“Almost every man in our camp was asleep. When the Chinese started yelling it rousted everybody out of their bed rolls, stumbling around in a fit of disarray. Jack and I both stayed low to avoid being easy targets and started firing shots as fast as we could. We didn't even have to aim, they were a human wall coming straight at us.
“The first wave of Chinese slammed into us within minutes. With bayonets flashing in the moonlight they swung through and sawed down our men by the handful. Jack and I engaged as many as we could in hand to hand combat, but for every Chinaman that tasted my blade another soon took his place.
“Outnumbered and surprised, we didn’t stand a chance. After a few minutes we rallied a valiant defense, but it was short lived. It wasn't very long before men began to throw down their weapons and toss their hands into the air.
“The Chinese didn't give a damn about that though. They were mercenaries, hired by the North Koreans to kill as many Americans as possible. They killed everyone in sight, then looted the bodies for anything they could grab.
“Left with no option, we retreated back across the open shale to the banks of the reservoir. Out in the open it was apparent how thin our ranks were, even more obvious how abundant the Chinese were. To our right Buddy and Dwayne emerged shoulder to shoulder, shooting at anything that moved. A little ways down to our left was Marks. All of us fired as fast as we could, but it was a losing battle. There wasn't enough ammunition left amongst the whole unit to defeat that many Chinese.
“Marksy, we can’t keep this up all day!” Dwayne shouted over the chaos.
“What the hell are we doing here Sarge?” Buddy called.
“Marks turned wild eyed towards us and said, “How the hell should I know?”
“Men continued falling around us and soon our entire unit was whittled down to less than a couple hundred men. I was working on my last two clips of ammunition when Jack shouted, “Feel up for a swim?”
“What?” I shouted. “That water’s almost frozen solid!”
“Jack motioned with his gun at the oncoming crowd and said, “Swim or stand here until our ammunition runs out."
"It wasn't a question and it wasn't just an observation. It was an unequivocal fact and we both knew it.
“Marks, the only chance we got is across the water,” I shouted to my right.
“Marks continued firing. “You Roberts boys are crazy bastards, you know that?”
“It’s the only chance we’ve got!” Buddy yelled from my left. I didn't even know he could hear us, but he was on board with the plan.
“Hell, we gotta do something,” Dwayne shouted.
“Marks fired off two more quick shots. “Give me two minutes!” He disappeared down the line as the four of us crowded tight, firing at the encroaching wave.
“Marks was gone less than half that before he returned, the better part of a dozen men clumped around him. “Alright,” he shouted, “let’s do this!”
“We continued shooting as we walked backwards towards the water’s edge and the first blast of icy water spilled down my ankles and into my boots. My feet were numb within seconds as I waded back to my knees, then my waist. Around me I could hear the others gasping as the frigid water enveloped them.
“Bullets ripped into the water around us and a few Chinese soldiers stepped forward to give chase, but once their feet hit the water they gave up. We continued moving until we could no longer touch bottom, dog paddling with our weapons held out in front of us.
“Alright,” Marks said in a loud whisper, “stay quiet and move as fast as you can. We’re going to follow close to the shoreline and as soon as we clear the fighting we’re getting out of this damn water, you got me?”
“A few ‘yes sirs’ went up from the group, many of them pushed through chattering teeth. As a group we swam parallel to the shore, moving as fast as our frozen bodies would allow.
"On shore we watched as the fighting fell away, the Chinese plundering anything they could get their hands on. Had we not been focused on the icy water gripping us, anger and sadness would have filled us all.
“Sarge, I’ve got to get out of this water soon,” I heard Dwayne say and several men voiced agreement.
“Fifty more yards,” Marks gasped as each of us gritted our teeth and moved forward. We abandoned moving as a group, every man going as long as he could before stumbling up onto shore.
“The cold night air blasted through our wet bodies as we emerged from the water. It felt like thousands of knives stabbing my body and I half ran, half stumbled my way forward across the sand.
“The Chinese behind us were too intent on celebrating their victory to notice us a quarter mile down the shore, our wet bodies glistening in the moonlight. Jack and I looped our arms around one another and dragged ourselves towards the woods. I ached with numbness and every muscle screamed as blood tried to rush back in.
“We stumbled through the edge of the trees and collapsed into a heap behind a felled pine. A moment later we could hear more bodies crashing into the woods, all of them falling to the ground around us.
“I made no effort to uncurl myself from behind the pine, but looked up to see Dwayne, Buddy and Marks all lying close by. Beyond them were a couple of guys I had never seen before.
"On the shore, two men lay face down on the sand, their bodies like boulders on the barren shoreline. I made a small effort to climb to my feet to help them, but Marks waved me off. “Don’t. They’re already gone.”
“It was all the convincing I needed. I collapsed again to the ground and for several seconds I fought the urge to close my eyes, to press myself into the earth and allow the darkness to wash over me.
“Marks, we have to keep moving,” Jack said. “Sooner or later somebody’s going to notice those bodies and when they do, we’re done for.”
“Marks looked up with pain etched across his face and said, “Yeah. If we don’t keep moving, the Chinese are going to find us or we’re going to freeze to death.”
“More moans rang up from the group as we somehow rose to our feet. A quick head count numbered us at fourteen, two less than plunged into the water a few minutes before.
“South?” Jack said.
“Marks rose to full height and nodded his head. "Yeah. The forest was thick, should help block the wind. We’ll fan out and try to find shelter.”
My uncle stopped walking and stared out over the lake. His eyes darted back and forth and he said, “Just like that, our regiment was cut to fourteen men. Fourteen freezing men, soaked to the bone, stumbling through the Korean wilderness.
“The next page in the album is a piece of cloth. It’s about ten inches long and two inches wide. It’s red with one large yellow star and four smaller stars extending out from it.
“The design is the Chinese flag, adopted only a few years before with the victory of the Communist party. The particular piece of cloth in the album isn't a flag though, but an armband. The very same armband worn by every one of the Chinese soldiers that ambushed us at Chosin that night.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
“Let’s sit here awhile longer before we head back up to the house," my uncle said and lowered himself back to a knee in the sand. I nodded and settled in beside him, just a few feet from where we were before. Minutes passed as the sun slid a little lower in the sky.
“We began the night of November 27th with a unit of several hundred men. Months of fierce fighting and merging with various other regiments had our numbers in a constant state of flux. One thing I know for certain though is by the time the 27th became the 28th, we were down to fourteen.
“Marks roused the rest of the men to their feet and the dark shapes moved from the ground to upright positions. Every fiber of my being ached as I stood there, the evening breeze slicing through me.
“Jack was at my side, his face and hands so pale they were almost translucent. Marks leaned against a tree, joined by Buddy and a few of the others. Almost every man had his eyes closed and teeth gritted, fightin
g through the pain. Even Dwayne abandoned his customary scowl long enough to try and bite back the cold.
“Alright,” Marks said, his voice no more than a whisper, “I know we’re hurting, but we can’t afford to be stupid here. We don’t have enough men to use sentries and no firepower if we find anybody. Instead, buddy up and help each other as best you can. Keep an eye out for any kind of shelter, we'll bed down as soon as we can."
“A few nods went up from the group, but for the most part everyone was silent. Marks waited a second for men to choose partners before plodding on with Dwayne by his side.
“We walked for the better part of an hour, the sounds of the Chinese fading into the distance. For a while we all kept an eye out for any form of shelter we could find, but before long we were all just concentrating on putting one foot in front of another. It wasn’t long before men began to stumble and eventually two fell to the ground.
“Sarge, we’ve got to stop and get warm,” one of them pleaded, his shock of bright red hair was frozen into a misshapen mass. “I can't stay upright when I can’t feel my legs.”
“Marks leaned most of his bodyweight on a stick he’d picked up and said, “I know. We have to do something or we’re going to freeze to death. Anybody got any ideas?”
“The circle was silent for several minutes before Jack said, “If I remember right, there was a lot of flint in the ground when we passed through. If you guys can fashion together some sort of wind block, we’ll go find some and see if we can get a fire started.”
“The scowl returned to Dwayne’s face as he cast a sideways glance at us, but said nothing.
“Marks nodded once. “Alright."
"Nobody else said a thing.
“It took everything I had to keep moving, but I fell in beside Jack and together we set off. Behind us the men circled up and grabbed a few felled branches, but my expectations were pretty low for whatever they'd come up with in our absence.
“If any North Koreans or Chinese had come up on us right then, we would have just stood there and let them shoot us. It took everything I had to walk and I could tell by the muffled grunts beside me Jack was doing the same.
“I let my mind go blank as we moved along. Not until Jack touched my arm did I notice the rocks scraping beneath my boots. I stopped and watched as he picked up several and examined them.
“Flint?” I asked.
“Hell no, nothing but quartz.” He tossed a piece up into the air, then grabbed it and hurled it in front of him. It flew out from him in a straight line and bounced off the ground with a spark before tailing off into the night.
“You see what I just saw?” I asked, reaching for an arm that was already moving forward. He kept his eyes trained on the spot where the spark flew and walked straight to it. With the toe of his boot he poked around for a moment before unslinging the rifle from his shoulder and smashing the butt of it into the ground several times. When he was done, he returned the rifle and filled his pockets until they were bulging.
“As soon as he had all he could carry, I knelt and filled my pockets as well. The prospect of fire brought a bit of renewed vigor to us and the return trip was a little quicker than the way there.
“As we walked, we each grabbed handfuls of whatever dried grasses and moss we found along the way. We returned to find the men had formed a makeshift wall using branches and heavy pine boughs. It curved inward around the shape of a natural clump of trees and all of the men were already huddled behind it, waiting for us.
"Nobody said anything as we formed the grasses into a small pile and Jack removed a large piece of flint from his pocket. He positioned the barrel of his rifle atop the grass and struck the flint down against it over and over. Each time a few small sparks dropped down onto the grass, but it took almost five full minutes for one to catch and begin glowing. As soon as it did, Jack dropped down and blew on it, coaxing it to life as I fed in bits of moss and twigs.
“The moment it began crackling, every man sat and watched with stunned silence. It was the first thing to go our way all night.
“Marks let out a relieved sigh and sent three men to gather as much burning material as they could. Jack and I continued working the fire into a steady blaze and as the men returned, we built two more small fires spaced across the front of the shelter.
“We kept the fires small and screened them by jamming pine boughs into the ground around them. We considered putting more across the top of the flames to thin the smoke, but decided against it.
“Our need for warmth outweighed the need to be covert at that moment.”
My uncle stopped short and I could almost see relief on his face. It was as if he were there experiencing the joys of warmth all over again.
“Marks gave first watch to he and Dwayne, which was more to make sure the fires kept burning than to guard for enemies. They thought we were all dead and even if they didn't, we couldn't have fought anybody off anyway. "Within minutes of lying down, the rest of us were asleep. Warmth crept back in and by the time I woke up, my body was still cold but at least everything functioned."
My uncle turned his eyes to me and said, “The next page in the book is a small shard of flint. Never had we been so grateful that we knew how to start a fire the old fashioned way.
“When you get old enough, I’ll be glad to teach you too.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
“Two men never woke up the next morning. The red haired boy that someone said was named Humphries and another man named Wagner.
“By the morning of the 28th, we were down to twelve.”
“We removed Humphries and Wagner’s dog tags, but left their bodies there. We positioned them between the fires so it looked like the camp had been for them alone and took off the best we could.
“Front to back, there was myself and Jack. Marks and Dwayne. Buddy and a man named Francis. Two boys from Tennessee named Caldwell and Sims, two more from Indiana name of Sparks and Avery. One from Kentucky named Petersen and one from not far from here named Manus.
“The bitter cold of the morning was every bit as harsh as the night before and within an hour our hands and feet began to turn pale and light blue. Men were dragging their feet and by midday most were leaning against each other just to stay upright.”
My uncle paused for a moment to clear his throat and began again. His voice was low, but there was a steeled resolve in it.
“Marks, any idea where we’re headed?” I asked after the better part of a day’s walking. The going was slow and we hadn’t made it very far, but we had been moving just the same.
“South,” Marks replied, his voice strained as he leaned on the stick and Dwayne for support.
“And what’s south?” Avery asked.
“Hell if I know,” Marks replied.
“Hell of a plan we’ve got there,” Buddy muttered.
“Only damn thing I know is the Chinese are north, so we’re going south,” Marks snapped, exasperation obvious.
“The longer the trek drew on, the weaker we became. Most of us hadn’t eaten in well over a day and we weren’t dressed for that kind of cold. Many were unable to raise their feet beyond a shuffle and I’m sure you could have hard us clattering along for miles.
“That day we covered at best fifteen miles, much of it ground we had passed through just days earlier. More than once we came across the bodies of fallen soldiers from our unit. The cold had preserved them intact and many of them still wore the same expression they had when they died.
“We took what we could from the men, which was mostly weapons and munitions. They were dressed no better than we were and only a few had any food to speak of on them. We had to limit ourselves to only a couple of hundred rounds of ammunition each, anything more than that became too heavy in our weakened condition.
“That night we made camp in the base of a ravine that backed into a solid rock wall. Wedged against the sides of the ravine we were able to put our backs to it and be sheltered on three sides. Using a couple of lo
ng branches and some camouflage shirts taken from fallen soldiers, we formed a roof that made us undetectable from everywhere but right in front.
“We built small fires back against the wall and curled as close to them as we could. Using sticks and thick wads of moss we formed small blocks to keep the light from bouncing off the rock behind us.”
My uncle stopped again for a second and I looked up to see his eyes darting to and fro. I could see an internal war waging behind his eyes, but I said nothing.
“Jack and I were first watch that night, Petersen and Manus the second. They came to relieve us at midnight and within minutes I was asleep in a spot they had just vacated.
“It wasn’t but a few minutes later that Petersen circled the fires and shook each of us by the shoulder. I awoke with a start to find him kneeling over me, a finger pressed to his lips. Firelight danced across his face, his features drawn taut.
“Without a word he moved on and when everyone was awake he motioned for the fires to be put out. Using the wads of moss and several handfuls of dirt we extinguished the flames and waited as darkness and the cold of the night washed over us.
“A few moments passed before Peterson leaned close to Marks and whispered, “Chinese patrol. No more than a dozen of them from what we can see, no telling how many are in the area.”
“Marks nodded and moved forward a few feet to Manus’s side. He touched him on the shoulder to let him know he was there and slid his head forward to survey the area.
“The night was still and we could hear them talking amongst each other, their boots scraping on the rocks nearby. They couldn’t have been more than a couple of hundred feet away as each of us took up our weapons.
“For the first time in days the cold wasn’t an issue as we waited, adrenaline pumping through our bodies.
“After a while, the sounds of the men grew softer and with an audible sigh each of us breathed a little easier. Marks and Manus stayed at the mouth of structure for a few more minutes before they both made their way back to us.
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