On The Way Up to North Korea -1951

Korea 1951
5 RCT "L" Co.

Moving North

After a day at the abandoned factory we went a little north and came to an area once occupied by American soldiers. There was a row of small house with two floors, they were very small houses. We got there late so our squad got the top floor. We slept on the floor. While were getting ready the Sergeant.left and went to a nearby village. He came back upstairs with bottle he said had beer in it, then he told us to watch.he said as he poured a little on the floor that when he put a match to it if it turn red it was impure but if the color was blue you could drink it. The beer did burn. He drank it.

The next day after breakfast our exercise was climbing a nearby hill for exercise. It was a very rocky hill.

Again we proceeded north and stop by the side of the road and set up our pup tents. It was early and near by was a stream and a small waterfall. The Sergeant got an idea, why not, so we all strip down naked and jumped in the water. Nice clean water and cool. The stream was wide and I had not swam in a long time. So I tried swimming across. I barely made it. The swimming lessons in boarding school saved me. So I passed the waterfall put on my clothes and went back to the bivouac area .

One soldier said to follow him up the hill which I did with a couple of other soldiers. I was not ready for what we found. In front a dead enemy soldier and all down the ridge line many more dead enemy soldiers there body bloating. One soldier took a stick and pushed it in the body then we went down the hill. That night I was put on guard and the Sergeant told me the other soldier in the tent would pull guard after I was finished.

That night I walk the area and when I got to the tent I woke the soldier up for guard and went to sleep. The next morning I found out he never pulled his guard. He was in serious trouble and punished by digging what they called a 6 x 6 hole. He could have been shot.

That night after I got off guard I had a nightmare of dead soldiers head rolling down the hill.
That next day we got on trucks and again move north we were passing by Seoul. As we went down the road we saw a bridge. A soldier took a grenade and as we passed over it he threw it in the water. Everybody was in good spirits.

To our front we saw Army ambulances coming down the road as they passed us by we could see some of the wounded .Many ambulances passed us by and we all got quiet. It was a wake up call. Then we passed by Seoul on the outside of the city. There was smoke coming from some of the buildings. All along were proceeding north.On our next stop I would be assigned to my combat unit,