Bluffton resident recalls call of duty for Korean War
By MARK MILLER
It was a fairly typical winter day, Bill Longenberger recalls. It was cold but there was no rain or snow as he and 15 others boarded a bus in Bluffton.
“We were pretty apprehensive, of course,” he said. “Because, you know, we had no idea what to expect.”
It was 70 years ago today that he was with a group reporting for duty after being drafted while the Korean War was escalating.
The Adams County native and his new wife — the former Betty Isch, also a graduate of Kirkland High School — were “just getting started” in Bluffton; he was working at Gerber Furniture when his draft notice came in the mail.
The bus stopped at Hartford City to pick up a Blackford County contingent and then on to Indianapolis where they were inducted. They were then taken to Camp Custer in Battle Creek, Mich. Longenberger was assigned to have his training at Camp Pickett, Va., before being shipped off to Korea.
Longenberger served as a driver in the 2nd Infantry Division, hauling troops back and forth between a base camp and the front lines.
“Usually, the troops spent a week in battle and then were brought back for a week off,” he recalled. “I drove a lot of guys up to the front that never came back.”
Longenberger had had a problematic knee when he was inducted, which may have been why he wasn’t assigned to the front lines. At any rate, he twisted it badly one day and was eventually sent back to Battle Creek’s Percy Jones Army Hospital for treatment.
Receiving a medical discharge April 23, 1953, he returned to Bluffton where he and his wife would raise four children: Sandy, Gene, Mark and Scott. The couple will celebrate their 72nd anniversary in July.
“It seems like a long time ago,” he said, looking at the old photo, “yet it doesn’t.”
miller@news-banner.com
