Front Lines, North Korea 1951

North Korea May 1951
5th RCT :L" Co, 4th Platoon 3rd Squad

Front Lines
After the demonstration for some top generals it was time to go on the front lines.Since I was in the machine squad I was assigned to carry machine gun ammo,two boxes..It was heavy..I had it over my right shoulder with straps to hold the boxes.About half way up the hill I was getting tired.what to do..I looked in front of me and there was this soldier,tall looked strong..With out thinking I got close to him took my ammo threw it on his shoulders then said "Will you help me" He turned around and then I saw the Lt. Bars.and he was my company commander..The surprise he said "sure Ill help you"

So we continued up the hill. When we got to the top .We kept on going for awhile then we stopped and we were told to chose a place to make our fox holes..The machine gun men got quickly making a special bunker.We were next to the machine gun and my buddy and I dug a fox hole. That night guard 1 hour on one hour off all night.During the night the machine gunners heard sounds and would fire in that direction.The morning came and just below the new machine gun bunker was an old North Korean bunker and a soldier came out of it. The soldier was a medic who had thought that would be a good place to sleep but no one knew he was in there so every time he moved the machine gunner would fire but he was safe as long as he stayed in the bunker,That night he slept on the other side of the hill,,

That day the artillery was firing on enemy position and a White Phosphorus fell short on our area,Lucky just far enough not to hurt but as the white smoke came across the hill the machine gun bunker was fill of men...In those first couple of day the mess people were able to bring hot food up in containers but a problem not enough mess kits to eat out off..What to do..Simple.The first men got the mess kits.When they finish eating on the ridge line they put them in a box.Next group took the dirty mess kit hit it on a tree and ate and so on/You finish eating knock the old food out and pass on the mess kit,We only got a couple of meals that way then we got C-rations ..

The next thing I learned the hard way was how to sleep. I was sleeping on the ridge line not far from my fox hole when I got off guard.One night I felt some one kicking me and saying ;Is he dead?" Then they told me.I was sleeping with my mouth wide open and a soldier saw dozens of flies going in my mouth.So he presumed I was dead.From that day on I covered my mouth with whatever I could find when I was sleeping.

Our first casualty, no not the enemy but a horrible way to die. A soldier had a very large flare and as the story goes he put it in his fox hole then for some reason sat on it and it and the flare went up and he was killed immediately. My memory my fox hole was near the ridge line and they carried his body pass my fox hole.

The next man to die.We were put on alert were we being infiltrated, a soldier had gone in front of his fox hole to go to the bathroom his buddy woke up not realizing it and shot him,..We had a lot to learn.