Korean War veteran was stationed along the 38th Parallel

John T. Jim was drafted in July 1952, from Syracuse N.Y. to Indiantown Gap, Pa. The time he served in Korea was just one example of his life-long dedication to civic ideals and community involvement.

After 16 weeks of basic training and eight weeks of leadership school, John received his orders for Korea. He traveled to San Francisco via troop train, and then to Pusan, Korea by ship. After reaching Korea, he was sent to the infamous 38th Parallel as a member of the 5th Regimental Combat Team (RCT), which served as reinforcements to the front lines.

His duty as a member of the 5th RCT was for blocking. Blocking is taking a position just behind the frontline troops and going up to the front line to replace the troops that were killed or wounded, as well as to provide extra protection if the enemy broke through the front lines. Every night, the enemy shelled these lines, killing and wounding soldiers. The 5th RCT continuously was called upon to replace the wounded soldiers along the 38th parallel.

During his time in Korea, John served as a rifleman, assistant machine gunner, communications chief for Fox Company, and Fox Company staff sergeant.

John’s recollections are detailed and somewhat dispassionate. There was a job to be done - distasteful or not, responsibility for a greater cause was a part of life.

“One experience I will never forget, we took positions early in the afternoon and my friend Gus Lotito, also from Syracuse, dug our foxhole,” said John. “Nearby a small tent was erected for officers and the communications gear. We kept an open line with the battalion 24 hours a day.”

John went on to relate how he was assigned communications duty that evening from 7-9 p.m. After a quiet shift, his replacement arrived; John briefed him on the equipment operations, and returned to his foxhole 20 feet away. Ten minutes later all hell broke loose.

“We started to get shelled with mortars and larger artillery,” said John. “There was a direct hit on the tent; two soldiers were killed instantly, my replacement, Parker, and one officer. The minute the tent was shelled the company commander, Murphy, ran to my foxhole, which was dug out for two, and stayed there while the shelling took place for hours.”

After the shelling stopped, the Red Cross medical personnel were called up from the bottom of the valley, about a mile away, to treat the wounded and collect the dead bodies, which were transported down the hill.

“Our position was at the top of the ridge,” said John. “Word came up that they needed to have the bodies identified at once. We were still being shelled in the middle of the night when Captain Murphy ordered the buddy of the man who replaced me to go down the hill and identify him. He refused, and said he didn’t know either man.”

Captain Murphy then turned to John and ordered him to identify the bodies, since he was the last man to see them alive.

John traveled from the ridge down the hill, which were still being shelled, to the medical tents. “I was not happy at this to say the least,” said John, “but I grabbed my rifle and went down the hill in the dark through the shelling, identified the bodies, and filled out the paperwork. After I did my duty, I spent the next few hours in a slit trench (a trench that is just wide enough for soldiers to fit in) during the shelling until dawn. Then I walked back up the hill to the ridge to report back to Fox Company.”

When John returned from serving his country in Korea, he earned his degree from Syracuse University in 1958, with the help of the G.I. Bill.

John moved his family from Pittsburgh to Bucks County in July 1969. He worked as a successful salesman of products for the United States Rubber Company, managing a multimillion-dollar territory, encompassing four states. However, it is his family and community involvement during the last 40 years in Northampton that have given him pride.

John and Joann, now married 55 years, have three children, Karen Jim, of Northampton Township, who works for Merrill Lynch; John D. Jim, of Chalfont, a senior financial advisor for Ameriprise Financial; and Jeff Jim, of Northampton Township, who has run a small business in Northampton for more than 25 years.

For the past 40 years, John has remained dedicated to the community of Northampton, and to the civic ideals of leadership and involvement. He started the civic association in his neighborhood, volunteered for various projects, worked at the Grange Fair and Northampton Days, and volunteered for clothing and food drives for the less fortunate. His elected positions have included serving as a local Committeeman for many years, and serving on the Northampton Municipal Authority Board for eight years.

The Jim family has seen their share of Pennsylvania and New York, moving seven times over a ten-year period. But for John Jim, Northampton Township has been the place to stay. “I have always told my children that our last move was our best move. We’ve grown up and grown older in a great place to live.”

John has had the pleasure to meet or work beside many great local people who live, work, volunteer, and serve the residents - county Judges, commissioners, and other elected officials in Northampton Township and Bucks County - as well as many of the Pennsylvania legislators, senators and congressmen, and even presidents of this great nation. That involvement starts at the local community level.

According to John, “We’ve been fortunate to contribute to the quality of life here in Northampton Township all these years. It’s a great place to live and raise a family.”