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| U.S. Army |
The following is an excerpt from "The Battle of Turkey Thicket" (ISBN 978-0-9990983-2-5), the story of PVT Philip Hughes, who was one of the first - and youngest - of the American soldiers initially committed to the Korean War.
July 6, 1950. Platoon leaders scanned the landscape for crags, rises, and other features that provided natural concealment; troops were dispersed accordingly. To prepare the ground for defense, the soldiers created barricades from logs, rocks, and the like. When such materials were lacking, they would have to dig foxholes instead.
The rain intensified as evening approached. Some of the men donned their standard-issue rain ponchos. They found how difficult it is for a man to sling a shovel around while cloaked in a knee-length tarpaulin. Once at rest, the soldier could pull the poncho's neckline up over his chin to foil the wetness. It was only a matter of time, however, before the rain invaded a seam in the poncho's rubberized fabric. The wearer was inevitably forced to endure a rivulet of cold water running down his back. The foxholes began to fill with rain water.
Sergeants wandered about the men, checking on weapon readiness and offering words of encouragement. Each man had just under 100 rounds of ammunition. There were no grenades....
Thank you for writing about this 'lost war'. Very few remember what these brave men endured.
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