Re: ALTITUDE-INDUCED ILLNESSES in the Korean War

Hi Jerry,

Thanks for the reply. Now I can understand sudden sickness in even healthy people at Leadville altitudes, but I'm not sure what caused the cough (croup). Mountain air is notoriously dry and will, all on its own, start someone's nose to bleed and mouth and throat to feel as if cotton has been accidentally swallowed. The coughing would follow but not with many guys as their primary symptom of some form of altitude sickness.

Because atmospheric pressure decreases the higher we go, the oxygen available in air also decreases, and when there's less of this essential stuff we don't function normally. Here's what Dr Charles Houston told me about going higher. "About a quarter of all those who go to areas higher than 9000 feet will have mountain sickness, and a few will die. If the "oxygen transport system," which includes the heart, lungs and blood, is compromised, even a much lower altitude may be dangerous."

He was saying, Jerry, that as we go up in altitude on some high mountains, the oxygen saturation in our whole body drops while the carbon dioxide builds up. Carbon dioxide is often used in the very sick patient as a breathing stimulant. But it also acts to dull the oxygen sensing centers of our body and "tell" us that we are falling into a deeper sleep. If we have some undiagnosed disease that's immediately affected by hypoxia--lack of oxygen--serious events may start to force our compromised bodies into a much greater weakened state. This can happen to a young person as well as an older person. Imagine that by just going to eighteen thousand feet altitude you have left behind one-half of all the oxygen on earth!

So thanks very much about the Leadville info, and if you know of other symptoms encountered by those new mountain troops when first going higher for their training please let me know. Symptoms like: shortness of breath, palpitations, high BP, inability to sleep, agitation, headache, are the typical plain mountain sickness symptoms, but if you start to cough for any length of time, while all these other symptoms are active, you should descend.

If you know of a site for the 10th Mountain Div at Pando CO? please let me know!

Thanks,

Blake

rbmooney@bellsouth.net

----- Original Message -----

From: Riata5@aol.com

To: KOREAN-WAR-L@listproc.cc.ku.edu

Sent: Wednesday, October 29, 2003 4:30 PM

Subject: Re: ALTITUDE-INDUCED ILLNESSES in the Korean War

In a message dated 10/29/2003 3:15:41 PM Central Standard Time, rbmooney@bellsouth.net writes:

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:

I was born and raised in the Colo mountains and remember very well the training of the 10th Mountain Div at Pando
Colo just outside of Leadville , Colo . in the early years of WW2 .
The altitude there is
10,152 ft above sea level . There were many stories about how sick a lot of the 10th Mountain boys got due to the altitude . I recall they called it the Pando
croup . Jerry KW 51-52