A story on Korea 1950-1951

I just finished reading "Through The Eyes Of The Warrior; Korea 1950-1951," an e-book by Tim Schoonard about the Korean War. This is the story of Chet Thiessen, a 17-year-old (he lied about his age to enlist) airborne soldier assigned to the 101st Airborne Division. He went to Korea by troop ship, and his landing craft landed at Inchon while the U.S. forces were fighting to drive the invading North Korean army north.

The book follows Corporal Thiessen's unit north driving the North Koreans across the 38th parallel and past their capitol. Although intelligence was aware the Chinese army was massing across the border in China, the U.S. commanders ordered few changes in their troop distributions to prepare for a possible Chinese invasion. Tens of thousands of Chinese crossed the border and attacked the U.S. and other United Nations forces. Supported by mortar and artillery, the massive Chinese forces would try to surround and destroy the U.N. positions. The only recourse was to retreat from the Chinese who outnumbered the U.N. forces. In several instances the retreating infantry would climb aboard tanks as they withdrew on the few passable roads. The tanks had to run a gauntlet with Chinese firing from both sides of the roads. Infantry troops aboard the tanks were shot off the tanks and left where they lay as the vehicles dared not stop. The intense cold, limited ammunition and the lack of food added to the U.N. casualties. The frozen ground made it difficult or even impossible to dig fighting positions. During the withdrawal, Thiessen's unit was surrounded, and after running out of ammunition, he was captured by the Chinese. He was moved to an abandoned bunker, and while held there he was repeatedly beaten. During the next month, he was moved several times, but was freed when a Marine unit attacked the Chinese encampment. The U.S. forces had suffered 4,700 casualties in five days of withdrawals.

To the east of these battles, the vicious fight at the Chosin Reservoir brought more casualties as men died from wounds or froze to death. In the fall of 1951 the fighting raged on, yet Thiessen was pulled from his foxhole to be rotated home.

Thiessen's view of the Korean war was as limited as a front line soldier's can be, but his view was also as frightening and terrible as it can be.

Jack Dragoni attended Boston College and served in the U.S. Army in Berlin and Vietnam. He lives in Chaffee, Missouri.