central Valley chapter makes korean war medallion presentation

Corporal Robert Calvillo (bottom right) is pictured at his ceremony to receive the Non Commissioned Officers Association Korean War Medallion. Pictured with Calvillo are: bottom row from left, Carmine Calvillo and Roman Moncalieri. Back row (L-R): VFW Camerado Post 10165 Chaplain, VFW Dept. of CA Senior Vice Commander SFC David Kuta (Ret), VFW Post 10165 Commander CSGM Lenny McAdams (Ret), VFW Post Auxiliary 6604 Chaplain Kelle Hernandez, Melissa Deal, Greg Deal, and NCOA Central Valley Chapter Chairman CMSgt James Sullivan (Ret).

With 50 people in attendance, Cpl. Robert “Bob” Jack Calvillo was honored with the Non Commissioned Officers Association (NCOA) Korean War Medallion presented by NCOA Central Valley Chapter Chairman CMSgt Jim Sullivan, USAF (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 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 CSM Lenny McAdams (Ret) and VFW Auxiliary Post 6604 Chaplain Kelle Hernandez.
Calvillo, the second of eight children, was born Aug. 21, 1929, in Oakland. He joined the US Army in 1948 for a three-year enlistment. In August 1950, he boarded a troop ship to Korean. 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 Korean Peninsula Day, in the early hours of Dec. 1, 1950, performing his job as a field cook and not knowing of his future plight or US Army Forces predicament in the coming hours, Cavillo 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, with and without weapons, as he remembers, swarming down like a crashing wave from the mountains.
Calvillo found a rifle in hands during the chaos. He encountered a Chinese soldier in a foxhole and remembers vividly the moment when he stared at this “scared, young kid.” As his finger was squeezing the trigger, he released the pressure just below the 4½ pounds needed for the firing pin to hit the cartridge releasing the full metal jacket, only to let the enemy go. He could not shoot an unarmed enemy combatant. Afterward, “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 numbers of the enemy were too much for US forces 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.”
They now led the demoralized American Battalion deeper into North Korea on a long, cold trek, village to village, house to house, shack to shack, finally to where they were only sleeping under a canopy of stars. En route north, Calvillo saw a mass enemy Army march in large groups past him heading south toward entrenched US forces with the captives not knowing their fate. The Chinese and North Koreans were advancing against the US Army and pushing the battle lines further back with the Americans in fast retreat. However, Robert’s predicament would only worsen the longer he stayed alive.
Calvillo remarked on his overall feeling of his time as a POW, “It was terrible. terrible. The North Koreans were mean.” He remembered while on his journey north, “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 say, the North Koreans will shoot you. Sheltering outside, sleeping under the frigid cold blanket of the Korean winter was terrible.”
One of Calvillo’s most horrible memories 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 for his family to never truly know his fate. This memory reel still plays over and over in his mind, Bob said. He and the US Army prisoners were marched further north toward the Yal-Lu River during the coldest part of winter, without winter gear, arriving at the border between North Korea and China. The American POWs ended up in “Prison Camp 5,” where he was kept for more than two years under atrocious living conditions and severe inclement weather. The prison camp was manned by Chinese guards, where they separated the officers from the enlisted with other separate groups.
Although the Chinese captors were much better hosts 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 from time to time would tell them they were being set free, only to suffer under the false pretenses of hope being mentally tortured.
“We didn’t have shelter. When it snowed, me and two other prisoners would cover ourselves with a mattress to try to keep warm. That was the only warmth not to die,” he said. By this time, Robert only had his field coat during his time as a prisoner lucky to have boot wear. American POWs were not supplied anything extra since their capture. Said Calvillo, “Once a day, they fed us, (and) 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.’ ”
At times, the wardens would force Robert into a 35-gallon barrel for at least 30 minutes at a time to be unusually cruel. He said he would tell his captors he couldn’t fit into the barrel. It was made clear if he did not fit himself into the barrel, he would be killed, so he made himself fit into the barrel and sealed up in the unimaginable limited space no human should endure. The physical torture, combined with constant spiritual degradation, mixed with emotional turmoil, coupled with mental abuse, his captors again and again would toy with their American prisoners, telling them they would be released soon, giving them false hope as the months and years dragged on.
There were many times he faced serious health conditions that could have cost him his life, as well as having the hardship of losing many of his friends, but Bob, as he is known by close family and friends, kept with his faith, determined to live.
In the spring of 1953, after two years in a POW prison camp, PFC Calvillo was abruptly taken on an unknown journey. Robert thinks back to his release, saying, “They had all of us load up into their trucks. They drove miles and miles through the forests. I thought they’re going to shoot us, they had guns. When they would stop for a break, (they would be) surrounding us, I thought, ‘This is the end.”
The day came for his repatriation. Operation Big and Little Switch were in full operational swing repatriating Americans and UN members. Bob was transported to Freedom Village for his complete repatriation, where he received medical treatment, food, shower and 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 soon separated from the Army, later attending the Academy of Art College. He met his wife, Carmine, at Kay Jewelers, where he worked in the display department. He owned a couple of businesses with his two younger brothers. He is a humble, talented artist and enjoys sketching and listening to big band music. He still enjoys spending time with his wife of 62 years, with his only child, Melissa, and son-in-law Greg Deal being actively involved in his life.
Robert Calvillo is a hero, having endured more than most soldiers being a captive of the enemy. Surviving against the odds of captivity, lack of clothing, food and shelter, and the basic necessities of survival, he made it back alive but forever scarred. He showed true stoicism during the interviews, sharing with me his horrible memories from more than 70 years ago as a Prisoner of War. Robert suffers from Post Traumatic Stress, at times, staring into the distance with quiet intensity as he told his horrible experiences, unable to hide back his emotions no matter how hard he tried to be in the present moment.
In September 2018, the Pentagon finally awarded Bob his long-deserved medals. His nephew, Corporal David Penaflor, presented Bob with five military medals, including the National Defense Service, Korean Service, United Nations, Prisoner of War, and Service medals (Korea).
Excerpts of interviews with Bob Calvillo were also contributed by David to place Bob’s story into the halls of perpetuity.

Article by S. Moncalieri, Gold Country Media. (Feb 26, 2025)
​Photo Credit: Courtesy