Manor of the Plains
Paul Slaven: soldier or sailor? JANUARY 2022
Icyl Wood had visitors Resident Icyl Wood recently enjoyed a visit with her family. It has been quite some time since her daughter Marsha Reid and husband Ken visited. They reside in St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada, and just recently borders finally opened for citizens to be able to visit the United States. Also in the photo is Icyl’s daughter Marilyn Custer from Nowata, Oklahoma. She brought her husband Jimmy along so Ken would not be lonesome. A Zoom was set up with brother Richard and Carol Wood from Vero Beach, Florida. They had a wonderful visit with a pizza supper, and Icyl went out on the town with Marsha. Years ago, Icyl made photo albums with inscriptions to go along with the photos. Marilyn got them out to provide some reminiscing. The time together went by “too quick,” and they made some cherished memories. u
Resident Icyl Wood with her daughters Marsha Reid and Marilyn Custer.
Icyl Wood recently enjoyed an in-person and virtual visit with her family.
Paul Slaven’s story is much different than that of most U.S. Army soldiers and the only way to tell is through Paul’s own words. I was drafted at age 23 on November 15, 1951. The recruiters asked for volunteers for the Marines, and no one volunteered. I was very close to being reassigned, but the guy next to me was picked. I knew where the Marines were going and wanted no part of it. I was sent to Camp Gordon in Georgia for basic training and attended radio operator school there. As soon as I got out of training, I shipped out for Japan and was assigned to the 8240th Army Unit. I pulled temporary duty at Camp Drake in Tokyo for three weeks. After that, I was assigned to a little Army boat, the Q227. I did not even know that the Army owned any boats! We crossed the inland sea between Japan and Korea. There was a camp that trained Koreans to be spies and our job was to transport them back and forth. We had no idea who were soldiers and who were spies. We were very lucky, as we did not know whom we could trust! Many times, we took the North Koreans on raiding parties. Sometimes they barely made it back to the pickup point, and we had bullets whizzing by us. I actually felt my knees shaking. There were four Americans on the boat, and I was the only one in the Army. I was the radio operator and steered the boat. Most of our missions were at night, and I used the azimuth on
Slaven – continued on page 2
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