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Cutis C. Toler was born in Blounts Creek in 1932 but grew up in Chocowinity. He graduated from Chocowinity High School in 1950. Two years later, he joined the Army, where he was transferred to the 8th Army, which was the US occupation force in Japan. Later, during the Korean War, he was transferred to the 25th Army division in Korea, where he spent much of his time of service on the frontlines.

Stephen Farrell, curator of special collections at Brown Library, learned of Toler after his daughter, Ladonna Toler Mitchell, brought in a trove of letters he had written home during the war, along with his military medals, and a photo taken of him and a friend of his from Belhaven while stationed in Japan.

“The letters were extremely telling of the horrors of war that he witnessed,” said Farrell. “In one he spoke of his chilling experience while on the front lines, the sounds of machine gun fire, and the propaganda being blared out over loudspeakers night after night by the Chinese. In his words, it made his skin crawl, and he was terrified every night.”

For his service, Toler received the National Defense Medal, The UN Service Medal, the first ever awarded by the UN, as well as the Good Conduct Medal, and a campaign star for his service during the summer campaign of 1953.

Following the war, Toler returned home to Chocowinity, where he married Marie Owen and started a family. He worked in sales at Philips Wright Furniture in Washington before he and his friend Ben Woolard purchased the Suskin and Berry Department Store on Main Street. They were said to have treated their employees and customers like family. After leaving Suskin and Berry he went on to sell cars.

He passed away on August 1, 2009. “Toler’s letters paint a picture of a forgotten war that changed a whole generation of young men who were too young to serve during WWII,” said Farrell. “To no fault of their own, they were part of a war that came on the heels of toppling the fascist regime in Germany and the Imperialist Japanese Army. A war in which tens of thousands of soldiers lost their lives, yet there was never a clear winner or loser, only a demilitarized zone that remains today. This is why it is so important that Toler’s story and those of other Korean War veterans must not go unforgotten.”