Voices from the Korean War - Douglas Rice [136]
In a louder voice, he said, “Twenty-five push-ups!”
I figured I was the only one counting, so after doing twenty-three, I stood up. In a louder voice, he asked me who said I could get up. Then in even a louder voice, he told me to give him twenty-five more. This time he told me to “sound-off.” After finishing, I waited for permission to stand.
That was the first—and last—time that I got chewed out or did push-ups for punishment.
Finally, during the first week of July, my fourteen weeks of basic training were over. I received a short leave, to go home, before my new assignment—Korea.
* * * * * *
When it came time for me to leave home I searched through the house for mother, finding her sitting on the edge of her bed. She took my hand as we sat there without saying a word; she with tears in her eyes. In a little while, she turned loose of my hand, gave me a kiss, and told me to go.
It was a goodbye I have never forgotten.
* * * * * *
My stay at Camp Stoneman, California, was for two days, and then I boarded a four-engine, twin-tailed, Constellation headed for Hawaii. What was to be a two hour stop, before going on to Wake Island, turned in to ten hours due to an engine needing repaired.
After a brief stay on Wake, we landed in Yokohama, Japan; the hottest, and most humid, place I had ever been. We were issued new clothes and boots, then off to Korea we went.
After landing in Korea, we loaded onto a deuce-and-a-half and headed north. As we drove through Seoul, I could not believe the destruction; people with all they possessed on their backs; children, hungry and begging for food. A sad sight!
We spent the night at a replacement center, where we received a haircut and turned in the clothes we would no longer need. Now everything I possessed I carried on my back, like the civilians I had seen in Seoul. Along with my M-1 rifle, ammo belt, trenching tool, canteen, and First-Aid Kit; I was ready for the front line. However, my training did not prepare me for the drastic change that was to take place in my life in the next few days.
As we crossed the 38th parallel, we went through a huge barbed wire complex known as the Kansas Line; which was loaded with minefields. When night came the ground would become our bed. The following morning, we continued our journey north. We passed through an artillery section that was firing continuously on a big hill to their north. As I stood there watching the shells rip apart the mountain, my only thought was, “Why?” The following morning, I found out the answer.
Around noon our journey came to an end. We were dropped off in a little canyon, with nothing around us except five-or-six more new replacements. Here we were welcomed to Company M, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, by Captain Corbin. You never volunteered for anything in the service; however, this doesn’t always hold true. The captain asked if any of us had experience in cooking, typing, 81mm mortars, etc... These were probably some of the better positions in the company. So, I stood there without raising my hand; I guess I was waiting for something better. Then he turned to those of us who didn’t raise our hands, and said you are machine gunners and will be assigned to K Company.
A machine gun section consists of two squads, each with a .30 caliber water-cooled machine gun. The gunner carried the tripod, which weighed about forty-four pounds. The gun, which weighed about the same as the tripod was carried by the assistant gunner. Ammo bearers carried two cans of ammo, each weighing fifteen pounds; there were two-hundred fifty rounds per can.
I was taken by jeep, just a short distance down the road. Then the driver stopped and pointed to a small group of guys gathered on a small rise, off in the distance. He went on to tell me that was my machine gun section. I got out of the jeep, gathered my gear, and then the jeep sped off leaving me in a cloud of dust.
Finally, I made my way to the small rise, where the group of twenty-one guys were located. One was from Guatemala and the other twenty were from all parts