Episode #837
February 15, 2025
My father, Bob, volunteered with the Marine Corps.
He was sent to Korea as a Sergeant.
As a child, while retrieving something from my fathers dresser drawer, I chanced on a small box. I opened it to find my father’s uniform decorations, a Purple Heart and the Navy Marine Corps Star.
My father was always quiet about his experience in Korea, but when I pressed him about the box of awards he told me this story:
Bob’s platoon was a force of 40 marine infantrymen who advanced across the 38th parallel divider between north and south Korea. This was a movement inspired by the success of the Incheon Landing and the recapture of Seoul. The advance into North Korea had the goal of completely defeating the North Korean army and potentially reunifying the country.
As UN forces advanced to the Yalu River near the Chinese border, China intervened sending large numbers of troops to support the North Korean People’s Army (KPA). This intervention forced a retreat of UN and US troops.
The Army received orders to retreat before the Marines. The Army was the Marine’s transportation. Bob’s platoon was abandoned and, when they received orders to retreat, were compelled to walk back across the 38th parallel toward Seoul.
The fighting was fierce. The Chinese and KPA launched encirclements and counter attacks as the Marines retreated. My father’s platoon was ambushed. As his fighters were mowed down by enemy fire Bob threw his body over the soldier next to him. “Stay still and play dead,” he whispered to his comrade. Bob took some shrapnel to his back but continued to lay still until the KPA continued out of the clearing, leaving the entire platoon for dead.
When all was clear Bob helped the terrified soldier to his feet and together they walked back across the 38th parallel to a UN encampment. Bob was sent back to the US a hero. He became a drill sergeant at Camp Pendleton, CA.
With some irony, Bob was encouraged to resign from the military because of his harsh, yet tradition treatment of the boots under his training command. The tone and treatment of recruits had became gentler. Veteran instructors found it difficult to align this new tone with their combat experiences.
Years later I approached my father with the idea that I would join the Navy. He looked me in the eyes and said: “Remember my story in Korea? The military is no place for anyone. Find a career stateside.”
This simple advice changed my life and probably saved it.
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My father and his four brothers signed up for the Marine Corps during World War II. All five of them were in the Pacific theater during WW2. My father was in the Korean War and in the Vietnam war. He did not like to discuss and did not discuss any of his time in a war zone. He was a career Marine. We received a similar advice.