Ordean Swanson’s National Honor Flight
Tue, 12/10/2019 - 2:06pm
admin
By:
By Bonnie Kirchman for the Leader-Record
Crowds of well-wishers, brass bands, and children waving the American flag greeted Ordean Swanson as he travelled to Washington, D.C. He was a member of a group of veterans who participated in the National Honor Flight program in the spring of 2019. The signs of appreciation were surprising for Ordean, who after serving in the Korean War came home to, as his daughter Nancy described it, “nothing”. The trip provided Ordean a chance to share memories of his time in the army with other veterans. It also created new memories, and an opportunity to share a part of his life story with his daughter Nancy Vyskocil, who made the trip with Ordean.
Ordean was drafted into the United States army in 1952. He was just 21 years old when he joined the largest draft group to ever leave Clearwater County. Twenty-one young men left Bagley on February 20, 1952.
Ordean’s destination was Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. There he completed both his basic training and engineering school. He was taught how to operate heavy equipment that would be used to build bunkers and roads. In July of 1952, with less than six months of military training, Ordean had a few days at home before he headed to Seattle, Washington. He shipped out from Seattle to Japan where he boarded a boat headed for Korea.
“We had to crawl down a net to get off the boat,” Ordean said of his landing in the shallow waters by Incheon, Korea.
Ordean traveled inland by train, stopping at various military camps along the way. His trip would take him to the south edge of the “Punch Bowl”, where he spent most of his time during the war.
Ordean’s duties included building roads and installing placements to protect tanks and artillery. The work was dangerous. While moving the earth to build roads, explosions would be set off. Once Ordean dug up an unexploded bomb. Had he driven over it, he would not have survived the explosion. All this while shooting was taking place right over his head.
“We had some pretty noisy nights,” is how Ordean described life in the army camp that was just two and a half miles from the front line.
The Korean climate added to the dangers. In the summer, the temperature could get up to 100 degrees. In the winter, it became extremely cold. In the camp, the soldiers heated their tents with fuel oil. At times, the cold would cause the fuel to become too thick, and the stoves would go out. When Ordean was assigned guard duty during the cold weather, part of the job would be to start every single vehicle, allow it to run and warm up. They would repeat this cycle every two hours.
Although he faced discomfort and danger, Ordean still feels that he had a better placement than some of his fellow soldiers.
“I always had a bed,” he said, comparing his situation to the foot soldiers. “They were right on the line, out in the cold. A lot of them died.”
In November, 1953, Ordean was discharged from the army. He travelled home by ship over rough ocean waters. That trip caused seasickness for many men, so bad that some were kept alive only through the use of intravenous feedings. Ordean fortunately did not experience seasickness. He continued his trip home, traveling by train to Camp Carson in Denver.
After all he had been through, the risks, dangers, and discomforts, there wasn’t a single expression of gratitude for Ordean and the others who came back from Korea. Taking the National Honor Flight trip changed that.
Ordean’s daughter Nancy brought the possibility of the National Honor Flight to Ordean. She wanted him to go, and she wanted to go with him. National Honor Flights bring veterans from all over the country to the nation’s capital, giving them the opportunity to see the war memorials and tour historic sites.
Ordean and Nancy flew out of Fargo on a non-stop chartered flight to Washington, D.C. in the spring of 2019. Ninety veterans, mostly from the Korean War, participated in this trip. Many of the veterans were accompanied by family escorts, like Ordean’s daughter Nancy. Others who went along on the trip included medical personnel and volunteers from the North Dakota/Minnesota Honor Flight organization. In a whirlwind trip, the group flew to the capital, toured the city, and returned home the following evening.
When the group landed, they were greeted by a brass band. The group was boarded onto four buses. Medical personnel were available on each bus. Professional photographers and media personnel also accompanied the tour groups. Police escorts helped the buses move quickly around the city, allowing the veterans to squeeze in a lot of activities in a short trip.
“They would only stop us if there was a fire wagon or if the President came through,” Ordean said.
The group visited the Vietnam Wall, the World War I and World War II Memorials as well as the Korean War Memorial. They also had a private tour of the National Archives. They saw other famous sites around the nation’s capital, like the Lincoln and FDR Memorials.
The Korean War Memorial was especially meaningful for Ordean, but it also brought back memories of the difficulties he coped with during the war. The troops represented in statues in the memorial wear ponchos, the same type Ordean wore in his training and in Korea. The ponchos were a reminder of many times he had to work in the rain and snow.
Another highlight of the trip was “mail call”, a chance for the veterans to relive the experience of receiving mail from home. Family and friends of the veterans are able to send letters in advance of the trip. Students from Fargo schools participate in this, sending letters of appreciation for the veterans to open.
Nancy said, “They think of absolutely everything,” referring to the detailed planning of the trip.
After serving in the military, Ordean returned to Clearwater County. He married Leone and they raised their three daughters, Nancy, Lisa, and Susie. They are grandparents to three grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Ordean used the training he received in the army in his work as he operated heavy equipment working on the pipeline and at missile sites in North Dakota. He also did some farming on the side.
In 2000, the 50th anniversary of the beginning of the Korean War, Ordean received a thank-you letter from the president of the Republic of Korea. It was really the only appreciation he experienced, until the National Honor Flight trip.
Appreciation was shown to the veterans in many ways. Pilots at the airport, many veterans themselves, lined up to shake the veterans’ hands and thank them for their service. Little children waved flags and asked to shake the hands of those who fought for our country. Some of the adults had tears in their eyes as they thanked the veterans and asked to take photographs together. These signs of gratitude were an unexpected bonus of the trip.
“I was thanked more in those two days than in all the years since Korea,” Ordean said.
“The experience was so tremendously powerful,” Nancy added, “To see these veterans finally get the honor they deserve.”