Voices from the Korean War - Douglas Rice [138]
There was one hill that we went out on patrol on that looked like it had been fought over, won and lost numerous times; it had the scars to prove it. We all dispersed into the trenches that already lined the hillside. Half of the guys slept, while the other half pulled watch. We had no blankets, so I pulled my poncho over my head in an effort to stay warm. It was a long, miserable night; luckily for us, we saw no Chinese.
The next morning we headed back to base. Along the way, we came upon a creek where the water was clear. We stopped, filled our canteens, and laid down in the creek—clothes and all. This was the closest thing we had to a bath in about a week. My boots soon filled with water, which was soothing to the sores on my feet. We arrived at our base late in the afternoon, tired, but alive. The only thing that was bleeding was my feet. Since we never went out on another patrol, they had time to heal.
They told us that the next day K Company would be bringing us up hot meals, which would be my first since leaving Seoul. However, the machine gun squads were from M Company; we soon found out how it felt to be an orphan. After much debate over who was responsible for feeding us, K Company said they would—we ate last.
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At the break of dawn on September 21, 1951, we headed for Hill 339. We now had ten guys to do what twenty-two did when I first arrived. Once again, we teamed up with K Company as we started our climb up a steep embankment. After reaching the top, it was back to the normal routine of Korea—up one hill, down another. Along the way, we took several short breaks. With two legs of the tripod slung over your shoulders, and the third rubbing the middle of your back, you tried to conserve your strength.
We came to a fork in the trail and we took the one to the right. Traveling only a short distance, we came upon a GI lying on a stretcher—stiff as a board. Continuing on, we soon realized we had taken the wrong trail. So, we turned around and headed back; once again we passed the dead soldier. These are the things one doesn’t forget.
Finally, around mid-afternoon we set up our gun at the end of a ridge that overlooked our objective. A lieutenant from K Company set up a telescope and as he was looking at the hill we were to take, he noticed movement. Being too far away to identify them as friend or foe, he asked me to look. I agreed with him, we were to far away to make a positive identification; but, I guessed them to be GI’s. He guessed the same, because another company was to come up the hill from the other side.
Having confirmed by radio that the hill was unoccupied, taking Hill 339 would proceed. As we went down off the ridge, and approached the base of the hill, all hell broke loose. Mortar rounds came down on us like a hailstorm. With nothing to shield us, we quickly jumped to the low side of the hill and laid as flat as we could. Finally, the shelling stopped, so we grabbed our gear and up the hill we went. Carrying the tripod, I made it half the way up before my legs wouldn’t go anymore. The mortar shells began to fall again, so I yelled for Carl to get the tripod off my back. He did, and I was able to make it to the top.
Reaching the top, we set up our machine gun in a shell hole that was roughly five-to-six feet across. It wasn’t the greatest place to set up, but for the time being it would have to do. There were trenches, and bunkers, already on the hill since it had been occupied earlier. With darkness approaching, I found a shell hole about five feet across, but not very deep. It was in an area that needed to be defended, so I took first watch. I told my assistant gunner, Higgins, to stay with