JMJ

Sunday, June 6, 2010

Final days rest area North Korea 51

 
                                                                          JMJ
Kumwah,North Korea
Aug 51,,5th RCT 24th Div.
Phillip Meyer S/sgt Ret
                                                                   Rest Area
 After climbing the hills a few interesting things happened. On the lighter side one night a soldier cried out
"Your Mother wears combat boots" down the line a soldier pick that up and shouted another funny and so the night went.From far off hills you could hear the message being passed on..The interesting part about this incident it was put in the newspaper "the Stars and stripes_,Once a soldier got hold of small portable record player and for a few minutes we heard Korean music..
As A part of keeping us in shape we were called down by the road and here was this small tank,,What were we to do..Lay in the middle of the road and the tank would carefully go over you,,The reason if we ever came under attack by tank we knew there was a away to survive.Any way my turn came..It made a lot of noise as it passed over,Then the tanker invited us to get on top and ride a little with him,When you ride outside a tank you have to hold on real tight...
We were checking out the area when a soldier said "This is what happened here and he told this story (Joke) the Chinese found a recoilless weapon.A couple of soldier were in back when they fire it and got killed from the backblast,So the Chinese soldier says as they load it up.Let turn it around and fire it..They told it better than me.
The next was more seriouse.  We were in the woods and some soldiers found a dead Chinese soldier.He had been hit by napalm. Think a triangle that was his body.It just twisted the body.I give the men my respect.They buried the body.....
The soldiers that performed at Fort Jackson in the club came and gave us a show.That truck was loaded with soldiers to go see it,and on that same road we found an empty fuel tank dropped by a jet,A soldier started to draw a soldier in a fox hole looking up at a pretty girl..Eventually   "L" Co 5 RCT was put on it.Some where in Hawaii they have that tank surrounded by a fence.Just a few short days so many things happened.The last night they dug this huge hole not deep but wide a fire was lit an in it went everything they did not to bring up to the front lines.Letters ect.I never received letters so I had nothing to throw in the fire,
Early next morning we ate breakfast.The trucks came to bring us back to the front lines,The Sgt said to me. "Burn that garbage in that abandoned fox hole." So I tried to light the trash,,would not light..Ahh I know I got gasoline and poured some on it ..In went a match..no flame so I got a piece of paper (time had passed it was a hot day).I put the burning piece of paper down by the hole.It never got there because.The min or explosion hit my face just a few small burns,I let out a yell,,Then it was to the truck to go to a new position,,Amazing how much can happen in a week,,,
Phillip Meyer S/sgt Ret