Korea

by Carlos R. Smith

Overview

This is a story of one man's journey from civilian life, soon to be an Infantry Rifleman and then to the front lines of the Korean War and his return home. I invite you to follow along as I tell my story.
War is Hell. This is a time-worn expression that really means nothing. Words are intended to paint a picture in your mind but in this case no mental images appear. The reason being of course no one has ever seen Hell and returned to describe it. Similarly, men who go to war, experience war and return find it impossible to describe for an entirely different reason. They have seen it, experienced it, but find it indescribable. Someone once said, "war is about killing people and breaking things" Perhaps that description is what we should look to as an answer. This may be as close as the reader or anyone else will ever get.
My story is about killing people and breaking things. It is about taking the high ground or holding what you have. It is about search and destroy patrols into no-man's land, it is about war. I will not attempt any further description.
I invite you to travel with me and with your mind's eye look into the abyss of a man-made hell, not just one but several. Heart Break Ridge, Bloody Ridge, and the Punch Bowl, where you look death in the face only to have death for now look away. To now know that during the battle for Heart Break Ridge, in slightly less than 30 days the 23rd Regiment, Second Infantry Division suffered over 100% casualties. A steady stream of replacements is your answer.
Korea the country at the end of WW-2 was still very primitive, frozen in time for hundreds of years. Soldiers were advised to never drink the water or eat anything that grew on or under the ground. The reason was that everything that grew on or under the ground was very likely fertilized with human waste. This was their way; this was their life.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940162901846
Publisher:	Covenant Books
Publication date:	08/13/2020
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	547 KB

About the Author

Carlos Smith was born on September 30, 1929, twenty-nine days before Black Tuesday, the “unofficial” start of the Great Depression, in Union City, Tennessee. The third of four children, his parents were sharecroppers who moved their family to Chicago in 1943 to find employment and to support the war effort.
He received his draft notice in August 1950, his physical examination on Halloween day 1950. His experience in the Korean War proved to be a defining event in his life. As one of the few soldiers that fought in the Battle of Heartbreak Ridge, the Battle of Bloody Ridge, and the Punchbowl, Carlos’s unique perspective about Korea and the war was featured on Oliver North’s War Stories: Hill Battles of Korea on Fox News in January 2003. Telling his story to Lieutenant Colonel North served as an inspiration and impetus to writing this book.
Carlos says that the purpose of the book is to expose and put to rest forever the police action or the conflict characterization of the war; it was war in the purest sense. From June 1950 until June 1951, battles raged first from the 38th parallel south to Pusan, then back north to the Yalu River, and then back to where it started at the 38th parallel, total distance of approximately 1,500 miles. Thousands of American soldiers and Marines were left at the battle sites, never to be recovered and are now listed as MIA.
At ninety years of age, Carlos is an avid reader and closely follows politics and current events with a special interest in the US foreign policy, particularly the Korean Peninsula. He is the father of three grown children, nine grandchildren, and one great-grandchild. He lives in Atlanta, Georgia.