United States Navy · Korean War
Sweeping the way
Bobby served his country in the United States Navy during the Korean War aboard a minesweeper. It was some of the most dangerous and least celebrated work of the war.
North Korea seeded its harbors and coastal channels with thousands of Soviet-supplied mines. A single mine could sink a ship, and no landing, supply run, or evacuation could move until the water ahead was cleared. Minesweepers went first. These small ships worked slowly and methodically through the channels ahead of the fleet, cutting moored mines loose and destroying them, so that the larger ships behind could pass safely.
The danger was real. In October 1950, during the sweep of Wonsan Harbor, the minesweepers USS Pirate and USS Pledge struck mines and sank within minutes of each other. The planned landing at Wonsan waited for days while sweepers cleared a path through the minefield. The lesson was plain: without the minesweepers, the Navy could not move.
That work asked for steadiness, patience, and the discipline to do the careful thing every single time. Those who knew Bobby will recognize those same qualities in the man he was for the rest of his life.
3,000+Mines laid off Wonsan, by most accounts
Oct 1950USS Pirate and USS Pledge lost to mines
First inSweepers cleared the channels before the fleet
Clearing a safe passage for others, quietly and carefully. It was his job at sea, and it stayed his way for the rest of his life.
