Scars and Stars

by Dustin Stevens

  “Half a mile,” Jack said as stared straight ahead and continued to move in a hurried crouch. Several more minutes passed by, and then it happened.

  “We were spotted.

  “Through our own panting we hadn’t heard the voices off to the right of us or noticed the men circling their fire. If we had we probably would have dropped to a crawl and hoped to slink by, but as was they spotted us moving through the felled trees.

  “We might not have heard their voices, but we heard the gunshots. Thin and spotty at first, but picking up and becoming heavier.

  “At the first sound of fire we both raised to full height and sprinted forward with everything we had. I drew my hands into tight fists and pounded my feet into the ground, my head bobbing up and down as I ran as hard as I could for Pusan.

  “More shots rang out and I noticed bits of earth kicking up around us. The city grew closer and I could see a high wall built around it with wire stripping the top. A large gate was fifty yards to the left of us and as we ran I yelled, “There!” and pointed with my right arm.

  “Together we changed course and pounded forward. As the shots continued I could see soldiers popping up above the wall in front of us and Jack screamed, “We’re Americans!” over and over.

  “We were almost one hundred and fifty yards out when it hit me. A bullet crashed into my left leg and sent me tumbling to the ground. It ripped through my calf a few inches below the knee and hot pain seared through my body as I went down hard, sending Jack sprawling over me.

  “Jack landed face first and came up bloody. “You hit?”

  “Yes,” I said through angry gritted teeth. “Just go, I’ll be right behind you.”

  “Jack slid beside me and saw the blood running from my leg. I told him over and over to go on, but he ignored me and hoisted me to feet. He threw my left arm over his shoulder and together we ran forward like two men in a three-legged race competition.

  “My left leg dangled in the air as I leaned on Jack and bounced on my right as fast as I could.

  “Americans atop the wall returned fire while Jack and I ran for the wall. As we covered the last few yards the gate swung open and we both dove through, landing in a twisted heap of flesh, metal, and blood.

  “The gate swung closed behind us and for a long time I lay there, breathing as fast as my lungs would allow and feeling the fire burning in my leg. Shots continued to ring out from around us, but I didn’t have the energy to look up at them.

  “I began to hear the voices around me and I opened my eyes to see a group of Koreans peering down. Without thinking I grabbed the sidearm from my waist and brought it out as they raised their hands and stepped back.

  “An American officer stepped in between us with raised hands and said, “Easy son, those are South Koreans. They’re on our side.”

  “I lowered the weapon and fell back, my head resting on the ground as I continued to gulp in air. “Jack, you crazy bastard, are you alright?”

  “A painful moan preceded his voice. “Aw hell, nothing that won’t heal.” He rolled forward and I felt him tearing away the leg of my trousers to inspect my leg.

  “How bad is it?”

  “Looks like it passed through,” he said. “Lucky you’re so damn skinny.”

  “I looked around to see a large group of Americans and South Koreans staring down at us. A man in sharp dress with Captain’s insignia on his arm emerged from the crowd and I raised my arm to salute.

  “He smiled and said, “That won’t be necessary. You boys alright?”

  “Jack fought his way to his feet and said, “Corporals Jack and Richard Roberts, 63rd Regiment, 5th Division, sir. He’s been shot through the leg.”

  “The Captain eyed Jack’s Ioban wrap and bloodied face. “You don’t look much better. Captain Earl Hix. This is the 85th Regiment, 8th Division.

  “Welcome to Pusan.”

  “Thank you, sir,” Jack said and for a moment all was quiet.

  “A sergeant appeared by the Captain’s side and asked, “Did you boys just say you were from the 5th?”

  “I nodded and said, “We were one of a handful to make it out of there alive. We were separated from the others though; don’t know where they are now.”

  “Well hell,” the sergeant began to say, but the Captain raised a hand and cut him off.

  “First we get these boys wrapped up and fed, then we’ll talk. He turned his attention to us and said, “In my quarters in two hours?”

  “He asked it as a question, but we both took it as an order. “Yes sir.”

  “The Captain melted back from the group as fast as he had arrived and the other men around us began to follow suit. A small group of medics arrived in a Jeep and helped us onto it, took us over to medical to be taken care of.”

  My uncle stopped there for a second and motioned for me to come around to his left side. I jumped from my seat and swung around as he lifted his pant leg and pointed to two scars on either side of his calf. They were both round in shape and a little larger than a nickel, scar tissue formed around their edges.

  “This is where the bullet entered, and this is where it exited,” Uncle Cat said, pointing first to the outside of his leg and then the inside.

  He rolled his pant leg down and I leaned back on my knees, looking up at him.

  “When the bullet entered my leg it grazed my tibia, the larger bone running down the front. A small spur of it broke off and to this day it’s still floating around in there. That’s why I have to use this thing,” he said, motioning towards his cane.

  “Every so often the spur will get itself positioned just right and begin rubbing against the muscles and tendons in there. When it does, my leg forms fluid around it to try and act as a cushion between them.

  “When that happens my leg will swell up several times its own size and I’ll have to take a syringe like the one on the page here and drain the fluid.

  “For a while I went to a doctor about it, but he kept pushing me to get surgery. I wasn’t about to do that and it seemed stupid for me to keep paying him to drain it, so one day I just started doing it myself.”

  My uncle paused for a moment before saying, “There were a lot of different ideas we had for this page. We could have showed pictures of scar tissue on our arms and legs from Army crawling, but we both had scars from being tied up, frozen to rocks, things of that sort and it would be hard to differentiate.

  “We could have chosen a map of Pusan and the surrounding areas but in the end we thought this would be best.

  “This one simple object manages to summarize both the journey and the destination. The pain I went through in being wounded and the pain Jack went through in seeing me to safety.”

  Chapter Forty-Two

  The sun sat no more than a few inches above the water and was so bright I had to shield my eyes or look away. Without blinking my uncle sat and stared straight ahead, his eyes impervious to the blinding light as it rolled off the water and washed over us.

  Truth be known, I don’t think he even knew it was there. He sat for several minutes, rocking back and forth in his chair and tapping the edge of the album. Nothing was said between us, but every so often he would absently touch his left leg.

  “The medics took us to sick bay and went right to work tending our wounds. They cleaned my leg and dressed it, covered the thick scratches on my forearms and knees. They removed the Ioban from Jack’s neck, cleaned it out and took care of the scratches on his face. When they were done they gave us both heavy doses of antibiotics.

  “As they worked some young Korean nurses brought us bowls of rice and hot tea and we ate it down while the doctors fussed about us. An hour and a half later the same person from the medic’s tent drove us over to see Captain Hix, still in our borrowed winter fatigues and fresh bandages.

  “The doctors gave me crutches as I left sick bay and I gave them an honest shot for about fifty feet before tossing them. It took more effort to support my own weight on them than it did to hobble
along and deal with a little bit of pain.

  “The Captain had commandeered a small home to serve as his quarters, a structure about the same size as the enlistment station from what seemed like ages before. There were men running back and forth from it and for a couple of minutes we stood outside and watched.

  “A few moments passed before a young private with thick black hair poked his head out and said, “The Captain would like to know if you plan to join us or should he come out here to speak with you?”

  “Jack and I exchanged a glance and we made our way into the house. For all the activity we had witnessed from outside it was quite subdued and I could even hear soft music playing in the background.

  “Captain Hix was seated behind a large desk and motioned to two wooden chairs as we approached. Several men lined the walls in chairs of their own and every eye was on us as we approached.

  “So, I already know your name, rank, and division, so let’s start there,” Captain Hix said. He had thick hair that was once black but now predominantly silver and parted on the side. His face was smooth and bore a few lines around his mouth and eyes but was otherwise free from blemish. “The 63rd, 5th huh?”

  “Yes sir,” Jack said. “Most were wiped out up near Chosin, a handful of us were able to make it out.”

  “Captain Hix leaned forward and said, “Way I heard it, it was more like all of you.”

  “Jack bobbed his head. “Just about. Dozen of us were able to swim out of there and work our way across the countryside. Along the way, we ran into a bunch of Marines making their way eastward and decided to give a hand. The two of us got separated laying down some delay fire, taken captive.”

  “Captive?” Hix said, surprise in his voice. “Where’d they send you? One of the numbered camps? Amkon?”

  “I shook my head and said, “No sir. Ah-San.”

  “Hix furrowed his brow and shot a look at one of the men sitting to his right. “Ah-San? Do we have anything on an Ah-San?”

  “The man twisted his head and Hix asked us, “Are you sure? We don’t have anything on the books for that one.”

  “Jack nodded his head and said, “Yes sir, very sure. That’s why we’re here.”

  “At Ah-San we came across a Colonel Harold Spires and the 3rd Army infantry,” I Said. “He, along with Lt. Colonel Phelps and Major Atwood kind of run things for our side there.”

  “Hix shot a look along the left side of the room and leaned forward. He rested his elbows on the table in front of him and said, “I’m listening.”

  “We were only in camp a few hours when they sent for us,” Jack said. “Said they had been scouring the incoming prisoners and we were the first that looked like we might be able to handle the job.”

  “As it was, they knew that nobody knew about Ah-San,” I said. “If they didn’t get somebody out to pass word along of they were as good as dead.”

  “So they planted us in their daily water barrels and deposited us in the river a little over five days ago. We’ve been working our way here ever since,” Jack finished.

  “Concern painted Hix’ face and he turned to an aid on the right side of the room, “When was the last confirmed word from Colonel Spires?”

  “The aid rifled through some papers and said, “Over a month ago, from up north of the 38th.”

  “A man to the left of Hix tapped a map on the wall above his head and said, “You think you two could show us where this place is?”

  “I nodded as Jack said, “We can show you and take you there.”

  “The man returned my nod and for a moment the room fell silent. Hix leaned back in his chair and asked, “How many men are there?”

  “Several hundred,” I responded, “at that camp. There are also two more camps in the area, one for Koreans and one for non-military personnel. And those are just the ones we know of for certain.”

  “We came in with a train of over five hundred,” Jack said. “No way of knowing how many are up there total.”

  “The men around us exchanged glances as Hix asked, “And the treatment there?”

  “Jack leaned his head back and pointed to his throat. “Major Han, the man in charge there, left me with this parting gift right before we took off. Major Atwood told us it isn’t uncommon for the guards there to engage in shootings or beatings for sport.”

  “Not to mention they’re living in complete squalor,” I said. “There’s a river of shit flowing through camp and the main foodstuff is millet. Men are dying by the day.”

  “Any kind of aid? Medical attention?” another man asked.

  “I shook my head and said, “There are two doctors in a single tent there. Quincel and Rothchild. Little to no supplies, stuff they have is outdated. We gave a hand all we could, but it’s grim.”

  “Hix stood and began to walk from behind his desk to the map on the wall. “As you boys saw this morning on your way in, we’re pretty well bottled up behind these walls.” He started to continue but paused and said, “Speaking of which, how the hell did you two make it that close to the gate?”

  “We topped that ridge last night just after midnight,” Jack said. “Crawled the rest of the way here.”

  “A few whistles went up from around the room and Hix said, “That’s near six miles from here.”

  “I held up my bandaged elbows and said, “We’d gone the whole way too if we hadn’t run out of darkness.”

  “Hix nodded and said, “So like I was saying, ground isn’t an option on this one. Any way to get to this camp from sea?”

  “I looked at Jack and for a second we were both blank, then it came to both of us.

  “Blast charge.

  “There’s a site up the eastern seaboard where a large aquatic evac took place maybe a month ago,” Jack said. “That’s where we were headed when we were captured and we passed the same point making our way here. It should be somewhere in the vicinity of Koto-Ri.”

  “You’ll know the site because there’s a giant scorched crater where we set off what looked to be one helluva blast charge,” I said. “Nothing but soot and ash for a quarter mile square.”

  “I know the site you’re talking about,” a middle-aged man behind us said as the room turned to look at him. “I wasn’t there, but I know Sergeant Muehler was. He’ll be able to tell us right where it’s at.”

  “And we can take you in from there,” Jack said. “We could even guide you on ground, but from sea that’s your best bet.”

  “Hix looked around the men in the room and said, “What do you gentlemen think? I know we’re under pretty heavy fire, but we can’t leave a camp of our own out there with no chance of recovery.”

  “A murmur of talk went up from around the room and I said, “Captain, what if I told you it could be done with a minimal detachment of men?”

  “The murmuring died down and the Captain crossed his arms in front of him. “I’d be very interested to find out how.”

  “I turned and pointed to the trio of South Koreans I had drawn my weapon on that morning. “Every person at that camp is Korean. No Chinese anywhere. We could give you their exact patterns, how they run their pickups, how they guard the water detail.”

  “Jack’s eyebrows raised beside me and everyone turned their attention back to Hix, who stood and rubbed his chin. “You know, that just might work. Set up a little ambush and get a group of our guys in there, could even arm the prisoners coming back with water. What would you say their total forces are there?”

  “Twisting my face a bit I looked to Jack and said, “Maybe a hundred? At the very most?”

  “Jack turned to Hix and said, “At any given point there are no more than twenty guarding the prisoners. The rest stay in bunkhouses which sit about a quarter mile away from the camp along with the officer’s quarters and such.”

  “A half smile grew across the side of Hix’ face and he said, “I’m liking this more and more by the minute.” He spun his gaze around the room and said, “Gold, Molina, you two work on getting us a ship read
y to depart at dawn, two days from now. Bergen, you get me forty men, twenty Korean and twenty American and let them know they’ll be going on that ship.”

  “Activity burst out around the room as Jack and I requested permission to be dismissed. Hix granted it, told us to be back the next day at noon for planning purposes and released us.

  “Jack and I left the room and I said, “I don’t know who Spires is, but he must have some serious pull.”

  “Jack nodded. “You see the way they all got real interested when we brought him up?”

  “I never had the chance to respond.

  “Instead, a voice from the past called out, “Well if it ain’t them damn Birch Grove boys!”

  “It took a moment for the words to sink in as Jack and I looked at one another, then back in the direction of the voice.

  “Marks. On either side of him were Buddy, Manus, Caldwell and Sims, all grinning wide.

  “The same grins spread on our faces as we walked forward to meet them, starting with handshakes and ending with hugs.

  “We thought we lost you boys way back on the ravine,” Buddy said, still smiling.

  “Ah, were not from Kentucky. They make us a little more resourceful up in Ohio,” I said as the group laughed aloud.

  “Where the hell you fellas been?” Marks asked. “Hiding out, waiting for us to win the war for you?”

  “Jack bobbed his head and said, “Where haven’t we been, thought for sure you’d have this thing finished by now. Imagine our surprise to find you aren’t a day closer to anything than when we left.”

  “Sims held a hand to the sky and said, “Gentlemen, I propose in honor of the return of our friends from the dead, we take this some place a little more fitting a celebration.”

  “All I wanted to do was eat and sleep, and I could see Jack’s face saying the same thing, but we decided to join them anyway. It was clear they wouldn’t be denied and to be honest we were both glad to see familiar faces after all we’d been through.

  “The boys took us to a hole in the wall joint so small I doubt it even had a name. There were but four tables in the whole place and we shoved them together and piled around.