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November 27, 1950 (co-author challenge)

Novembers are cold in Korea. In case you hadn’t heard Korea is a piece of property surrounded by water on three sides, impassable mountains in the middle and absolutely nothing worth fighting for everyplace else. But in June the Korean Peoples Army (KPA) came barreling south and pushed the forces of democracy back into a pocket called the Pusan perimeter. Well Truman didn’t like that, and so the UN voted to send troops to stop the fighting.

Here I am. Lance Corporal Hardee, of the first battalion, 32nd regiment, assigned to Regimental Combat Team 31. Freezing my privates, in a god and warmth forsaken foxhole, on a barren windswept hill east of some frozen pond called Chosin, in the middle of Korea. And what am I doing here? Guarding the flank of the 7th marines.

Tomorrow is my birthday, and how will I be celebrating turning 22? Not with my buddies doing a little R&R in Tokyo. No, I get to attack north, to push towards the Yalu River.

When I get home, I am going to have a word with my draft board.

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