John Jeter Remembers Marilyn in Korea

First posted here on November 12, 2019 84 year-old John Earl Jeter of Alexandria, VA has shared his memories of serving in the Korean War with Town Talk. “Sitting on his couch, his hands clasped between his knees, John Earl Jeter repeatedly diverts attention from himself to those ‘good men’ he served with during the...

Bill Wamke Remembers Marilyn in Korea

First posted here on November 10, 2017 Bill Wamke, who was drafted by the US Army in 1952 and was appointed stenographer to the Commanding General of the 25th Infantry Division, recalls meeting Marilyn during her 1954 tour of Korea in an interview with the Kokomo Herald. “‘She got to because our division was not...

Remembering Marilyn and Joe in Japan

First posted here on August 23, 2018 Over at Japan Today, Patrick Parr looks back at the newlywed Marilyn and Joe DiMaggio’s eventful trip to the Far East in 1954, where he was honoured by Japan's baseball fans, and she entertained US troops in Korea. (They’re photographed above with the manager of Tokyo’s Imperial Hotel,...

George Purifoy Remembers Marilyn in Korea

First posted here on November 29, 2015 86 year-old George Purifoy of Franklin Park, Illinois, has shared his memory of meeting Marilyn during her 1954 USO tour of Korea with TribLive News. “It’s 10 a.m., and the breakfast club of old friends meets at a Panera Bread restaurant in the North Hills. They come daily,...

James Callahan Remembers Marilyn in Korea

First posted here on December 17, 2010 On February 18, 1954, Walt Durrell photographed Military Sergeant James C. Callahan of San Antonio, Texas with Marilyn after she had been made honorary member of 25th Division during her trip to Korea. In 2004, Callahan - now living in Arkansas - shared his memories with the Baxter...

Jerry Karthauser Remembers Marilyn in Korea

First posted here on June 16, 2017 A veteran army cook has spotted himself in a photo with Marilyn in Korea during her 1954 tour, reports the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. “If an Army cook meets Marilyn Monroe and doesn’t have a photo to prove it, did it really happen? For 63 years now, Jerry Karthauser has...

Arthur ‘Kippy’ Bowers Remembers Marilyn in Korea

First posted here on March 9, 2019 Despite her glamorous appearance, Marilyn required no special treatment during her 1954 military tour of Korea.  Nonetheless, U.S. troops did their utmost to make their special guest comfortable throughout her stay, as this amusing tale from the Reading Eagle reveals. “When Marilyn Monroe visited American troops in Korea...

George Burgtorf Remembers Marilyn in Korea

First posted here on March 1, 2016 George Burgtorf of Saramac, Michigan, has shared his memories – and photos – of meeting Marilyn as a young sergeant stationed in Korea during her morale-boosting 1954 visit, in an interview with the Ionia Sentinel-Standard. “George Burgtorf of Saranac was a 20-year-old sergeant in the United States Army’s...

Joseph Scott Remembers Marilyn in Korea

First posted here on September 21, 2015 Korea is sometimes described as a ‘forgotten war’, and the involvement of British troops has been overlooked. Joseph Scott, who was just eighteen when he joined the Cameron Highlanders in Korea, has shared his memories of the conflict – and the unforgettable day in 1954 when Marilyn Monroe...

Joseph B. Dalton Remembers Marilyn in Korea

First posted here on September 7, 2015 Writing for Florida Today, US Army veteran Joseph B. Dalton remembers Marilyn’s flying visit to South Korea in February 1954. “I was supposed to have the day off but our sergeant came in and told a couple of us to get dressed, because a VIP was coming in...