Re: 50 years ago today - 3 July 1950

[Jim Olson <olsonjam@uwec.edu>]

>  None of
>us were hit because we were properly dug in.  Makes you wonder how long it
>took the Koreans (and the Vietnamese) to learn that a soldiers best friend is
>a shovel, and that airplanes don't make much difference to infantrymen in
forward areas.


I was strafed by  Navy jets while manning an OP for a Marine Infantry company.

Kind of hard to be "properly dug in" when you are on a pile of rocks 
and expect the planes to hit the hill it had been directed to hit.


It had actually done that but had some ammo left and wanted to make 
one more pass- got the wrong hill on the last pass.

Luckily they had dropped their napbalm on the first pass.

I still duck whenever I am close to a jet flying low overhead and winch
at the sound of a helicopeter landing nearby (one came in quickly to 
pick up the men wounded in the strafing.)





We sent up no answering fire but some pretty strong language over the radio.

Some  Marines had just set up a 50 caliber machine gun next to me 
(plane missed both of us)

But how are you supposed to properly dig in a machine gun set up in 
the heat of battle  to support advancing troops sorely in need of it 
right now?







  Jim Olson
  Eau Claire, Wisconsin
  olsonjam@uwec.edu