OCR Text |
Show Cpl. Tucker In Korean Action The ammunition bearer in a mortar squad is a man-of-all-work, but Pvt. Francis J. Constable of Buffalo, N. Y., was surprised nevertheless never-theless at his most recent assignment. assign-ment. Constable, a member of the 21st "Gimlet" Infantry Regiment, was part of a line of infantry moving forward against strong enemy hill positions. Suddenly Red machine guns opened op-ened up from three sides." The murderous cross-fire halted the advance. ad-vance. But Cpl. Lawrence R. Tucker Delta, Utah, gunner of Constable's motar squad, immediately positioned position-ed the mortar to zero-in the hostile hos-tile weapons. And that's when Private Constable Con-stable was called on to be, of all things, a lumberjack. "We were only 200 yards from the Red guns," said Cpl. Tucker. "We had a good position, but to our disgust, we found we had no , clearance because the branches of a tree were in our way." The job of clearing a path of fire for the mortar fell to Private Constable, who said, "It was fun i climbing the tree until Red machine mac-hine gun bullets started following me up the trunk". High in the tree, within easy range of the enemy machine guns, Contable chopped at the branches while Red bullets whizzed past him "I was about to chop one branch", he said, "but a burst from the machine gun beat me to it. Cut it clean off." After sweating it out in the tree Constable finished the job and scampered down. His buddies, with the path of fire clear, quickly knocked out the ene my machine guns. . . ) |