D Company
D Company contributors:
- Dan Hartnett, 1959 - 1960
- Frank Bugos, 1959 - 1960
Click on the numbered page(s) on the left menu for the photos.
Dan Hartnett provided a description of this travel to, and service in D Company.
In 1959 U.S. Army troops were assigned to Korea for a 13 month tour of duty. We were transported by U.S Navy transport ships. Ships left from Tacoma, Washington stopped in Yokohama, Japan for two days and then proceeded to Inchon, Korea. The entire trip took 14 days. Transport ships could not enter the harbor because it was so shallow. During low tide Korean boats just sunk into the mud until high tide. Troops disembarked by landing barges during high and docked on shore. We were loaded on to 2½ ton trucks which took us to Ascom City. It was located halfway between Inchon and Seoul. The Eight Army Headquarters, hospital , engineers and Repo Depot were at this location. Once you were processed you were sent to your individual units.
The 728th MP Battalion had five companies. Headquarters Company and C Company were located in Seoul. B Company was in Yong Dung Po and those MP's rode the trains from Seoul to Pusan. They also rode the trains from Seoul to the DMZ. A Company was located in Pusan. There were MP detachments of the 728th in Taejon and Taegu. I was assigned to D Company which was located in the village of Bup yong. The Provost Marshal's office was next to us. Our area of Responsibility was Inchon, Ascom City and Route 2 to Yong Dung Po. We lived in Quonset huts with bunk beds. We had oil burners during the winter. The latrine was located in another building with showers. You could only drink portable water. At that time there were only two primary roads in Korea. Route 1 which went from Seoul to Pusan and Route 2 which went from Inchon to Seoul. There were two lanes with barely enough room for two trucks to pass. There were primarily rice paddies on each side of the road. Buses, cars, trucks, animals and people traveled these very congested roads. I am still close friends with Frank Bugos and Jack Penn from D Company. My brother Tim Hartnett was in the 728th 8 years later.
