Submitted by S. Moncalieri, Folsom VFW
With 50 people in attendance, Cpl. Robert “Bob” Jack Calvillo was honored with the USAF Non-Commissioned Officers Association Korean War medal, presented by USAF CMSgt Jim Sullivan (Ret.) at Carlton Senior Living Orangevale.
Additionally, the offices of Rep. Kevin Kiley, CA-3, Assemblyman Josh Hoover, AD-7, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars Department of California gave special certificates of recognition to Cpl. Calvillo – who belongs to Folsom VFW Post 6604 – acknowledging his heroic sacrifices serving in the Korean War and his unfortunate subsequent capture as a Prisoner of War. Special guests in attendance included Senior Vice Commander of the VFW Department of California, SFC David Kuta (Ret.); Placerville VFW Camerado Post 10165 Commander, US Army CSGM Lenny McAdams (Ret.); and VFW Aux Post 6604 Chaplain, Kelle Hernandez.
Calvillo, the second of eight children, was born Aug. 21, 1929, in Oakland. Raised in San Francisco, he joined the US Army in 1948 for a three-year enlistment. In August 1950, he boarded a troop ship to the Korean War. Once in-country, he was attached to IX Corps, 2nd Infantry Division Field Artillery, 38th Field Artillery Battalion, Bravo Co., as a Private First-Class field cook. Calvillo found himself on the main battle lines in North Korea.
On an extremely humid, blustery cold day on the Korean Peninsula, in the early hours of Dec. 1, 1950, while performing his job as a field cook and unaware of the imminent danger facing US Army forces, Calvillo and his company band of brothers were behind enemy lines. By mid to late afternoon, they were suddenly overrun by North Korean and Chinese soldiers, some armed and some unarmed, swarming down like a crashing wave from the mountains.
Calvillo found a rifle in his hands during the chaos. He encountered a Chinese soldier in a foxhole and vividly remembers the moment when he stared at this “scared, young kid.” As his finger squeezed the trigger, he released the pressure just below the 4½ pounds needed for the firing pin to hit the cartridge, allowing the enemy to escape. He could not shoot an unarmed enemy combatant. “I hid in the bushes with another soldier close by to two lifeless bodies of North Korean soldiers. I was thinking they were going to shoot us when they caught me, blame us for killing them,” Bob said.
The overwhelming number of enemy forces was too much for the US troops to repel, and subsequently, the soldiers were quickly surrounded by the North Korean and Chinese armies. Calvillo was captured in the early evening hours at the Battle of the Ch’ongch’on River, becoming one of many Prisoners of War. According to Robert, “When they surrounded us and captured me, I thought it was the end. I thought they would kill us. After the enemy came marching down and surrounded us, all I had was a field shirt, trench coat, boots, and scarf. I lost my steel helmet. They took us captive, marching us north.”
The enemy led the demoralized American battalion deeper into North Korea on a long, cold trek from village to village, house to house, shack to shack, until they were left sleeping under a canopy of stars. En route north, Calvillo saw a massive enemy army march in large groups past him, heading south toward entrenched US forces. The captives had no knowledge of their fate. The Chinese and North Koreans were advancing against the US Army, pushing the battle lines further back as the Americans retreated. However, Robert’s predicament would only worsen the longer he stayed alive.
Calvillo remarked on his overall experience as a POW: “It was terrible. The North Koreans were mean.” He remembered, “I went outside this house they had us in to (urinate). I was forced by a North Korean back into the house or they’d shoot me. If you didn’t do what they said, the North Koreans would shoot you. Sheltering outside, sleeping under the frigid cold blanket of the Korean winter was terrible.”
One of Calvillo’s most horrible memories is described in few words: “One guy I knew tried to escape, running up a hill after our capture, and the North Koreans just shot him without saying anything. He was a nice guy.”
They left the unknown soldier behind, his family never to truly know his fate. This memory still replays over and over in Bob’s mind. He and the other US Army prisoners were marched further north toward the Yalu River during the coldest part of winter, without winter gear, finally arriving at the border between North Korea and China. The American POWs ended up in “Prison Camp 5,” where Calvillo was kept for more than two years under atrocious living conditions and severe inclement weather. The prison camp was manned by Chinese guards, who separated the officers from the enlisted soldiers.
Although the Chinese captors were less brutal than the North Koreans, Calvillo recalled, “Two guys escaped from the Chinese camp and were never seen again. The Chinese told us if you get captured by the North Koreans, we can’t be responsible for what they do.” The Chinese captors frequently gave the prisoners false hope, telling them they would soon be freed, only to subject them to mental torture.
“We didn’t have shelter. When it snowed, two other prisoners and I would cover ourselves with a mattress to try to keep warm. That was the only warmth to keep from dying,” he said. By this time, Robert only had his field coat and was lucky to still have his boots. The American POWs were not given any extra clothing or supplies. “Once a day, they fed us. All they gave us was simple things and rice. Fed usually mid-morning with a cup of rice. Most times, the meal of the day was known as ‘soupy soup,’” Calvillo said.
At times, the guards forced Robert into a 35-gallon barrel for at least 30 minutes at a time. He told his captors he couldn’t fit, but it was made clear that if he did not get inside, he would be killed. He managed to fit, enduring unimaginable confinement. The combination of physical torture, emotional degradation, and psychological torment took its toll, with captors repeatedly toying with the prisoners, promising release as months and years dragged on.
In the spring of 1953, after two years in a POW camp, PFC Calvillo was abruptly taken on an unknown journey. “They had all of us load up into their trucks. They drove miles and miles through the forests. I thought they were going to shoot us, they had guns. When they would stop for a break, surrounding us, I thought, ‘This is the end,’” he recalled.
The day of his repatriation came. Operations Big Switch and Little Switch were in full swing, repatriating Americans and UN members. Bob was transported to Freedom Village, where he received medical treatment, food, a shower, and a fresh uniform. He then boarded a ship back to America with other troops and prisoners. Calvillo described his release into American custody as a lackluster affair.
After returning home, Cpl. Robert Calvillo separated from the Army and later attended the Academy of Art College. He met his wife, Carmine, at Kay Jewelers, where he worked in the display department. He owned several businesses with his younger brothers. A humble and talented artist, he enjoys sketching and listening to big band music. He still spends time with his wife of 62 years, his only child, Melissa, and his son-in-law, Greg Deal.
In September 2018, the Pentagon finally awarded Bob his long-overdue medals. His nephew, Corporal David Penaflor, presented him with five military medals, including the National Defense Service, Korean Service, United Nations, Prisoner of War, and Korea Service medals.
