Re: ALTITUDE-INDUCED ILLNESSES in the Korean War

["rbmooney" <rbmooney@bellsouth.net>]

To Ed Evanhoe,
Thanks for the somewhat startling information!  Of course, The Finns were
fighting in our equivalent temp normally found way up North in the U.S.  If
the sub-30 degrees they fought in is equal to a reading in MN of sub-22
degrees I can see how the newspapers that came in our house scared the devil
out of me at nine years of age!  The lowest I had ever been in or heard
about around St. Louis, MO was about 10 or 12 degrees below zero F.  So
perhaps the better question would have been what were the coldest temps in
Korea during the period 1950 through 1954 and forget the low mountains.  But
when I was turned down by the Marines in 1950, I heard from many sources
that the Chinese had the cold and frostbite problems licked.  They simply
didn't use tight waterproof boots.  Their "foot and leg wrappings" breathed
it was said.  Thus, dry feet equals little or no frostbite.
Thanks Ed for the interesting information.  I did think the mountains were
several thousand feet higher.
Blake

rbmooney@bellsouth.net

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Ed Evanhoe" <evanhoe1@korean-war.com>
To: <KOREAN-WAR-L@listproc.cc.ku.edu>
Sent: Wednesday, October 29, 2003 3:57 PM
Subject: Re: ALTITUDE-INDUCED ILLNESSES in the Korean War


>
> >Blake,
>
> As a matter of information, the highest mountain in Korea is Paektu-San,
> located in far northern Korea on the Korea-Manchurian border.  It is 9032
> feet high (2744 meters) and its slopes provide the headwaters for both the
> Yalu (western slope) and Tumen (eastern slope) rivers - the dividing lines
> between Korea and China..  We never reached this mountain during the
Korean
> War. The highest mountains in the area fought over by U.N. forces were
> Kumgang-San (south of Wonsan approximately on the 39th Parallel) and
> Taebaek-San (approximately on the 37th Parallel in the eastern part of
> South Korea.)  Kumgang-San (Diamond Mountain) is 5391 feet high (1638
> meters) and Taebaek-San is 5138 feet (1567 meters) high.  And U.S. troops

> never fought on either Kumgang-San or Taebaek-San, only South Korean
> troops.  The mountains within the U.S. areas, while steep and jagged, were
> all under 5000 feet tall.  In other words, lower than Denver,
> Colorado.  Thus I'm wondering how much altitude sickness there could be?
>
> Ed
>
> Ed Evanhoe, PO Box 916, Antlers, OK, 74523
> Life Member: Special Forces & Special Operations Associations
> Author: DARKMOON: Eighth Army Special Operations in the Korean War
> Web site:  http://www.korean-war.com
>