Everyone who knows me will tell you, South Korea was one of my favorite countries to visit. I served there briefly twice; went through Cold Weather Training and Mountain Warfare School. I loved the humility of the people who would publicly come up and shower us with thanks for their freedom. While I enjoyed their appreciation, I did nothing to deserve their gratitude.
Today, I saw a documentary called "Chosin" (2010) regarding the Marines that served at the Chosin Reservoir during the Korean War, sometimes weakly referred to as a "police action" by those who have not served. We lost over 40,000 troops in that 3 year conflict. At Chosin Reservoir, 16,000 Marines of the 1st Marine Division were surrounded by 120,000 hard core Chinese troops. They had to fight their way 60 some miles on foot to the Port of Hungnam.
While boarding US Navy ships, 98,000 North Korean refugees sought help to escape the communist tide, otherwise face certain execution as others had. The Navy and Marines saved those 98,000, relocating them to South Korea. Today there are 1,000,000 free descendants of the 98,000 rescued, not to mention a free democratic country today...60 years later.
While I thought I knew the story in great detail from reading several books, the documentary relied on veterans telling their experiences which brought it to a new level of horror and reality. Today, the country of South Korea provides FREE travel to any U.S. veteran that served in that war, where they are embraced by the South Korean government and nationals.
At the end of the documentary, one of the veterans holding back tears recounting the horror and loss, solemnly said, "Freedom is not free." It's not a catch phrase.
Today, I saw a documentary called "Chosin" (2010) regarding the Marines that served at the Chosin Reservoir during the Korean War, sometimes weakly referred to as a "police action" by those who have not served. We lost over 40,000 troops in that 3 year conflict. At Chosin Reservoir, 16,000 Marines of the 1st Marine Division were surrounded by 120,000 hard core Chinese troops. They had to fight their way 60 some miles on foot to the Port of Hungnam.
While boarding US Navy ships, 98,000 North Korean refugees sought help to escape the communist tide, otherwise face certain execution as others had. The Navy and Marines saved those 98,000, relocating them to South Korea. Today there are 1,000,000 free descendants of the 98,000 rescued, not to mention a free democratic country today...60 years later.
While I thought I knew the story in great detail from reading several books, the documentary relied on veterans telling their experiences which brought it to a new level of horror and reality. Today, the country of South Korea provides FREE travel to any U.S. veteran that served in that war, where they are embraced by the South Korean government and nationals.
At the end of the documentary, one of the veterans holding back tears recounting the horror and loss, solemnly said, "Freedom is not free." It's not a catch phrase.
