By Joan Hallmark - bio | email
Posted by Ellen Krafve - bio | email
MT. VERNON, TX(KLTV) - Less than five years after the end of World War II, war broke out in Korea. Gene Gardner was one of many young Americans caught in a war that to this day is officially designated as a "Police Action."
Gardner was assigned to the heavy freighter, the U.S.S. Helena. From April through November of 1951, the Helena bombarded the Korean coast, covering the landing of American troops. The ship itself was hit twice, the first explosion making a hole above Gardner's sleeping quarters. Gardner says he was "lucky" to escape injury and is glad he was there to "help out."
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