Just Released! Book 3 of the Historical Documentary Series on the Cold War. (Military History) Order Now!
The Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separates North and South Korea and is the most defended border in the world
Both sides have dug their heels in and fortified the DMZ with defensive positions, mines and booby traps, missiles, and soldiers as they remain vigilant for the recommencement of a war that never ended.
˃˃˃ READ ABOUT THE DANGEROUS JOB OF OUR SOLDIERS IN KOREA ON THE DMZ!
The soldiers were responsible for enforcing the armistice agreement that ended the Korean War. The North Koreans violated it almost daily sending spies, marauders, hit squads, and ambush patrols into the southern controlled portion of the DMZ in their never-ending effort to destabilize South Korea and cause its collapse. Their blatant violations of the agreement has left a bloody trail of dead bodies that includes many American soldiers. This book takes the reader on a journey through the history of the Cold War and the defense of the DMZ from the perspective of nine American veterans, and eleven tours, who served in different capacities in South Korea from 1962 through 1991.
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Targeted Age Group:: All
What Inspired You to Write Your Book?
The gratitude received from veterans after publishing my autobiography was so overwhelming I felt driven to expand upon it. I planned a sequel and using the careers of others to tell more history of the Cold War. The response was so overwhelming this has turned into a book series with ten books planned for it. This has become a project of passion for me.
Book Sample
They dropped their packs as soon as they arrived at the ambush site and went to work. Jim was assigned the job of throwing a grappling hook to clear the area of any trip wires connected to mines and booby-trapped bodies. This was not a very pleasant job and it wreaked havoc on his already-rattled nerves. Every time the hook landed and every pull of the rope was pure torture for Jim. He was certain that each one would detonate a bomb and kill him. Eventually, he had verified an area clear enough so that he could low-crawl to the impact area where he saw the body explode. At first, all he encountered was blood that appeared to lead away from the impact area. It looked like more than one body had been dragged away. He knew he was supposed to find them so he continued crawling on, through the trail of blood, to see where it led to. Occasionally he’d put his hand in something squishy or see a lump of something bloody. He tried to keep from thinking about what he was crawling through and focus on the task at hand. This was not an easy thing to do when he was constantly fighting back his own gagging. Thankfully, he could finally see well enough ahead of him to confirm that the blood trail led towards the partially frozen duck pond where the ice was thin. The bodies were likely dumped before the surviving infiltrators headed back across the MDL and into North Korea.</p>
<p>Jim was certain they were being watched, so 1SG Holman sent the patrol back to GP Collier except for Jim and Brooks. They stayed with the first sergeant for another mission. The three of them low-crawled back along the blood trail to the duck pond to secure an area for the special forces divers who were coming to search it. Securing the area meant crawling around, searching for trip wires and any other nasty little surprises, so that the area was safe for the divers. Since Jim was a sniper, when the divers showed up, he was sent one hundred yards away from the recovery mission to scan the area with his scope for signs of an assault if the North Koreans tried to recover the bodies they believed were in the lake. The first sergeant and Brooks stayed and provided security at the lake while the divers were underwater. Jim later learned that an armored vehicle was spotted at the border but had never crossed. More than likely it was there to pick up the survivors but Jim never heard for sure.</p>
<p>Jim never felt more alone in his entire life. It felt like he was out there by himself for hours and hours, certain a communist special operations guy was going to sneak up on him at any time and slice his throat, or that a sniper round would take him out and, just like that, he’d be gone. As his mind was creating all kinds of scary scenarios, he finally noticed all the blood on his hands. Seeing this he realized his knees and elbows were deep red and God only knows what body fluids were all over the front of him. He was fortunate he hadn’t had time to eat or he’d have been puking his guts out right then. This wasn’t a training exercise. This was the real deal and Jim was right smack in the middle of it.</p>
<p>His brain was still in overdrive and before long he started thinking about the body he’d seen in the explosion again. That could have been him. It was only a few days earlier when Jim had inadvertently walked into a mine field on the land navigation course. It was so fortunate he hadn’t stepped on an old mine and ended up just like the infiltrator. What about that guy? Did he have a family? Jim became consumed with the thought that this guy’s mother, wife, or family would never see him again. Struggling to keep his emotions in check, he was relieved when he got the call to rejoin his first sergeant.</p>
<p>The divers hadn’t found any bodies in the lake and they were ready to head back to GP Collier. Very little was said as the divers got out of their wet suits and everyone gathered their packs. The trip back was done at an extremely fast pace. Having several special forces guys with them made a big difference. Jim barely had a chance to catch his breath before being told to go help load the truck. When he got there, he was shocked to see they needed to load numerous bags. He learned that the bags contained different bloody parts of a body that had been found on a trail by another squad. He didn’t know how many bags there were in total but he helped load three of them. Richard Alserson was the driver. He had driven the truck Jim rode in during his MP training transporting patrols months ago<br />
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Once the bags were loaded, he was whisked away to the military intelligence bunker with 1SG Holman and Brooks where they were debriefed. The intelligence officers interviewed them separately and wanted every detail that he could recall. It felt like the interrogations went on all day. When they finally finished interviewing him, he was given explicit instructions not to talk about what had happened. In fact, Jim was told, “It never happened!” He was then forced to sign a document confirming he knew this never happened and what would happen to him if he discussed with anyone what never happened. A stressed brain will find humor in the direst of situations sometimes. It’s the brains way of coping. As Jim left the intelligence bunker he realized he was still covered in blood from something that never happened.</p>
<p>Jim never saw the guys he had been with during the non-event again. For some reason, the Army had been very serious about covering this incident up. Everyone but Jim had been transferred out of the company to other battalions, even another division. He only had one month left on his tour, which is probably why he was allowed to stay with his unit. Apparently, the Army wanted to keep them from talking about that day by separating all those involved. It never occurred to them that the guys didn’t want to talk about it anyway. Jim never understood why they were so intent on burying this incident. It was the North Koreans who crossed the border.</p>
<p>The incident wasn’t quite over after he was debriefed. The North Korean whose job it was to spew the propaganda that blared everyday over the loud propaganda speakers immediately began calling the Americans out for the shooting in the DMZ. Unlike the normal garbage they rambled, this was more direct, more personal. He knew the names of every guy in Jim’s squad and continually assaulted them with verbal attacks and threats for the shooting. He called them killers, murderers, and criminals and said that each of them would pay for their actions. It scared the heck out of Jim. He knew there were spies in South Korea but how in the world did they know what patrols were there that night and the next day? And how could they possibly have gotten the names of Jim and his squad at all, let alone so quickly? Jim was certain they were going to send artillery rounds into Camp Liberty Bell from the tone of the diatribes he had been listening to. He wasn’t the only one concerned because everyone was ordered to the fighting positions they had prepared for the president’s visit the month before. Jim’s state of mind at this time made the bunker feel more like a grave than a defensive position. This scathing broadcast only lasted a few hours before returning to the loud American music that was usually played with the propaganda speeches coming between songs again. Jim was never more relieved than when he heard the music that had been so annoying in the past begin playing again. The all clear order soon followed and life seemed to return to the way it was.</p>
<p>That’s not really true though. Life did go on and maybe it did return to the way it was there in Korea. But Jim had changed. How could he not? All it takes is one thing to turn a person’s world upside down and sometimes it’s impossible to return to normal. Jim had endured a nightmare that lasted less than one day but changed him forever. He had blood on his hands and even though he was able to wash it off, the memory of that blood will remain with him forever. He still has nightmares and when his mind wanders back to that day in the zone he has feelings of depression that he struggles with until he gets them buried back in the depths of his mind where dark things are kept. The incident was declassified so Jim and the others can talk openly about that day, but none of them do. Talking means remembering and some memories are better off forgotten.
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