By Jenna Racz ‘13
In 1948 Melvin “Mel” Wellington left home in attempt to join the United States Marines at the age of 16. He was not allowed in, so a year later he tried again at the age of 17 and succeeded, not knowing he was enlisting a year before the United States was to enter the Korean War and would eventually serve and live through all three years of the war.
Mel was a truck driver on the front lines, bringing desperately needed supplies to ground troops, as well as desperately needed ground troops to the front lines. If one were to look at a map of the progression of the Korean War with a streak showing the front line between North and South Korea, that’s where you’d find Mel. He made Sergeant at the young age of 18, being in combat for only a few months. He was promoted mainly due to his predecessors being killed in the line of duty and Charlie Company’s 7th Motor Transportation Battalion needing some leadership. Eventually Mel was promoted to Staff Sergeant before the war’s end.
During the Korean War he earned 3 silver stars, 2 bronze stars and 3 purple hearts. He denied one of the silver stars he earned when he was stabbed in the stomach by an enemy soldier in the Battle of Chosin Reservoir with a bayonet. He survived the attack to kill the same enemy soldier, and request that he return to his unit after he recovered from his wounds.
Another one of the purple hearts was given to him when a grenade was thrown into a trench, and a fellow soldier threw himself on it in order to save Mel’s life. A piece of frag remained in his forehead the remainder of Mel’s life.
On a lighter note, Staff Sergeant Wellington did not only face horrors of war. On one occasion, Mel bribed a guard at a gate protecting vehicles, with a pack of cigarettes and a bottle of saké. Why would he do such a thing? Mel’s unit needed more vehicles, and well, he really wanted the 50 cal. that was mounted on the halftrack he drove off the base.
After commandeering this transport vehicle, they simply painted “MC” after “US” so no one would be the wiser. The first time Mel told his grandson about obtaining this vehicle, he said he found it abandoned because he did not want to encourage him to steal.
Mel Wellington joined the Marines at an early age to enter a harsh environment that gave him an experience like no other. He shared the majority of this experience with no one else except his grandson, who now speaks to keep Mel’s memory alive. When asked what made him so proud of his grandfather Sean Wellington replied “He’s the greatest. You don’t question it. You just accept it. He overcame a lot in his life.”
umm… Well when I read this article it really hit me how hard core war really is and how I atleast, give so much for granted in my life from as simple as a form of transportation to as tough as my life being on the line every second. I can only say thank you to Mel for volunteering his life to our country and fighting for everyhting I and everyone has in this life. I can kind of relate or understand to most things that happened to him, because of the fact that I have a close friend that is a marine. He went to war too and tells me about all the horror of it and how his life at all times was on the line.
This article proves that Mel is truly a hero, especially at such a young age. He did everything he could to protect and honor the U.S during war even if he might have been scared (because who doesn’t fear war) I can’t imagine what it must have been like for him. Also, I found the part where it said he only told his grandson the stories touching because that proved that his war experiences were just that more special and not something to easily spill around to everyone