Seems to me your on the right track. Interesting how the memory loses
track of blocks of time until suddenly, like an epiphany, the muddy pool
of the past clears and pieces fall into place.
As I recall, the First Marine Division went into Corps reserve in early
May of 1953, the first time the Marines had done so since the beginning
of the war, and was relieved on line by the 25th Division, USA. We were
re-deployed forward in late June or early July.
Although my Battalion was moved forward earlier to re-take the lost
Nevada COP's, Gen. Clarke, USA, overall commander of that section, decided
to call off the attack. His decision, although perhaps well meaning on
humanitarian grounds, was strongly argued against by the Marine Commander,
because of the vulnerability of the Berlins and Boulder City if that flank
remained un-covered. Gen. Clarke of course prevailed, but his decision
proved tactically unsound, precipitating the loss of the Berlins and the
bloody battle for Boulder City, July 24-27, 1953. I was in the forward
party over by COP Ava , and was the only one not hit in a strong point
below the MLR during an awesome storm of fire when the Berlin Battles erupted
during our relief of the 7th Marines, requiring my units re-deployment
to the battle for Boulder City.
After the cease fire we policed the battlefield, and I remember loading
dead Marines onto stretchers who had laid where they had fallen for two
to three days in that hot July sun, the sound of maggots chewing on the
dead, and the bodies coming apart when moved because of the purification.
Chinese and Marine dead littered the hill.
When we came of that bloody ground to return to a reserve position,
all of our dungarees and 782 gear had to be surveyed and burned because
there was no way to get the smell of those putrefied bodies out of the
gear. It permeated everything......and etched an image in the mind that
will never leave.
Robert
John C Cheek wrote:
Robert,If you remember exact detail of your time in Korea I take my hat off to you. Most of it was a blur to me, especially my time in a bunker on the MLR. Frankly, it scared the hell out of me even though I didn't have to go out on patrols or fight for an outpost. I didn't venture out of that listening bunker often and for a very short time when I did. The ASA bunker was a Restricted Area and we were ordered to stay inside except for potty breaks. After the cease fire, I did sit out back of the bunker on several occasions, smoke and chat with the troops that happened by. Some of the combat stories I put in my novel (fiction) had a basis in those chats. Now, I don't want to belabor this point but, I will tell you one more time with finality, I saw a 2-1/2 ton truck down on the bottom of the hill and bodies were being loaded onto it. It was daylight in the morning and the night before had been filled with heavy fighting. I cannot swear that the bodies were Marines. Maybe they were Chinese that got through the barbwire line. I don't remember how the bodies were dressed. It sticks in my mind that the men handling the bodies were Korean, probably the service corp guys. There may have been a US soldier or two involved. Frankly, I don't remember the detail, but the 2-1/2 ton truck scene sticks in my mind because it had a heavy emotion on me. I went quickly back into the bunker because I didn't want to watch it anymore. It was the only time during my stay in Korea that I actually saw dead men. It might have been when the 25th Infantry Division was on line and not the 1st Marine Division. We manned that listening bunker regardless of which fighting unit was on line at the time. It had to have occurred during May, June or July of 1953 because that is the only time frame I was on line before the cease fire. Even then I was on duty for 24 hours then off for two or three days before going up the hill again. Also, sometime during late June I went to Tokyo for a week of R & R. Tough duty, eh? Although I was in the bunker the night of June 26, I don't think it was the morning of June 27 when the cease fire took effect. I went outside the bunker when the cease fire first took effect and looked across at the Chinese positions with my binoculars. I had looked briefly before and never seen any activity. This morning I could see hordes of them. Some were waving. I don't remember seeing any activity at the base of the hill and out into No Man's Land. You asked me what hill I was on. I don't know and none of my ASA contacts have been able to tell me. I researched this heavily before writing my novel. As I said previously, I think it was near the east side of the corridor to Panmunjom. That corridor was 400 yard wide. Looking at a topog map I previously obtained and upon which I have sketched the approximate MLR, it appears that the ASA bunker might have been on hill 200. That hill is about 1000 yards NW of the village of Changdon. I wish I had take a photo looking north from the bunker but I didn't. The only photo I have is looking down the back side of the hill and showing some Korean Service Corp guys packing supplies up the trail. Anyway, it was nice chatting with you, Robert. Congratulation on surviving that massive Chinese assault on the Berlin Complex during the final days of the war. Good luck in your endeavors and thanks for keeping those Chinese from overrunning my bunker.John On Thu, 24 Jul 2003 22:17:36 -0500 robert guertin <wanaki@infionline.net> writes:Ed,Certainly anything is possible. But no Marine that I know who was a participant in that war, would abandon their dead , not a few died recovering dead or in the attempt. I have Marine friends who, individually, were in every phase of that war, and such a scenario of trucks recovering Marine dead in no mans land simply would not be done. An APC where a day light recovery was done.....indeed, but trucks? And graves registration in front of the MLR never happened on my watch.
It could only have happened after the cease fire, and it wouldn't be koreans loading Marine dead. We took care of our own. So if they were Koreans they were not recovering Marine dead.
Appreciate your input.
I must believe John is confused about when it occurred, and who the dead were. He mentioned Tok-san Artillery the night before, which may have been the night of 26 July,
when both sides fired to reduce the stockpile they had, since when the cease fire took affect, all ordnance had to be moved two miles to the rear. What he may have witnessed was probably the morning of the 27th, when a general policing of the battlefield was begun.Robert
Ed Evanhoe wrote:
Robert,I don't know about that time frame but in previous years 8th Army Graves
Registration would pick up the dead following a battle, sometimes going
into no-man's land to recover the bodies. It could be this 2-1/2 ton GMC
belonged to them since it sounds like something they might do. (just a thought)Ed
At 02:44 PM 7/24/2003 -0500, you wrote:
>John,
>
>I referred to a "supposed" deuce and a half because I cannot conceive of
>Marines using a truck in front of the MLR to recover dead. It just doesn't
>jive. Perhaps after the cease fire, but certainly not during the war.
>Searching the "Marine Operations in Korea Vol.5" I could find no reference
>to Marine casualties in that sector in such proportion to require a truck
>to recover them.
>There were Korean Marines also in that sector, but still no mention of
>such an occurrence. If you knew the hill # or name, or the month I might
>be able to help. If you happen to remember I'd be pleased to help you put
>it together.