Voices from the Korean War - Douglas Rice [149]
My indoctrination to Korea was that I was on the line for nine straight days. I remember on the seventh day, a runner from D Company came to my location and presented me with the “Rifleman Combat Badge.”
Thirty-five of us replacements went in that same night. Except for me, all were assigned as riflemen. At the end of the ninth day, only three of those thirty-five rode off that hill in a jeep. They were all either killed or wounded. There was some fierce fighting during those nine days.
In the fall of 1951, I was a forward observer on another hill located above the 38th parallel. It was a beautiful, warm fall morning and as I started up a long hog-back hill, I noticed a huge rock. Immediately I stopped and dropped to my knee. I was carrying a carbine that I had taken off a dead second lieutenant, which had three banana clips that held thirty-five rounds each. With the clips hanging from my neck, I looked around and noticed the large rock had an opening—it was a cave-like bunker.
From the back of the cavern I saw a North Korean come out, and after about three jumps he was down over the hill. Moments later, another one came out. I thought they might be angling behind me. When the third one came out—I started firing. During the next thirty minutes, I killed or wounded twenty-five enemy soldiers; then it was quiet. A North Korean, with a white flag, came out of the bunker along with forty-two of his fellow soldiers; they all surrendered to me.
I began yelling at some men from Charlie Company, who were in the trenches below me. They came up, surrounded the North Koreans, and took them back to the MP’s. I was unable to go with them, because I ran into a major who was taking over our area and he needed some information.
After helping him, a jeep came to take me to company headquarters. I had orders to go to Hokkaido, Japan, to train the Japanese NPR (National Police Reserve) in the use of mortars and heavy weapons. I was one of twenty-three selected from non-coms, artillery, infantry, etc... We were flown to Hokkaido, which is the northern most island in Japan. When we arrived, the snow was up to our chests. I believe that was the nicest Christmas I would ever have.
This was a welcomed break from the fighting.
~~Fifty-One~~
George DeSha
7th Marine Regiment
1st Marine Division
U.S. Marine Corps
At the age of twenty-one, I enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. After basic training, I left San Diego, California aboard the Marine Lynx. Approximately ten days later, we arrived in Japan; from there—Korea.
It was September of 1951 when I arrived in Korea and I was assigned to Able Company, 1st BN, 7th Marines.
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In November we were on the eastern front—on Hill 812. It was next to Hill 749, where there was a lot of fighting. We were in trenches, and there was a Navy guy using a bunker in our trench. He was the Forward Observer for directing fire from the battleships.
I was cooking a can of pork-n-beans, on a heat can, when they brought up a can of beer for everyone. I had the can of beans sitting on the side of the trench, and was looking forward to eating them and chasing them down with a cold beer. Suddenly, the “gooks” started shelling us, and they blew up my can of beer along with my BAR. We all dove into our trenches.
I took my busted up BAR to the company commander, Lt. Ulritch. He told me that he was glad I was alive and he would get me a new BAR. It arrived two hours later. I just knew I was going to get in trouble for not taking better care of my equipment.
* * * * * *
It was January of 1952, and the weather was terrible. The mercury was reaching twenty degrees below zero, with the wind blowing at thirty to thirty-five miles per hour. We had been out for about an hour when headquarters called us back in. They did not want to loose any of us from frostbite.
We were wearing our