Operation Nomad With the 26th AAA
Pete Magana, 26th AAA, Battery “D”
Enclosed
are two photos taken in Korea. I don’t remember the names of my crew
members, but we were supporting the 19th Regiment by spraying the
hills in front of them when they moved forward.
Our Quad-fifties had a lot of firepower; 2,400, 50-caliber rounds
per minute at maximum. I just hope we saved some lives with our
firing support. I don’t remember if this was Operation Nomad (The
October 1951 dates align it with Nomad. Ed).
October 1951 resting with 24th Infantry, 19th Regiment before we
gained ground above the 38th parallel our last time.
I hit my first land mine October 21, 1951. I lost my hearing for
about 3 days. We continued fighting on another Half-Track. Hit my
second land mine about 4 days later. This time I was sent to a field
hospital a.k.a .“M*A*S*H” Unit with a battle causality “Wrenched
Back.”
Peter Magana, Life # 2203 Staff SGT., 26th AAA, Battery “D” Korea,
April 1951 to Jan 1952. 1233 Langford Road Oceanside, CA 92058
petemagana[at]ngif.org, Ph: 760-757-6276
The Taro Leaf, Vol 62(4) Fall 2008, pg.21.