A. Keith Jernigan Korean War Collection

Image on Left: Keith Jernigan, Masan, Korea, January 19, 1951.
Location in Collection: Box 2, Item 1.

Born: October 30, 1928, in Little Rock, Arkansas
Korean War Service: 1st Combat Service Group, 1st Marine Division, 1950-1951


Arnold Keith Jernigan was born in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1928. He attended Little Rock Junior College for two years before enlisting in the Marine Corps Reserves in 1948 at the age of nineteen. Colorblind, he had memorized the color chart to enlist.

Jernigan served in the Korean War for eight months beginning in September of 1950 as a Sergeant in the Headquarters Company, 1st Combat Service Group, 1st Marine Corps Division. His main duties included reconnoitering, maintaining/distributing maps, and interrogation of civilians. He participated in the Inchon Landing, the withdrawal of troops from North Korea, and the U.N. Counter Offensive of 1951. He currently lives in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Marine Corps LVT-5 in street , Inchon, South Korea, ca. 1951.
Location in Collection: Box 2, Item 51.


Master Sgt. Gordon, unit senior NCO, and Keith Jernigan in headquarters in bank building, Masan, South Korea, ca. 1951.
Location in Collection: Box 2, Item 62.


Inchon, South Korea, ca. 1951.
Location in Collection: Box 2, Item 27
The A. Keith Jernigan Collection consists of two boxes of documents and photographs relating to his Korean War military service. Jernigan was interviewed on February 4, 2009; audio and video copies of the interview are included in the collection.

Click here to access the complete finding aid. Selected photographs can be found here. The audio version of the oral history interview is available here.


Contributed by Stephanie Bayless, Manuscripts Department.