Captain Jack Thun, a Korean American, was interviewed by Stars and Stripes when he retired in 1962. He was a career soldier and landed in Inchon Harbor September 1950 with the 7th Infantry Division, and with the Marine Corps division, marched after the fleeing North Koreans, who seemed to melt away before them. Thun said the Americans were welcomed by the small villages they were going through. A unit of ROK soldiers was assigned them who had never been underfire, thus gaining experience in warfare. The ROKs interpreted for the Americans, and Thun was offered bap and Kimchee from North Koreans. The two divisions reached Chosin Reservoir; it might have been a hike through his Southern California hill country, Jack Thun was to tell his family when he came home on leave. But it was to change very quickly. November is a cold month along the border and the Yalu River. The Chinese entered the war in full war gear. Again, he was to describe to his family, the bizarre opening. The night flares were brighter than daylight, for one. Every shadow was outlined to see. The second amazement was hearing the Chinese blasts of trumpets, fife and drum, other horns impossible to identify. The battle was on. The Americans overwhelmed by numbers. As the fighting continued, the rain, then sleet, then snow were an impossible combination to beat. Here is the Stars and Stripes interview:
Captain Thun is speaking: It was . . . the Chosin Reservoir, the site of our first withdrawal . . . all of us trying to hold the hill against overwhelming attacks coming from all sides. We couldn t hold, and the marines decided to withdraw down the main road. Other elements went their own ways. I was the ranking man in my platoon as a staff sergeant. The officers were dead. My men wanted to go with the marines . . . safety in numbers .. . misery loves . . . company . .. I guess, but I felt it unwise. I told them I was going to walk out of there right down the ridge line for all of Korea to see me, and that if they wanted to go with me, they could, but I had the compass and map, probably the two most valuable things I owned at the time.
They went with me, and we walked down the ridge line, breaking all book rules, silhouetted against the sky, but you learn to make your own rules to survive. We werent even fired at but by a few marines, thinking we were enemy. The enemy probably didn t expect such unconventionality . . . After you have been there, you start seeing and hearing things without realizing it. You become aware of every sound, every movement, every strange scent in the air. Human beings are creatures of habit just like other animals. They develop patterns of behavior . . . I was taking a platoon up a hill one morning when the Chinese began shelling us. The shells seemed sporadic at first as we dug in, but after a few moments I noticed a pattern. I timed each round with my watch. They were throwing a few at us, then stopping for five minutes ... A lieutenant and driver rode up and wanted to know why we were not moving and I told him wed stay for a few more minutes. He rode away up the hill and a round dropped right on him. During the five minutes lull, I moved my men through the danger zone. They thought I was some kind of God.
Thun was asked how did he keep fighting when he could never begin to count the number of attacks he went on. His answer:
Sometimes we would storm a hill, find it abandoned. On others, all the enemy had to do was roll grenades down on us from their hilltop perches . . . . . You get tired, and so irritable with yourself, but then you get a night s sleep and a hot meal, and maybe a shower, and you feel like you could defeat any enemy in the world . . . And you do .. . And we didnt. Pork Chop Hill (nearing war s end, July 1953) was bitter. We lost over 1200 men out of my division at Pork Chop, fighting for four days, day and night. It was mostly on the daring daylight attacks that we lost the most . . . Then on the fourth day, orders came to leave Pork Chop alone. It, and we had served our purpose symbolizing democracy. We were glad to get out, but we should have at least taken it before we left.