By James and Ellen Perry
December 15, 1952: It was cold—very cold—in the 26th Signal Corps compound at Inchon, South Korea. Hardy Johnson still wasn’t acclimated to the harsh winter conditions he was experiencing there, nor the stark living conditions that the South Koreans had to endure in 1952.
They had nothing, living in 6 ft. by 8 ft. mud and straw huts, sleeping on dirt floors with no furniture, no water, heated by a tunnel dug in the floor as the hut was built, filled with anything that would burn and covered with dirt. They cooked mostly outside and in winter the snow came almost daily with temperatures well below zero Fahrenheit.
As the conquering Japanese departed after World War II, nothing was left to the Koreans. All Korean cities had been destroyed with a Korean death toll that exceeded three million. Korea became a Japanese protectorate on November 17, 1905, and was annexed by Japan on August 29, 1910.
The Japanese domination of Korea lasted until after the end of World War II on September 2, 1945. The country was divided into South Korea and North Korea on June 12, 1950, at the 38th Parallel. The Korean War began as North Korean Communist soldiers invaded South Korea.
Hardy Otto Johnson was born July 12, 1928, to his parents Hardy Otto and Augusta Johnson. Hardy’s parents had moved from Union County, Tennessee, during the late 1920s to the Fountain City area of Knoxville.
Hardy attended Fountain City Grammar School until the eighth grade when his parents became sick. Hardy quit school to help look after his sick parents.
Hardy lived as most boys his age as he fished and swam in the duck pond in Fountain City and hunted squirrels and rabbits in the Halls Crossroads area two miles north on Highway 33, which at that time was a farming and dairy area.
Hardy was a third-generation shoe repair man. His grandfather worked a full-time job during the day, and after eating supper, would go to the rear of his home where he had a shoe repair shop and work until the wee hours of the night. His grandfather and his grandmother were both deaf.
Hardy moonlighted at different shoe repair shops during his teen years until he was drafted into the army in 1951. Hardy went through boot camp, was placed in the 26th Signal Corps and given passage to South Korea.
He didn’t know where Korea was or what to expect on arrival. What a contrast in culture and severe winter conditions he saw on arrival. I’ve talked to my uncles and others who served in the Korean War. Not a one enjoyed Korea at that time. The Americans were not equipped with the right kind of clothing, equipment not up to the severe winter conditions to operate under the severe winter climate and general screw-ups by our upper command completely out of touch with reality.
One thing that haunts Hardy Johnson ’til this day is the conditions that the South Koreans had to endure caused by the Japanese dominance of Korea for over three decades. Hardy’s interview for this article always went back to their living conditions in 1952.
Going back to Inchon, South Korea on December 15, 1952, Thanksgiving had been good as the mess prepared a good Thanksgiving dinner for the soldiers. The South Korean military tied to the 26th Signal Corp couldn’t understand why the American soldiers were so upbeat by the upcoming Thanksgiving.
The Americans tried to explain the beginning of Thanksgiving and how it became one of the most respected holidays with a feast prepared. From Hardy’s accounting I don’t think that at that time the Korean soldiers understood it, but they were invited to eat, and they did. Some could hardly walk they ate so much.
Well, Christmas was only a few weeks ahead and the South Korean soldiers started asking what Christmas was. They were told of the Christmas beginnings and how all Christian nations practiced Christmas with food and gifts. The Koreans had not been familiar with Christian teachings and it was totally new to their thinking. The South Korean soldiers were invited to the Christmas dinner and held their own at the table again.
During Hardy’s military service in South Korea, he and the other troops were entertained by U.S. celebrities at different times such as Marilyn Monroe and Bob Hope, and Hardy said the most enjoyed was Kay Kyser and his Big Band.
Billy Graham did a crusade for the soldiers and Hardy picked up soldiers and hauled them from all over to the crusade in a truck. Hardy says he still remembers the “Mickey Mouse Boots” built for Korea—worn over the issue boots that kept your feet from freezing but looked exactly like the cartoon Mickey Mouse boots.
Most Christmas celebrations today in the United States are nothing like the simple dinner prepared for the soldiers enduring the austere conditions in Korea in 1952. The U.S. soldiers being there was the best Christmas gift to the people and South Korean soldiers that could have been given. The U.S. soldiers gave the South Koreans a glimpse of what life was like in a free country and a hope that it would come to South Korea. The United States now has made a large contrast for Korea between the vastly improved living conditions in South Korea and the dark stark conditions in North Korea controlled by a dictator with Communist leanings.
Hardy came back home in 1953 on the troop ship General Black. It was hit after sailing from Pusan, Korea, by a friendly Chinese LST. The soldiers were given $100 cash and told to stay in Yokoyama, Japan, while repairs were made.
The General Black was ready for service 30 days later and sailed 29 days to San Francisco, California. On arriving home, Hardy had the cab driver let him off at the bottom of the hill at his mother’s house so he could keep his promise to his mother to watch him walk up the hill at home.
Hardy started to work at Boston Shoe Shop on Market Street in Knoxville. A year later he bought Almonds Shoe Shop and in 1955 changed the name to Custom Shoe Store. Hardy said that business poured in and has been very good ever since.
Today, Custom Shoe Rebuilder has relocated to 5303 N. Broadway in Fountain City. It’s on the left three blocks north of the Duck Pond on N. Broadway. Hardy has retired and his son Jim Johnson is running the shop. Business is still pouring in. Jim has been working in the shop since he was 12 years old.
Hardy reminisces about his time serving in South Korea, remembers he first met his best friend, Reid Bindrup, who grew up in Utah. They met in Inchon, Korea, becoming buddies, buying candies and treats for Korean children, and sharing treats from home with their buddies and the Koreans.
If an American G.I. saw a Korean child who needed medical aid, they would take that child to the U.S. Army Medical Clinic for help which was against orders. The Korean women would teach the children to read and cipher in burned and bombed out buildings, usually with no heat, no water and no food. He remembers the utter destruction by the Japanese and Communists left for the ones who lived through that hell until the war was brought to a standstill.
Today, Hardy Otto Johnson is 95 years old and still has a passion for life, not suppressed by his memories of long ago in a poor Asian nation on the other side of this earth.
Gotta go, folks, as I need some Kenny Vance and the Planetones harmony. See you in January.