luis were already 18 and registered for the draft. So, we all agreed on a plan to drop out of High School at the beginning of Senior Year in September and join the army. We wanted to be part of the paratroops, too, because we found out that outfit was paid an extra bonus each month called Hazardous Duty pay. Everyone agreed the military was our best bet for three seventy, 3 square meals and 70 cents a day, $21 a month. Both the meals and the $21, were a lot more than we had now. The army, we really agreed, was the sure way for us to get the dinero needed to meet girls."

II Joining the Army

1951

"On February 2nd 1951, when I was still 17 and had parental approval, all four of us joined the army—a three year enlistment. The Recruiter-Sergeant was really glad to see us as we helped to fill his quota because the Korea Police-Action, as it was called, wasn’t popular like in WW II when everyone was anxious to be a part of the action; today volunteers were scarce. Not being draftees, we were assigned Regular Army serial numbers, ones that began with an ‘RA’—that gave us a feeling of superiority.

However, it was after we enlisted that we learned there were more surprises in store for us than special serial numbers: second, you had to be at least eighteen to qualify to go to paratrooper training, third, preference for paratroop training acceptance went to combat veterans and, fourth, after Basic Training we would immediately be shipped to Korea. So, for now, we had to settle for uniforms, monthly pay to impress girls—even if the pay was less than counted on, and that we would have only a short time with our favorite girls before shipping out.

March-December 1951

Basic training was at Camp Roberts California. It lasted about four months then we were scheduled for Korea. My ship-out date, however, was delayed, because of an auto accident. I needed time to recover from injuries to my left hand that required a long stay in a military hospital. As a result, it turned out not all of us got to Korea at the same time or had the same kind of assignments; two of us went to infantry and two to armor. We were separated for the first time in years.

January-May 1952, Korea

"Because of the accident, I did not arrive in Korea until April ‘52; it was more than a year after enlisting. I was a replacement assigned to George Company of the 7th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division. My first duty assignment was the second member of a Browning-Automatic-Rifle (BAR) team. I would bring up the ammunition, feed the BAR and help to protect the gunner which meant I also carried an M1 rifle. Right away, the 7th IFR was ordered into reserve status and later moved to hot spots or to relieve units being rotated off the MLR (the Main Line of Resistance).

"After arriving I learned that the early, rapid, mobile phase of the war against the North Korean forces, ‘50-’51, was over. The change occurred not only when the CCF (Communist Chinese Forces) entered the war, but also when combat was officially changed to an infantry, artillery and static type action with the issue of an order to the 8th Army on 12 November ‘51called an Active Defense Order. The CCF basically adopted this same strategy of combat by the end of November ‘51. So, the war became: probing patrols, bunkers, barbed wire, land mines, trip wires, grenades, snipers and trenches. I noticed and wondered as well that all the officer bunkers were built on the back sides of hills with trenches from the bunkers to the MLR. Bunker roofs were always reinforced with logs and sandbags. The reason: the Chinese used mortars as artillery and their shells dropped nearly straight down on top of us. They were good at it, too.

"The static, stalemate war meant patrolling occasionally at night, in mostly squad size units, with the BAR team as support. Fire-fights were brief and there were only limited close combats only when the CCF was making a special offensive at a certain part of the MLR. In fact, the war was now fought almost exclusively at night. So, that was why we began to establish and man two-soldier Listening Posts (LPs), located out in front of the MLR, to alert us in advance of any CCF attacks. Some actions were by small patrols while other attacks were major in size by all-out masses of Chinese soldiers.

"A carefully disguised all-out attack might over-run an LP, before the soldiers could withdraw, because the real objective of the Chinese attack was one of our larger strong points, called Out Posts; for, example, a 9 to 13 man OP or a smaller 7 man OP. There were problems with many of our larger OPs because of their locations in terrain that made it harder for us to supply, resupply and reinforce them with men, equipment, ammunition, food, water or communication gear; it was the reality of war in steep mountainous northern Korea.

Unfortunately, all sized OPs were usually more easily attacked by the CCF because the attacks came from the CCF’s more favorable northern terrain positions; examples in the Yonchon, Chorwan sector, the 7th IFR’s location, were OP Kelly, Hill 199; OP Queen, Hill 191; and OP Jackson Heights, Hill 391.

June 1952, Korea

"During the Korean Police Action, the 3rd Infantry Division was composed of three Infantry Regiments (IFRs): the 7th, the 15th, and the 65th. In the first two, English was spoken; the 65th was a segregated IFR, with all officers and soldiers from Puerto Rico who spoke only Spanish. Another factor, however, was in effect by the summer of 1952 and even earlier, a personnel rotation system based on monthly points earned depending on your duty assignment; it began to impact all military units in Korea. For me, it resulted in rapid promotion to BAR gunner after only three months.

"In the 65th, of particular impact, Spanish speaking officers and NCOs, for example, with the necessary points, were rotated back to Puerto Rico; often their replacements spoke only English. This, I learned later, was to have an eventual profound effect on communications, combat effectiveness and morale in the 65th.

"In addition, depending on the size of a unit; a squad, a reinforced squad or a platoon, the number of BAR teams varied. In an all-out attack, the BARs did not commence firing until the enemy was massed and charging. The CCF would probe to find out where BAR(s) were located and try to knock them out. Our experienced NCOs always shouted orders when to fire (fuego, in the 65th), so, as never to be the first to fire and to wait until the fire-fight was on and there was plenty to shoot at. The CCF used the lives of their men to locate our BAR(s); their casualties were high.