Korean War experiences of James (Demetrios) C. Siotas - From War to War (Part 2)

Athens, Greece, OT

In January 1952 we arrived in Inchon, Korea and through Seoul were taken to the front line at the Iron Triangle. Fierce fighting was going on and we were having extremely low temperatures. Luckily we were provided with rubber boots and 2 pairs of woolen socks that we could change whenever we stopped the prolonged firing of the 155 mm Howitzer. Since I was the breach-block man, opening it quickly when the projectile left and the tube recoiled, I was constantly on the move. The perspiration from our feet inside our boots was frozen, and if we delayed to remove it we could suffer frostbite. The drivers of the supply trucks started their engines at short intervals to prevent them from freezing, and if we found time to take a quick shower, a hole was drilled on the thick ice of the frozen river under a tent and heated water was thrown upon us. We got dressed quickly and covered by a fur-lined parka got outside for our dug-in bunker, where a stove burned continually to heat it.
I remained there until October 1952 and, declining an offer for a field commission, my 19-month deployment ended. I was returned to Fort Lawton for separation and transfer to the reserves.

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