Veteran Spotlight: Ken VerHey called in air strikes in Korea

Peering through his binoculars, Kenneth VerHey, far out ahead of the rest of his unit, panned the horizon for any sign of the enemy.

As a forward observer in an infantry unit in central Korea during the 1950s conflict, it was VerHey’s duty to sniff out enemy forces out in the open.

“You have a 47-pound radio on your back, a 12-foot antenna and a microphone in your hand and you’re way out in front of everyone else,” said VerHey, a Holland native.

When he, or any of his commanders, did locate any enemy units, his duty was simple, call in a strike.

Whether it was artillery, an air attack or even Naval gunnery, it was VerHey’s job to locate, pass on coordinates and hone in the strike.

Regardless of the type of strike, the procedure was largely the same; give coordinates, watch white phosphorous bomb mark it, adjust coordinates and call “fire for effect.”

“You’d hear the propeller plane coming down and he’d pull up and shoot one round of white phosphorous and he’d ask ‘how’d that look?’” VerHey said. Then he’d adjust the location and order the strike.

“Then you’d hear the jets coming down, four of them, coming down within 500 feet of the ground and they’d pull up and drop their napalm and the napalm bombs would roll end over end and roll about 1,000 feet. Everything was 1,700 degrees,” he said. “Then they’d start circling and shooting rockets, then they’d circle and shoot their .50-caliber (gun) and then when they were out of ammo they were done and would leave.”