Famous Family Members

Conrad Stevens, Son of George and Edna Stevens (source from new paper clipping sent by Betty Stevens);

"I'm a pretty lucky guy "said corp. Conrad Stevens, who was on crutches when he arrived home in New Orleans on Dec. 23, 1950 after having been wounded twice during the Korean War.

The 18 year old GI joined his parents, George and Edna Stevens, at their home at 1954 1/2 Conti Street. Stevens was wounded the first time when grenade fragments struck him in the right eye. The second time, a bullet struck him in the left leg.

Stevens and his company arrived in Korea on July 18, 1950. After being wounded the first time, he was placed in a hospital in Seoul. "The first night there I'm in bed and there's a big explosion," he said in an account published in the New Orleans Item on Dec 24, 1950. "I go nuts. I jump up and run onto the street in my pajamas."

He was sent to the U.S. Navy hospital ship in Inchom harbor. "I figure the war is over for me. I'm wrong. They wake the hand grenade fragments from behind my eyeball and fix me up. I feel fine." Stevens was shipped back to his old company. "No sooner do I get back than I'm hit again. This time it's in the left leg, just above the ankle. The bullet goes goes in one side and out the other. They ship me back to the State. As soon as I get to California, I call my mother. All she can say is, Buddy, Buddy, Buddy," and she starts crying.

"I go to Texas and pretty soon I can get around on crutches. They tell me I can go home for Christmas. I'm a pretty lucky guy." Stevens was discharged from the Army in June 1952. That July, he went to work for the American General Life Insurance Co. as an agent and began a 47-year career. He retied last year.

"To my knowledge, I was the first wounded Korean veteran to return to New Orleans," he said. He still feels lucky. "There's so many things that can go wrong in your life. I'm glad I took the path that I did," he said.