Voices from the Korean War - Douglas Rice [164]
After surviving the edge of a typhoon, a few days out of Fort Lawton, we docked in Yokohama, Japan—fourteen days later. Right away we were processed, and 6600 replacement troops boarded the General Meigs, which was 2000 over capacity, bound for Inchon, South Korea.
On the 9th of October, I was assigned to Company G, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division.
This is an excerpt of a letter I wrote home:
Sunday, October 14, 1951
Hello Folks,
...I am only 4000 yards from the front lines! We’re going up today! This is a pretty bad situation over here...The colonel, Regimental commander, made a speech yesterday to this battalion, which is the 2nd BN...
He said he had seen action in other wars and had seen all kinds of lines, but China had the strongest one an American Army had ever faced! He broke down and cried during this speech and said he prayed for God to bless the brave men who broke this line...
The colonel told us the 7th Regiment had killed or wounded 10,000 Reds in the past 2 weeks...
So long,
Leroy
One night, near the front line, we were assembled after chow. I was told to take two men to the crest of a hill and observe the type of weapons that were fired by the enemy during the night, and report back after daybreak. Before we left, they told us no one would be there, and if there were—shoot them!
We topped out just before dark and were making our way to the edge nearest the enemy positions. Within ten yards of reaching the trench, up popped three Asians. I quickly pointed my M-1 at the mid-section of one! Then one shouted, “Don’t shoot, don’t shoot! Thailand, Thailand!” And of course, I didn’t shoot; we spent the night with friendly troops.
This is another excerpt from a letter I wrote home:
October 20, 1951
Hello Folks,
...The Chinese are very sneaky. They slipped up on a machine gun squad and killed all five of them in E Company about 2 weeks ago. So we try to be alert as possible. It’s the “scariest” thing I have ever done...
George Company met every morning after breakfast to critique the night before. It was the morning of the twentieth, when our company commander, First Lieutenant Munson, asked what trooper was in a certain location the night before. I can still hear the frightened soldier say, “Me, sir.”
Munson replied, “I’m not being critical son, but where in the world did you get all those hand grenades you threw last night?”
The young soldier said that he had been collecting them every chance he got. He must have thrown dozens due to enemy activity that had been spotted.
It was time to get the password for the night, and because of the activity from the night before, we were told to shoot first and ask questions later.
I guess it was between midnight and 2:00 AM, and we were on full alert. My foxhole buddy, Robert Rogers, and I heard a noise to our front. Suddenly, I saw the image of a person, whom I assumed was an enemy soldier slipping up on us. So, I immediately fired my M-1—once. The person yelled, “Don’t shoot, it’s Brown.” I put the safety on, and went into a state of shock. Our platoon sergeant, Sgt. Musgrove, jumped down my throat, calling me trigger happy.
Luckily, for Private James Brown the bullet only grazed his chin; luckily for me, I wasn’t court-martialed.
Private Brown was the runner for the first platoon of George Company and he was running an errand when the incident occurred. He apparently had become lost due to the limited visibility, because of the rain and fog. He knew the trail he was on would lead him back to his platoon. I was cleared of any wrong doing.
On the twenty-eighth, Hills 200 and 199 were taken, but not without a battle of great intensity. The 7th Cavalry, along with the 5th Cavalry’s 2nd BN, participated in a two-battalion night attack. This would be one of the largest night attacks executed by the division. They jumped off around 0230 hours and fought desperately, until past noon, when their objectives were finally secured.
During the latter stages of the assault on Hill 200, First Lieutenant Lloyd