Voices from the Korean War - Douglas Rice [93]
We weren’t sure where he was going—maybe he was going to get the enemy—but there wasn’t anything we could do except wait.
Three days later, in the afternoon, we heard someone shout, “Are any Americans here?” Were we ever glad to see a bunch of GI’s walking toward us.
His feet were so badly frostbitten that it looked to me that they would have to be amputated. However, he thought in a different way; he didn’t want to return to the States, he wanted to get well enough to return to his unit. He added, “Just think. Those GI’s risked their lives to save us five guys.”
All I had heard of the North Korean Army was of their barbarism. Just the day before, I heard stories about how they and the Communist Chinese had killed several hundred Allied prisoners in cold blood; then to hear the story of the kindness shown by the North Korean farmer.
The young man could see I was upset and he began to tell me that the Chinese and Russian Communist warlords were forcing their will on the Korean people. I was so surprised, I couldn’t speak.
I learned a lot from this young man—whose name I can’t remember. However, I would bet my last dollar that if he had his feet amputated he learned to walk, and moved ahead with his life.
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On the 5th of December, I wrote my mother telling her that the 801st had evacuated men with wounds, and frostbite, from the Koto-ri and Hagaru-ri area. The inadequate airstrips were entirely surrounded by enemy troops, and were subjected to hostile fire. Over a period of a few weeks, one-hundred thirty-one flights had airlifted men to medical care, and safety.
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The Marine squadron we had been flying with was suddenly called back to Hawaii. So, being without planes to evacuate the wounded, there was no reason for the 801st to remain at Itami. At 3:00 PM on a Tuesday, we learned of our moving. Having spent most of the night packing, we left Itami at 7:30 AM on Wednesday morning headed for Ashyia.
Soon, I was flying again from Ashyia to Pusan.
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It was now February, 1951 and even though our evac work continued, it had somewhat changed in character. We were moving Chinese Prisoners of War to prison camps in the south—it was the humane thing to do. Their wounds were infected, and often full of white, squirming maggots. The wounds that had been bandaged smelled foul and needed changing. Many of the men were starving. And since they could no longer fight, the Chinese had sadistically left them behind—to die.
We were also evacuating our own men who had been prisoners, and escaped. These men had managed to survive by eating twigs, and drinking muddy water. And without the use of maps, were able to find their way to friendly troops.
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It was March 15, 1951 and we were oblivious to the fact that Seoul had been recaptured for the fourth time, by UN forces.
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I was flown to Tachikawa to teach medical technicians, which was a change of pace from my daily routine. Lt. Colonel Allen, my CO, had asked me to teach a mini-course to the men who had recently been assigned to the 801st. These were medics who had not been trained in air evacuation techniques.
After their training, they were assigned to units where they were needed.
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It was Easter time and the world-renowned evangelist E. Stanley Jones spoke at the base chapel. He was in Japan on a six-week tour, preaching to Americans and speaking to the non-English speaking Japanese who worked at the base. For Easter I made hot cross buns and we ate them with ham and eggs—what an enjoyable breakfast.
A week later, Lt. Colonel Verena Zeller—Chief Nurse of the U.S. Air Force—was in Japan. She was part of a team that was inspecting the facilities in the Far East Air Force; I had a part in introducing them to the members of the 801st MAES. The team was headed by General Armstrong, the U.S. Surgeon General, and consisted of General Swartzenberg, Chief Surgeon of the Air Force, Colonel Ben Strickland, head of the School of Aviation Medicine at Gunter