Post: #1

This story was actually written some years ago, by my father. It was written with the help of my mother, by request of a particular magazine, though never published. My father was extremely reluctant to write this as I know that it contains memories that are quite painful. This is the main reason why some names have been deliberately left blank. It is his true account of exactly what the title says.

My Last Week in Korea

“Hey Chris, you’re being rotated!” Oh happy, happy day!
After thirteen months in that hellhole, we were finally going home. Relieved of duty, we began turning in our equipment. I guess the Gooks* must have got that message too because about that time the shit really started to hit the fan!

Early July 1953. It was hot, humid, rain squalls threatened.Heavy incoming began raining in on us in the late afternoon. I suppose the bastards wanted to try and get a little more real estate. Fat chance! Even though the 1st Marine Division had pulled back, the Turks were a match for the Chinese any day and the Turks still had support from the 1st Tank Battalion, USMC. In three weeks, this war would end, but we did not know that then.

Our area was being hit hard. The smoke combined with the dust-it had been very dry-was thick enough to choke man or beast. Damn! Why now, when I was getting ready to go home? Most of us thought that they were just trying to test the Turks, but it was happening all along the line. On the east coast, Pork Chop Hill was getting hit hard, but that is someone else’s story.

The afternoon relief of tanks, up on the hill had started. Back in the company CP, where the other rotators and I were gathered, we joked about the green kids getting their baptism.

As we watched from the CP and just before it reached the top of the hill, one of our tanks took a direct hit on top of it’s turret. The tank was buttoned up except for Keith** ____, the tank commander. He had kept his hatch open so he could guide the driver up to the firing position.
Like I said, the dust and smoke were really horrendous and it was hot. It would have been tough, with all the smoke and dust for an inexperienced driver to follow what passed for a road. The tank had taken the hit right in front of Keith’s hatch, the main commanders hatch. Mercifully, he never knew what hit him and he dropped into the turret. Keith was from Nebraska.

Everyone on that tank was green except for Keith. All of them except the driver (a black man named Shook), panicked and jumped out of the tank. The driver, belying his name, kept his head and backed the tank down the hill.

At the aid station, an Army Lieutenant told Shook that Keith was dead and to, “get that tank out of here” as it was drawing fire. Shook told him he was “full of shit”, the place was out of sight of the Gooks. He drove the tank to the Company CP. There they removed Keith’s body. By this time it was dark and they were leary of sending the tank back up on the line as the main gun may have been damaged.

The next morning, I was told to round up the crew and take the tank back to have the armorers look it over. Believe me, this was an adventure in itself! The trip was only a few miles one way but we had to cross the Imjin river. No problem, except that the Gooks kept lobbing large pieces of mail in an attempt to knock out the bridge. Damn! They hadn’t hit it yet, but the misses were something else! One look at the bridge and I was ready to call off the entire war! Aside from the Gook mail, our engineers had stripped all of the paving off the top of the bridge. It was skeletonized, two steel tracks were all there were to drive on. Three men of the crew walked, while the driver and I took the tank across. It was scary as hell to imagine tumbling off that bridge and into the water, inside 46 tons of pig iron- maybe upside down! But like we always said, “The fall won’t hurt, but damn! That sudden stop!”
The Imjin river was (still is, I am sure) a rather swift flowing river, about 100 to 150 yards wide with sandy beaches here and there. It was a sandy area were we crossed.

The river water was clear, but by no means clean. Many, many rice patties drained into the Imjin, as into the other rivers in Korea and at that time- so we were told- the Koreans used human manure for fertilizer. Mostly the river and surrounding countryside would have been beautiful, if it had not been for the ugliness of war.

As we were crossing the bridge, a Gook round smacked into the river below us. That did not help my nerves a whole lot. Finally reaching the other side, we proceeded down the road to the armorers.

Back at the armorers, nothing happened untill about a dozen guys checked out the blood-stained turret. Then the recoil system was checked and we fired a round into an embankment. Once the tank was declared safe to use, we headed back. Damn! There is that bridge again! I think it was here that I first realized that I had acrophobia.

Back at the Company CP, I was ordered to a position on the hill. The tank had no .50 BMG or radio antenna, but what the hell- we didn’t need to be told who to shoot at. Things had quieted down a bit. Our artillery had let up so the Corsairs and Panther jets could raise hell for a while. Then we were back to pounding away. Damn, the bodies out there. We spent most of the afternoon trying to count them. A modern army just cannot go on the offensive without air support/superiority. Even without air support, our massed artillery and rockets doomed every Chinese ground offensive.

When night fell and they made another attempt, it was “Sorry Charlie”, it’s all over! Flares kept the rest of the night lit-up. We kept it noisy. I probably shouldn’t mention this, but our firing (my tank and a couple of others) were just putting the wounded out of their misery.

I end this tale, by saying this; if I ever found out that a General of ours had sent our sons to a death like that of the Chinese, I would hunt him down and kill him, one small piece at a time.

Additional notes-
I was already relieved of duty from 3rd Plt. B Co. 1st Tank Battalion when this happened. When we finally boarded trucks to haul-ass to Inchon (Ashcom City to be exact), we sang the Korean War Going Home Song;
So long,
it’s been good to know you,
So long,
it’s been good to know you,
So long
it’s been good to know you,
but a long time since I’ve been home,
and I’ve got to be drifting along,
So long,
It’s been good to know you
(repeat)

My thirteen months (give or take a day or two), started in June of 1952 and ended about the middle of July 1953. I was a buck sergeant and section leader of tanks. A platoon of tanks was usually composed of five tanks in two sections. One of three and one of two. Thank God I only had the two, that was responsibility enough.

By the time I reached Korea, I realized I was a little immature, but I had to do what I had to do. I was no super Marine, but to this day, I believe I did my best.

Most of our line tanks were M46 Pattons.(M26 Pershings lengthened and souped up). Good tanks. They were equiped with a 90mm rifle, a coaxial .30 cal. model 1919 BMG, another .30 M1919 bow machine gun and a .50 cal M2 BMG mounted on top of the turret. The tanks top speed was 50mph on good roads (3 gallons of gas to the mile-yes-gallons to the mile!). They had a 12 cylinder Continental motor and an automatic transmission. A damn good machine.
Inside, these animals were cold in the winter and hot in the summer. I don’t recall ever naming my tank, we just called her, “That running son of a bitch”

Sgt. Chris _____ Sr. USMC ret.


*Note: The term ‘Gook’ is an obviously derogatory term for a Chinese or Asian person. This does not mean that my father or myself are in anyway racist. Indeed, my father would be the first to tell you that racism is a lot of crap. I agree. He wrote this (and speaks) in the language of the day.

**Note: What my father doesn't say here, is that Keith___, was his best friend. I know that to this day, his loss pains my father deeply. One of my older brothers is named for him.

Post: #2

Great story, thank you for posting.

Post: #3

Beautiful story. I feel ashamed to say this, but that's quite a bit of history. Didn't know the Chinese & the turks were involved in that war.

Post: #4

I like reading little snapshots of soldiers' experiences like this.

It really gives you an idea of what it would be like to be a young guy who had to go to war and how you'd react to all the craziness around you.

Post: #5

(01-06-2016 11:06 PM)lex the impaler Wrote:  Beautiful story. I feel ashamed to say this, but that's quite a bit of history. Didn't know the Chinese & the turks were involved in that war.

The Chinese provided a staggering amount of manpower for the North Korean side, and the Russians supplied weapons and fighter jets. China's participation highlights one of the greatest flaws in communist ideology. Communism breeds traitors. In less than 10 years time, we went from China being an ally to having Chinese soldiers shooting at US soldiers in Korea. Now that I think about it, Stalin must have been losing his grip on Russia at the time because he was on the verge of requesting Marshall Plan assistance from the US when he mysteriously died. US jeeps, trucks, and food kept the Russian army going when the Germans were knocking on the door of Moscow. But this is a different discussion.

One of the more interesting elements of the Chinese involvement is that although the government was quick to forget the US was once China's ally, many of the soldiers remembered the US assistance they received in their fight with Japan. One encounter I read about was of a US retreat, and those bringing up the rear fell too far behind and were quickly overrun by the Chinese. They surrendered, the Chinese took their remaining ammo but returned their weapons, and told them to hurry up and catch up to their unit. Some accounts say that the Chinese were quite gentlemanly in their approach to the US.

Turkey operated with the US in Korea to answer the call of the UN, and to earn some street cred as an international player. The British were there too, but they were acting like typical Euro-Brit faggots and crying every time the US wanted to flatten some 500 year old building that housed enemy combatants. The Turks in Korea were known to be rather aggressive, stubborn, and coped well when placed in POW camps, whereas the US soldiers didn't do well at all in Korean captivity.

The Book titled "This Kind of War" is considered by the US Marine Corps to be the definitive book on the Korean conflict, and has been on their recommended reading list for 50+ years now.

Post: #6

Post: #7

(01-07-2016 04:32 AM)porscheguy Wrote:  The Book titled "This Kind of War" is considered by the US Marine Corps to be the definitive book on the Korean conflict, and has been on their recommended reading list for 50+ years now.

In some circles, it's required reading. I'm reading it right now.

G