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You go first I won’t die!
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Chapter 8 - You go first I won’t die!
After receivingmy selective service I was starting to become more insecure about my future as I was heading towards the assembly area to be transported off to the Nonsan Basics Camp. But when I went the assembly area I met a brother in Christ who I had met during the Bible study in YoungNak Presbyterian Church. He was a graduate from Seoul National University’s philosophy department. He was always calm and kind. He never showed himself off and was very humble – a role model in my opinion. He was an emotional support – as we took the train then walked to Nonsan Basics Camp after which we were sent off in different regimental distribution.
After the basic training was over, we were shipped off to the frontline after visiting the 101st Replacement Depot. During the early days of the May 16th Coup the country’s GNP was only 235 dollar per person – a poverty not imaginable comparing to the current GNP of Korea. The army’s provision of clothing, food, socks and shoes were too unfit for the cold condition. After the morning roll call we went up the cold mountains to gather wood. For someone being brought up a big city like Seoul, gathering dead frozen branches, then trying bind it with grass rope but not having any, had to make them myself – which was almost impossible because I never have made such item, and would come down the mountain be beaten for arriving late, and having only a small amount of wood. Sometimes I was even beat up for being from Seoul and not from Youngnam or Honam. (Youngnam and Honam are the regional names of provinces of Korea – historically they were in conflict for a long time).
During the night time when the sergeant first class and officers were living outside the barracks, veteran corporals would punish us as a show off; I was beaten for being a role model and having special vacation, not smoking, or drinking during army gatherings because I was a Christian… During all this the Squad Commander KyungHo Kim told me lively up the barracks with some art and made me write and do poster designs. Working all the time… Sometimes I didn’t even know where my socks went, and when veteran corporals called in for laundry I find them there. Also during the cold winter times when the kitchen needed dishes to be done I would have to crack ice and put them in the cleaning racks and then get the roll call (not to mention I had to do the veteran corporal’s dishes as well), as I can recall some of these thing were really unfair or unrealistic but in the end, when men gather there is always a fun or interesting story of army experiences.
At one point during early winter I was told to plant Acacia trees in 0.5m distance around the camp site. Since the fences were very big I figured I would have to plant couple thousand. But orders are orders so I went.
Because it was pre-winter season it was very cold and we were sent in teams to pull out the acacia tree from the mountain. Some of the veteran soldier told us to get their share of tree as well. When we went in to get the tree, we saw that the other areas didn’t have any Acacia trees but one place – an area marked as minefield. But we still went in through the metal fence and gathered the tree till the gather time. But instead of job well – done we were beaten for not gathering enough trees and made us run around the training camp in our hand and knee, only to be beaten more because they said we were going slow. Some of the newer trainees thought of either escaping and running away from the camp or try to raise a mutiny were prevailing. But that would’ve happen on if wrong decisions were made.
At this time the Tiger Company was sent off to Vietnam, and around the Vietnamese War the White Horse Company was signed up to go. While some of the soldiers didn’t want to go to Vietnam at all because the chance of survival and returning in one piece was somewhat slim. But I volunteered to go and my friends looked at me strangely. I thought at that time, while in the military and serving why not go and have some combat experience. Even those who didn’t want to volunteer were sent I waited for my turn to go but I never had my chance. Turns out whenever I sent out a form, it would be tossed out. They didn’t want to lose a soldier like me. When I asked my operations officer about going to Vietnam he told me that it was too risky and tried to stop me from going. But I still begged and was finally sent to the war. To be exact, after the White Horse Company was already 6 months into the war – with casualty and wounded I was sent as a reinforcement.
I was in the 28th Regiment Support Battery Division of the White Horse Company (which had a 105mm canon armament). The battalion commander told me to make a Battery Division’s Digest made even during the busy wartime, and I was in a team that edited, looked up articles to write and reviewed the previous day’s work, all this was done with a team. There was always something to work in the forested areas. It was called the Hong Gil-Dong Operation. Major ChungGil Lee who would be returning from service soon joined us in the flight into the deep jungle in helicopters; we were going in to fight the Viet Cong in a major campaign against them. Because it was guerrilla warfare we had to dig our own trench to bunker down, we dug usually alone and as fast as possible then we would shout “get in here quick Major!” because we always thought if he was shot down or injured our morale would drop low.
He would usually shout back “I won’t die! You stay in your bunkers” and cover us with his gun while we dug out more trenches. His courage and sacrifice was an encouragement and a morale boost – even thought he was married and has two children, Major Lee would treat us all like a brother or son – a prime example of what leadership is like.
I thank God for having a safe return from Vietnam. I stayed about a year and half serving in the war and returned. I thought I was a patriot because I had served half a year more than those who were sent in the war. When the Busan Harbor was getting smaller and smaller and those who waving the flag were getting also smaller, people had doubted if I were going to survive but made it back alive! Sometimes in the army, things were unfair and hard to adjust to the conditions, but looking back this was an experience in overcoming obstacles of ups and downs in the valley of life. I also specially thank Major ChungGil Lee who was a prime example of how to be caring and encouraging as a leader. Even just meeting him during the Vietnam War was a very valuable experience.
(January 2011)
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YoungNak Presbyterian Church World Gospel Mission 
You go first I won’t die!