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FROM CHOSIN TO THE SEA
The hike from Chosin, 70 miles on ice and snow.
Temperature reading 40 below.
With frostbitten hands and frozen feet.
Nothing to eat, no time to sleep.
Will we make it, only God knows.
Dead lay all around, sniper fire from the high ground.
Ammo gone, trucks can not go.
On we tread through the snow.
Through the day and through the night.
Oh my God, another firefight.
They say the water is just around the bend.
Only one more night to spend,
I see the water, I see the ships.
I say a prayer through frozen lips.
And thank God for letting me finish this trip.
Mervale Jones - 185 E.C.B.

This poem was written by me in 1988, about the nightmares that Dad had about the war.

WAR DREAMS
Wanting to forget the past -
The past shows through in dreams.
The fear shows through the eyes and body,
As the gun fire is heard -
There is no escape.

I found this poem on a message board, I do not know the name of the poem or the name of the writer. The writer is one of the survivors from Chosin, and this is not the entire poem, just an excerpt.

I AM NOT FORGOTTEN

I have walked these Korean hills before, crossed these rivers;
I have passed through these fields, heavy with the odor of growth.
My presence is here.....and elsewhere
In the pages of a letter, yellow with age
At the edge of a photograph, on a torn dance program
I am by love begotten.....I am not forgotten.

I am here in the hearts of those who were with me
on the Perimeter, at Inchon, at the Reservoir and the River
and in the hearts of those who waited....
In their thoughts I walk again and I wait at the curb in my car
on a soft summer evening.....
the sounds of crickets, of passing automobiles
and the muted sounds of the city are near.

I am a tear in the eyes of mothers, sisters,
fathers, brothers, wives, Friends, lovers.....
I am by love begotten.....I am not forgotten.

I am black, white, Jewish, Gentile, red, yellow;
I speak English, Hebrew, Korean, Chinese, Gaelic, German, Spanish;
I am known in many countries and by many people........
I have heard the rush of summer seas, and the fist of thunder.
I have known a distant star on a cold December night....
And I have known the love of a friend who would die for me
and I for him.
I am by love begotten........
I am not forgotten.

From the Army Chosin few, October 2000 issue, Forgotten Son was written by Eric B. Williams as a tribute to his Grandfather, Beryl Williams, Chaplain of the Army Chosin Few.

FORGOTTEN SON

He is one of our country's forgotten sons,
who answered a calling to carry a gun.
He was a boy who believed in his Lord,
And when his country asked he went to war.
At seventeen he was a boy no more,
as he fought for freedom on a foreign shore.
At Inchon he landed with his tank in route,
his brave efforts along with the others' there saved the South.
He then became part of a Chosen Few,
many of which faced a frozen grave for me and you.
As a boy he risked his life so I could have mine,
and he now has scars that will not heal with time.
I write these words in a humble attempt to honor his sacrifice,
and let him know the difference he has made in my life.
Like many others he was a forgotten son because our country decided not to bother,
but to me he will never be a FORGOTTEN GRANDFATHER.

From the 31st Infantry Regiment Newsletter, the July 2000 issue, Chosin Reservoir North Korea 1950 written by John Gray Col Retired. John was a First Lieutenant at Chosin, M Company, 31st Infantry Regiment.

CHOSIN RESERVOIR NORTH KOREA 1950

Among our still fighting survivors,
many appear to be walking dead,
yet still combat capable.

Two thirds are wounded, yet they carry on.
All are suffering from frostbitten skin.
frozen ears, faces, toes, and fingers
are commonplace.

Some walk on frozen,
thus living on borrowed time.
Their faces are grotesque, dirty, unshaven.
gaunt with hunger from short rations.

All are bone eary from lack of sleep.
They have been under incessant attack
for three days and four nights.

Some of the wounded are so disabled,
they cannot move to generate body heat.
They freeze to death in horrible stiffness.

Equipment and vehicle wreckage
is everywhere
To add to the burden,
it is snowing again...

If low, heavy clouds persist,
There will be no air cover or support
to hold the enemy at bay...
as we move to break out!

From the Army Chosin Few, October 2000 Magazine comes the poem, An Escort of Blue Corsairs.The poem was published 12/9/50, in a Springfield Illinois paper, and was sent to the Chosin Few by George Ellis. The corsair was a small light weight plane that the Navy had on ships around the ports in Korea. Soldiers from Chosin consider the cosairs their lifesaver. The corsairs dropped vital food and equipment to the men at Chosin and also the corsairs halted some Chinese from reaching UN lines by dropping napalm onto the unending Army of the Communist Chinese.

AN ESCORT OF BLUE CORSAIRS

Oh Doris Day was a beautiful gal
And Elizabeth Taylor was too.
but you will find if you query
A different theory,
Amongst The Chosin Few.
For the loveliest thing,
Of which we could sing,
This side of the Heavenly Stairs,
Was no blond or brunnette of the Hollywood set,
But an escort of Blue Corsairs.

In the nights that have passed,
When the Chinese were massed,
Bringing death, terror and pain
It's true that the sight
Was enough to bring fright
Us intent upon leaving the plain.
But no longer the same,
Any more in the game,
Headed South from Chosin affairs.
You can have all the wine,
Just be sure that mine,
Is an escort of Blue Corsairs.

Byron, Shelly, and Ayres,
Took a dozen dares,
Describing the view from the hills,
Of the valley in May,
When the winds gently sway,
An Army of bright daffodils.
Take the daffodils Bryon,
The wild flowers Shelly,
Yours is the Myrtle friend Ayres.
Just reserve me those cuties,
Those American Beauties,
An escort of Blue Corsairs.

We were braver than Hell on the low ground,
In the hills t'was a different story.
We sweated our track,
Through snipers and flak,
And were willing to spit up the Glory
Each night we would pray,
For just one more day.
To make a just end to our story.
Please Lord don't reject us,
Pray Heaven protect us,
And until all those Chinese despair,
Give us the courage to fight 'em
and one more small item,
An escort of Blue Corsairs.

Fighting Chinese and cold,
No retreat we were told,
Just hold out a little while longer.
And each dawn they came,
To join in the game,
And make us a little stronger.
So just tell me heirs,
'If you see 'em,
They'll have to wait for their shares.
For we beat all the odds,
By the grace of God,
And the help of our Blue Corsairs.

I do accept original poetry and stories from the Army Chosin Few and family members - just write to me at Chosin_Katia@yahoo.com(Karen)

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