Sept. 15, 1955 - Received my passport - #7085, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Korea, Cho Jung Whan, Deputy Minister.
Sept. 28, 1995 - Immunization shots, International Certificates of Vaccination - #5274, Dr. C. H. Whang. It has taken me two weeks to rid of ring worms.
Photo: My S Korean passport
Oct. 10, 1955 - I am all set to leave for America to study at the Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. I have my passport stamped by the US Embassy people (a student visa), bought a passenger ticket on a S Korean freighter headed to Seattle. World Health certificate is in order. It is time to tell my boss.
The lieutenant is mad - he says I am a spy and quitting because I got what I was after! He calls in a S Korean intel officer and asks him to grill me. I explain my American venture and he gets the picture right away. He vouches for me and I am discharged - but not before a kick on the rear end.
This is the second time I have received a kick from a foreign devil. The first was from a Russian soldier (see Chapter II - Life Under Soviet: One Day in a Russian Prison). Actually, there was a third kick - from a S Korean soldier - when I was about to step on a land-mine during the Battle of Hamhung. I deserved that kick which saved my life - besides it was by a fellow Korean.
Oct. 12, 1955 - My brother Ung Sik and I take a train to Pusan. He and I have the last supper at a seafood restaurant where I have the memorable occasion of having a large fish bone stuck in my throat. Fortunately, my brother is a medical doctor and manages to take it out just in time for me the board my ship. I leave Pusan for the last time aboard a Korean freighter bound for America (Portland, Oregon) along with 12 other Korean students.
Nov. 8, 1955 - I land at Portland, Oregon, my very first step on the Land of Opportunity, with a total sum of $60 in my pocket. There is no welcoming party here. I walk over to the Greyhound Bus Station and buy a one-way ticket to Provo, Utah as directed by my Mormon GI friend, Averd Wilson.
Photo: My brother sees me off at Pusan
