Raymond Burr visits soldiers in Korean DMZ area
Raymond Burr, second from right, gets an explanation of the DMZ from Cmdr. Willis R. Hearne, second from left, the U.N. Command joint duty officer. At left is Lt. Col. L.E. Rutlandm commanding officer, U.S. Army Support Group; at right is Sp5 Edmund J. Burke.
By Dan Henderson | Stars and Stripes December 28, 1963
WITH THE 1ST CAV. DIV., Korea — The big man walked up to a sergeant on duty at a mountain-top outpost and stuck out his hand. "Hello sergeant," he said. "I'm Raymond Burr."
The surprised trooper was one of more than 6.000 servicemen Burr has shook hands with during his tour of U.S. military installations in the Republic of Korea.
Thursday, the actor visited the 226th Army Security Agency Co., a tiny compound tucked between high mountains adjacent to the Demilitarised Zone and commanded by Maj. John McCoy.
He also visited the 1st Recon. Sq., 9th Cav., where he met and talked with soldiers in each of the three squadron troops. Escorted by Sgt. Maj. Bill Pratt, Burr attended a briefing at Outpost Mazie by Lt. Col. William Lynch, 1st Recon. commander.
In 12-degree weather and with an icy wind blowing in from north Korea, Burr moved at a fast pace, stopping to talk with soldiers where he saw them.
Other units he visited Thursday included the 12th Cav., the 7th Cav., Camp McGovern, Recreation Center No. 1, Camp Trans Alpha, the 44th Surgical Hospital. Recreation Center No. 4, plus many other smaller sites scattered throughout the area..
He also went to Panmunjom while the 181st meeting of the Military Armistice Commission was in progress.
At each stop, soldiers crowded around the tall, husky actor asking for autographs and photographs.
Burr is keeping a list of telephone numbers of servicemen's families living in southern California so that he may call them when he returns to Hollywood in mid-January.
He will he in Korea until Jan. 1 when he goes to Japan and Okinawa.
"These are the greatest guys in the world," he said. "They are doing a terrific job here."
The question most frequently asked TV's Perry Mason by troopers is why his TV secretary, Della Street, did not accompany him on his tour.
He said that she still has some work to finish on the Perry Mason shows and also, "Her husband may have taken a dim view of her going to Korea."
Burr's day begins at 7 a.m. when he leaves his billet and heads for the Yongsan South Post to board a helicopter. For the next 12 or 13 hours, he doesn't stop.
"I want to meet as many servicemen as I can," he said. "The only way to do this is to go where they are."