ALTITUDE-INDUCED ILLNESSES in the Korean War

If any veteran, or relative or friend of any Korean War veteran has experienced ALTITUDE-RELATED ILLNESSES, while serving in the mountains of Korea, especially in the cold weather, I would appreciate hearing about their experiences. I wrote a book on ALTITUDE [American Medical Association endorsed] and it’s effect on MAJOR CHRONIC MEDICAL ILLNESSES. However, I have never seen a reference to ALTITUDE-INDUCED ILLNESSES or even death caused by the thin cold air in the high mountains of Korea which our troops fought on and around. Also, does anyone know if there were special ACCLIMATION exercises provided by the American Army or Marine Corps for its troops before they went into action in the Korean mountains? Professional mountain climbers remind every climber that it takes a healthy person one day to acclimate to every 1000-foot increase in altitude. [Of course the old mountaineer's adage, "Work High, Sleep Low" won't apply in wartime] Inexperienced troops coming from the low lands of America would, therefore, seem to be the first ones hit by HYPOXIA. This lack of oxygen could quickly disable men from sea-level homes who had to carry heavy backpacks in freezing weather going up, crossing over, and coming down the many high crests and slopes. I have read that Hannibal lost almost one division of troops to cold weather and high altitude when crossing the Alps. Also, there's the great example of the Finnish Forest & Mountain troops during the Winter War of 1939--1940 with the Soviet Union. I've taken the liberty to address our heroic allies of the 2nd WW during their terrible ordeal--1939/1940--with the SU by including the following:

"While the cold affected both sides, the Finns did have a significant edge, namely prewar training. While the Red Army was more trained to operate in the steppes of Russia or the weather & terrain of central Europe, the Finnish Army had trained to fight in Finnish terrain and the Finnish weather, winter included. The skill of skiing was virtually universal among the Finns, while it was a rather rare skill on the Soviet side. The Finnish military equipment was generally good for winter conditions,e.g. the infantry tent with the stove and the Finnish uniform tunic with the greatcoat. Unfortunately the low level of prewar funding resulted in a severe shortage of these essential equipment in the Finnish Army once the Mobilization began.

"The Red Army did also have good winter equipment, in fact some items valued even higher than their Finnish counterparts, namely the greatcoat and especially the felt boots [my emphasis]. Unfortunately some Red Army units arrived to the Finnish front either without or with too few of them. Also skis were surprisingly rare among the Red Army units.

"Both sides also suffered from similar technical problems, some of which could have been recognized with proper prewar tests. As the temperatures dropped below -30 Celsius [my emphasis], some lubricants (in e.g. artillery pieces or vehicles) started to freeze, as did the fluid in the recoil system in some artillery pieces. In some artillery weapons the carriage failed in the cold, as the structure couldn't withstand the extreme cold and the stress of firing. Both sides also had problems with artillery shells, as the fuses became unreliable (increasing the number of duds). [From, The Battles of the Winter War, Information of the Soviet invasion of Finland 1939 - 1940, Copyright © 1999 - 2003 Sami Korhonen, http://www.winterwar.com/mainpage.htm.]

Thanks

Blake