The Men I Lost

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By 1952 both sides had been dug in for months along the 38th Parallel. As peace talks began in Panmunjom, a village along what became the border between North and South Korea, they jockeyed for the smallest terrain advantage in anticipation of a cease-fire. The result was an endless series of seesaw battles for outposts in front of mainline positions, similar to the trench warfare of World War I.

I was a Marine infantry platoon leader on the front line, not far from Panmunjom. One warm spring night a patrol from my unit was heading out when the Chinese ambushed them right in front of our platoon’s trench line.

Apparently the enemy had been watching how our patrols left the trenches: we had a camouflaged opening in the barbed wire and a narrow foot path that skirted the mines dotting the hillside. The Chinese ambushers had silently made their way to the base of the hill, unseen and unheard by the Marines in the trench just above. The Chinese caught my men as they passed single-file through the wire. Our guys never had a chance.

The burst of burp-gun fire took me by surprise. Standing outside the trench, I went into a defensive crouch. My heart raced as the adrenaline kicked in. They can’t be this close, I thought.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/25/opinion/25Trainor.html?th&emc=th