Voices from the Korean War - Douglas Rice [11]
Later that evening we received word that a supply convoy had arrived at the assembly area, so a detail was formed to go bring back the supplies. My foxhole buddy and I were chosen to go along to provide support in case they were attacked. When we arrived they already had some Koreans, with their A-frame packs, loaded with supplies. As we started back, it began to rain hard, which made our return trip up the mountain slow. We finally made it back and the supplies were unloaded, and handed out.
Things were quiet between the seventh and ninth and word was going around that MacArthur was going to land the Marines at Inchon—this got everyone’s spirits up. I thought I would finally get back to A Battery, and get off the front line—at least that is what I had hoped for.
At noon on September 12th, we went to eat chow and the first guys that went down came back with C-rations—the cook tent was gone. This made us think the company would be moving to another location, which didn’t happen.
On the thirteenth, around 3:00 PM, planes started hitting the hill across the river from us with napalm; after they left, the artillery started. The following morning, around 9:00 AM, our platoon was called together and informed that the Marines would start their amphibious landing—at Inchon—at 6:00 AM on the morning of the fifteenth. If they were successful, we were to start our counterattack. Company B was given the mission to take a hill that was located a mile-and-a-half in front of the river, which we were to hold until we were relieved. At 8:00 AM on the sixteenth, we crossed the river in DUCKS.
With light casualties, we took the hill around 2:00 PM. On the hill we found several dead GI’s that had their hands tied behind their backs. That day, a lot of us men—from Company B—swore we would never be taken alive. Six days later we were relieved by the ROK.
Around 2:00 AM, on the morning of the twenty-second, the company took on light gunfire on our front. Roughly an hour-and-a-half later, our right flank began to take on heavy fire. They said they could hold, but they up and ran off leaving our right flank wide open. This is where the North Koreans hit the company. Our company commander was killed and I took a bullet in my left leg. We weren’t able to hold, and were ordered to withdraw. My foxhole buddy, along with another soldier, helped me down the hill where a medic took care of my leg. I was then placed in an ambulance and taken to a hospital in Pusan.
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On October 7th, I was cleared to return to duty. I reported to the assembly area where I was given new clothes; two pair of fatigue pants and shirts, two pair of socks, new boots, an M-1 rifle, two grenades, one bandoleer of ammo, a field belt, a canteen, and a first-aid kit.
At 8:00 AM on the eighth, a convoy left Pusan returning forty-three men to their units. It was a slow trip, because the road was jammed with refugees; they were everywhere you looked. Women were carrying babies on their backs, and buckets on their heads—they looked like walking dead. After we crossed the Naktong, we could see where the planes, and artillery, had done a job on the villages, as well as what the North Koreans had done. As we passed through towns you could see burnt bodies from the napalm. And in the fields you could see the dead livestock. Then there was the horrible smell.
Finally, after an all day miserable truck ride, we reached the assembly area where we were able to get a hot meal. I was told that Baker Company was located on a hill, which was hard to climb with my leg still hurting. However, the climb helped work out the