"Above and Beyond the Call of Duty: The Corporal Clair Goodblood Story"

Part One gives an excellent overview of the background to the start of the Korean War on June 25, 1950. This is followed by a fine description of the military actions in the war, through to the armistice of July 27, 1953. Part Two covers the US 3rd Infantry Division, named the "Rock of the Marne" Division for its action in World War I. Clair Goodblood was assigned to D Company in the 7th Infantry Regiment of that Division. Parts Three and Four cover the Chinese Spring Offensive of April 1951. It was during this action that Cpl. Goodblood, manning a .30 caliber heavy, water-cooled, machine gun carried out the heroic actions, on April 24 and 25, 1951, for which he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. These actions are well documented with maps and description. Much of the latter is taken from unit action reports and command reports created at the time. Other men involved in this action are quoted.

Part Five covers the earlier events involving the 3rd Infantry Division during the now famous Chosin Campaign in North Korea in late 1950. Part Six brings the reader to Goodblood’s family history in Maine. It includes family pictures, and a map of the area in Maine where the family lived. Also included is the advice to that family of his death in action, and the events during which the family received his Medal of Honor in Washington, DC in January 1952.

The coverage of the Goodblood story is done in an excellent, accurate and tasteful way by the author. But it is the later sections of this book that set it aside from many others. It took years of work, by many dedicated people, including the author, also a Korean War veteran, to create remembrances of Korean War veterans from Maine. This included the establishment of a chapter of the Korean War Veterans Association in Augusta, Maine. This chapter is appropriately named the Cpl. Clair Goodblood Chapter. This same group of volunteers also worked to establish a Korean War memorial in Bangor, Maine, and a specific monument to Clair Goodblood in Burnham, Maine. A section of Highway 100 was dedicated as the Corporal Clair Goodblood Memorial Highway. It is difficult to image how more could be done to remember a gallant soldier who gave his life in the service of his country." - Norman Zehr