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Curio & Relic/Black Powder Curio & Relics and Black Powder Firearms, Old School shooting fun! |
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#401
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I've tried for years to explain to my wife and friends my fascination/love for firearms. This thread allowed me to solidify why.
1. I love history, especially history involving self sacrifice for others. And firearms will always be part of that. I love my country and the men and women who have sacrificed so much through the years to create the greatest civilization of this world's history. My life is great because of them. 2. I was introduced to shooting by my gramps. I cherished him and the time we spent together. In his eyes I experienced love unquestioned. The two shotguns he gave me are two of the most important things I own, because of the history they represent and are tied to. They will be part of my family forever. Thank you David and everyone that has been a part of this thread. weepy and unproductive day at the office. Semper fi |
#403
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Very cool thread and story! Bump!
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^^^The above is just an opinion. NRA Patron Member CRPA 5 yr Member "...which from their verbosity, their endless tautologies, their involutions of case within case, and parenthesis within parenthesis, and their multiplied efforts at certainty by saids and aforesaids, by ors and by ands, to make them more plain, do really render them more perplexed and incomprehensible, not only to common readers, but to lawyers themselves. " - Thomas Jefferson |
#405
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Thank you Ruth for presenting your daddy's war diary. (Thanks also to Rkt88edmo for helping out. The commentators to this thread have been fantastic.)
At present I have read only a few pages. I stopped because something peculiar occurred. Maybe the font and color of the mimeograph had something to do with it. Certainly the writing style, place names and attention to organization and detail. I was struck by the notion that I was reading the first hand accounts of my own dad. The similarities are striking. My dad was there too. So many of the place names and dates and events are familiar as I reminisce of reading his accounts in my younger years . This thread has reignited my efforts to recompile my own dad's Korea era service records. I wonder if Ruth's daddy and mine ever stumbled across each other. My family does have photos of dad from that time. Notable is an article in FEB1953 issue of Life magazine where he and 12 others made national news because they wished to rotate back, in spite of the mass of red tape. In honor of this wonderful thread, I wish to report back when I receive word from USMC archives. |
#406
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Romeo, did you ever hear back?
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#407
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I have a USMC 1903 that has the name Betko written under the handguard... Would you believe there is only Betko that served in WW2, he was a First Sergeant in the First Provisional Marine Brigade in Londonderry Ireland and eventually was a Master Sergeant in Florida over the Marines Air Tactical Fighter unit at a base there. He also has his own picture collection in the National Archives but I have only seen a couple of them. I have not fired the gun in the five years I have owned it.
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#408
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Almost a year since the last bump and I'm sure that many of the newer members may not have seen this. I've actually read through it twice over the years just because it is such a great story.
Newb's this is for you.
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Ignorance is a matter of choice and is usually cured by age, experience and education, but stupid is genetic in nature, and incurable. |
#409
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What an awesome story. Calguns ALWAYS delivers.
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It's not the fall that kills you, it's the sudden stop at the bottom. |
#413
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Yesterday was the anniversary of what I believe may have been my first post on Random Nuclear Strikes blog about the revolver, and while I wait for RNS to come back up (somebody forgot to renew the domain, lol) I figure I owe everybody an update.
1) No, I have not met Sgt. Bierkle's daughter in person yet. Somewhere in my storage unit is a printout I made from an old email with her contact info, and another with the contact info of one of her relatives (sister, cousin, can't recall). I hope to get around to meeting her eventually. 2) I haven't shot the revolver for many years now. Much of the time it was as a stunt at Boomershoot and at 400 yards one wasn't planning to hit anything. I haven't been to Boomershoot in a couple years due to life getting in the way, so there's that. 3) I did go to WY-SHOT last year and brought the revolver with me to have a good pistolsmith (Chris Rhodes, I trust him and his work) look it over as I'd never been able to get better than 8" groups at 15 yards with it. I don't shoot THAT badly. I was hoping it was due to shooting factory JHPs etc. in a barrel that just needed to get slugged to find the right bullet diameter with for accuracy with those cast boolits I've heard of, but no.... 4) He did a preliminary once-over and the timing needs work and the barrel's worn almost smooth. I am hoping to get him to restore it to shootability. Smith's "new" 1917 model from a few years back is apparently not parts compatible, so this may be a bit of an adventure. Next up he'll do a deep dive to let me know the details of what surgery's required.... Anyway, life's good, and I give thanks always to the Sergeant and his ilk. Happy Presidents' Day to all!
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Honorary Board Member, the California Gun Rights Foundation Opinions posted in this account are my own and not the approved position of any organization. Yes I'm an attorney. No, this post does not contain legal advice or opinion. |
#417
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WOW! I've been on Calguns 8 years, almost entirely on the C&R forum, and this was the first time I followed this thread. Great stuff all. PAX
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You need a crew "A free people should be armed and disciplined" (George Washington), Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.~John Adams 1798
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#418
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Merry Christmas David. There's no time like the present to make a visit to Ruth. Tis the season, nobody lives forever.
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Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy. Its only inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery. -Winston Churchill Last edited by BlueDog333; 12-06-2018 at 1:24 PM.. |
#419
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Quote:
I found exactly ONE man with my family name, on the Vietnam Wall - and our Irish family has been in America since 1704!!! Eeerily enough, he was killed in-country, the day BEFORE I was born...
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#420
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David I hope you didn't miss your chance to meet Ruth. From a quick google search Ruth E. Bierkle has relocated to San Diego according to the white pages.
Source: White Pages website. I'll PM you the info David.
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Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy. Its only inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery. -Winston Churchill Last edited by BlueDog333; 12-06-2018 at 10:24 PM.. Reason: privacy |
#423
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Stunned
Sat for about an hour in stunned silence and reverent awe reading through the 11 pages of posts and pdf's...mostly filtering for posts from David and Ruth. Best hour I've spent on the computer in decades.
In the proper hands, that revolver will outlive us all!!!!! |
#424
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So glad to see this thread's still meaningful to folks, as it is and will always be to me.
Not much to update here; the revolver and I are still in California for the foreseeable future. I'm well aware of the upcoming anniversary dates this year, and intend to have some new pics and video up by then if not before. Of course, it would help if the ranges weren't closed due to COVID-19.... But even if they stay closed thru November and December, I've got access to a nice place out on Grizzly Island to take the revolver for some commemorative shooting. Take care, everybody, and thank you for your appreciation for history, for the heroic Orville Bierkle, and for this wonderful relic of American history I'm so privileged (in the true sense of the word) to be able to care for! --David
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Honorary Board Member, the California Gun Rights Foundation Opinions posted in this account are my own and not the approved position of any organization. Yes I'm an attorney. No, this post does not contain legal advice or opinion. |
#426
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ORVILLE BIERKLE'S KOREA DIARY, 70 YEARS AGO YESTERDAY.
THURSDAY 21 SEPTEMBER (1950): We landed at Inchon around 1600-1630, debarking from the USS Bayfield, APA 33, after a five day trip from Kobe, Japan. We boarded trucks on Wolmi Do Island for a trip into the hills near Kimpo Airfield. We saw a number of North Korean (NK) artillery pieces that had been destroyed by 1st and 5th Marines when they had secured the island six days before. We spent the night in the hills southeast of the airfield, where we could look out onto the runways and see the aircraft taking off and landing. During the night a firefight broke out at the am trac crossing on the Han River. Apparently, an NK patrol was out looking for trouble. It ended as soon as it started. Otherwise, it was a quiet night. Last edited by Davidwhitewolf; 10-04-2020 at 6:04 PM.. Reason: Added informational links back in; added link to debarking video. |
#427
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ORVILLE BIERKLE'S KOREA DIARY, 70 YEARS AGO TODAY.
FRIDAY 22 SEPTEMBER: We moved out of the hills around 1100, after receiving supplies, and went up the road to the village of Kimpo. The road was very rough and rutted, walking was difficult. We then moved into the hills northwest of the village and dug in. In the afternoon I found an NK soldier's cap with blood all over it. I removed the emblem, and still have it. In the late afternoon a patrol was sent out to investigate possible enemy troop movements. Apparently, 800 plus NK troops were operating in the area north of Seoul and Kimpo as guerrillas. These troops escaped from Inchon when it was secured. Some of our men got jumpy during the night and fired at shadows. Luckily, no one was hit or hurt. It was rather noisy. |
#428
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ORVILLE BIERKLE'S KOREA DIARY, 70 YEARS AGO TODAY.
SATURDAY 23 SEPTEMBER: We stayed in the village area until about 1500. The company then moved into another valley northwest of the village and set up. We could watch our aircraft attacking a village, that was concealing enemy troops, with rockets, bombs, and machine gun fire. Later in the afternoon we thought that we had located some NK troops and a tank. Our men were keyed up and spoiling for a fight, but these "troops" and "tank" turned out to be some fenceposts and a hay stack. So much for a fight. Our food rations did not come up, so for my evening meal I ate a cereal cake with jam on it and also a cake of pressed cocoa powder with jam. Very tasty. Mosquitos were very persistent and pesky. During the night we could hear our own shells passing overhead; occasionally one would still glow a bit. |
#429
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ORVILLE BIERKLE'S KOREA DIARY, 70 YEARS AGO TODAY.
SUNDAY 24 SEPTEMBER: I stayed around the area until noon. After lunch we formed on the road and headed for the Am trac crossing on the Han River. The road was hot and dusty and trucks passing back and forth made breathing very difficult. The troops were coated from head to foot with a fine powdery dust. We passed elements of the 101st Airborne Division, "The Screaming Eagles," on the road. They looked as dusty as we did. We saw a dead Korean, too, in a rice paddy beside the road. He was wearing white clothing which was like the white clothing NK troops wore when retreating across country, to avoid detection. The company boarded Am tracs and crossed the Han River to its east bank. We then made a long, dusty hike of several miles to our bivouac area; there were blisters on blisters and men dropping out from heat exhaustion. We reached our area. After dark, our squad pulled out to form a defensive perimeter until we were relieved. The moon was full, or near full, making everything bright. Our squad leader had to be sent back due to an attack of acute appendicitis. Our new squad leader was picked from our squad by virtue of seniority. I should mention here the composition of a Marine rifle squad. It consisted of thirteen men: one sergeant, a squad leader; three corporals, fire team leaders; three BAR men, one in each fire team; one assistant BAR man; and three rifle men who also could carry extra BAR ammo magazines. A Marine rifle squad possessed tremendous fire power. Our squad, 3rd squad, was short one four-man fire team. This situation existed throughout our entire tour of Korea. Our squad consisted of three sergeants, three corporals and two PFC's. As you can see by the ranks, we had lots of talent. The squad was made up of left-overs and we more or less formed our own squad of the 3rd Platoon. We called ourselves the highest paid squad in the Marine Corps. |
#430
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ORVILLE BIERKLE'S KOREA DIARY, 70 YEARS AGO TODAY.
MONDAY 25 SEPTEMBER: We moved out early and were ordered to I remember that the dew was very heavy and my field shoes were soaked in no time. Corsairs circled overhead providing air cover. We climbed several hills and went down into a grove of trees with some sort of temple in it. Skirmish lines were formed, in case enemy troops were hidden there. We climbed a very steep, high hill and ate noon chow on top. We could see our Corsairs plastering some hills in the southeast with napalm; there were still NK units operating in independent groups. We went down the hill onto a road and through a village, where the villagers lined the road and applauded as we passed through. We hiked up the road and past another village, about two or three miles up, and saw our first NK POW, a major. He didn't look too happy. We moved into the hills behind the village and dug in. We got the word that the NK might attempt to run reinforcements into Seoul, which was now being fought over by the 1st and 5th Marines. No such attempt was made. Last edited by Davidwhitewolf; 10-04-2020 at 6:14 PM.. Reason: Added smatchet link; corrected misspelling; added link to Sep 14 1950 video of Marines approaching village thru fields |
#431
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ORVILLE BIERKLE'S KOREA DIARY, 70 YEARS AGO TODAY.
TUESDAY 26 SEPTEMBER: In the morning we moved south of the village, toward Seoul, with several tanks supporting us. We could see smoke from the burning city over the hills to the southeast. We left the road in the forenoon and started climbing hills again. It was very exhausting; they don't seem to make flat hills in Korea. We ate chow and rested on the top, where we could see NK soldiers on the hills further south. We finally moved out onto a trail which ran on the crest of the hills to the northeast outskirts of the city. We saw parts of the ancient wall that surrounds the city. It was much like the Great Wall of China, but on a considerably smaller scale. We observed our troops skirmishing with the NK's on it. We entered the city through a gate and were finally inside the Seoul city limits, where we dug in for the night. The sky glowed red from burning buildings inside the city, smoke hung like a pall. Last edited by Davidwhitewolf; 09-26-2020 at 6:13 PM.. Reason: Added link to video |
#432
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ORVILLE BIERKLE'S KOREA DIARY, 70 YEARS AGO TODAY.
WEDNESDAY 27 SEPTEMBER: We again watched our Corsairs plastering a hill across from us with 500 pound bombs, rockets and napalm. We moved out through a small village and down the road. The hills obscured our view of Seoul, but we could still see the smoke from the city and took up positions to bring heavy fire on the NK's as they were driven over the crest of the hill from the opposite side. The firing died out. We pulled out and moved on down the road to another village. While resting, the company gunnery sergeant, using a BAR, potted an NK soldier who was trying to sneak by. When the rest was over, we moved further down the road, then left it and started to climb a hill, a very steep and tiring climb. The first casualty from another platoon came down the hill with an arm wound. We got to a road that led to the top and saw a number of dud artillery shells lying near the road. From the top of the hill we could see the city of Seoul proper for the first time. It was a mass of smoke and flames. We could hear firing as the 1st and 5th Marines fought house to house, an extremely dirty and dangerous way to fight as the NK's put up roadblocks at just about every intersection and fought to the last man. There appeared to be a number of abandoned gun emplacements on the hilltop that we had dug into. We got our first mail call since we had landed, which was very welcome. We spotted some NK troops on a parade ground about a mile away, on the outskirts of the city. We brought them under fire with one of our machine guns and our best gunner. He got one hit before they scattered. We also fired on an NK patrol on a trail near our positions. All in all, we made things difficult for the NK's we ran across. That night around midnight, the 1st and 2nd platoons were attacked by a platoon-sized force of NK. They suffered rather heavy casualties; at least twelve killed and a number of wounded. One of our men was killed and three were wounded. |
#433
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ORVILLE BIERKLE'S KOREA DIARY, 70 YEARS AGO TODAY.
THURSDAY 28 SEPTEMBER: We captured a Russian light machine gun, several Russian carbines with bayonets that fold into the handguard at the front of the stock, and several US rifles. The Russians had claimed before the UN General Assembly that they had shipped no arms to the NK's after 1949, but the receiver on one of the Russian carbines was stamped with the date "1950." Very odd, perhaps one of the workers in the Russian Moisin-Nagant weapons factory goofed. He must have goofed a lot; we found several other weapons with 1950 stamped on them. Our wounded were evacuated by helicopter to the hospital ship in Inchon harbor and we spent the rest of the day cleaning up, improving our positions, and relaxing. The wind came up in the early evening and it started to get cold. We had been issued sweaters that afternoon, and they helped a lot. We received orders to relieve "Dog" company in the valley. We moved out down the hill after dark and ran across two small Korean Kids all alone beside the trail, scared and hungry. A number of us gave them some of our rations so they at least wouldn't be hungry. We couldn't take them with us since we couldn't take care of them. We went on down the trail to the village. It was quite dark, with a moon. We had to cross an open area about 20 or 25 yards across. We went across one man at a time, with the others covering him in case we were brought under fire. We made it safely across and took up positions on the other side of the village for the night. Last edited by Davidwhitewolf; 09-28-2020 at 11:04 PM.. Reason: Added another Korean rations video link |
#434
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ORVILLE BIERKLE'S KOREA DIARY, 70 YEARS AGO TODAY.
FRIDAY 29 SEPTEMBER: At around 0500 we got into a fire fight with an NK patrol. It lasted about five minutes, but seemed a lot longer. Later, a group of our men bringing up supplies were fired on by friendly troops. Fortunately, no one was hurt. There was much cussing, however, on the part of the supply personnel. Later we saw a Korean child who had been bayonetted by ROK (Republic of Korea -- South Korean) troops, and left for dead. The parents, suspected of being NK spies, were shot by the ROK's. Our corpsman and a medical officer tendered first aid. I understand that our supply people took her back for further treatment. About 0900 we moved out and took a hill further to the northeast with covering fire from our machine guns. The bullets made a snapping sound as they passed overhead. The sound is actually a miniature sonic boom, made as the bullets break the sound barrier. Almost as soon as we occupied the hill, the NK's shelled it with 120mm mortar rounds. They must have had the hill well registered, because the shells fell with telling effect. The first shell landed long, near a machine gun position, wounding the crew. The second and third landed in the platoon command post killing the platoon leader, a lieutenant, his runner, and a machine gun sergeant. The platoon sergeant lost his leg and the platoon guide was badly wounded. The squad leaders, sergeants, of the 1st and 2nd squads and several other men were also casualties. The 3rd squad was unhurt, but badly shaken; I never wanted so badly to crawl inside my helmet. I was lying in a shallow gully and felt like I was right out in the open. Each time a shell came in, it felt like it was going to drop right down the back of my neck. One shell landed about 25 yards from me and the concussion actually lifted me off the ground. It seemed like the NK's would never run out of shells, but it finally stopped after about ten minutes. Our 3rd squad was still short one fire team; a situation that lasted clear through the Inchon-Seoul and Chosin Reservoir campaigns. The 3rd squad was integrated into the 1st and 2nd squads to replace those that were killed or wounded. I dug five foxholes that day and stayed in each one a short time before being moved to a new position. All the survivors of 3rd platoon were very jumpy. This was the first time we had really been hit. Morale was high, though, and we were anxious to get even. During the night the NK's tried to penetrate our positions, but we beat them off and suffered no further casualties. The NK 120mm mortar harassed us occasionally during the rest of the night. We could hear it fire, like a shotgun being fired in a rain barrel. We waited about 30 or 40 seconds, then ducked. These 120mms were of Russian manufacture, and were used extensively on the Russian front during World War II. The tube is about six feet long, mounted on wheels, with a 4 and 3/4 inch diameter shell. It can really raise hell. Last edited by Davidwhitewolf; 10-01-2020 at 9:42 PM.. Reason: removed comma |
#435
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ORVILLE BIERKLE'S KOREA DIARY, 70 YEARS AGO TODAY.
SATURDAY 30 SEPTEMBER: We moved out toward the northwest sometime during the night. I lost my M-3 field jacket. We climbed up hill and down dale, very grueling and hot work. One particular 120mm mortar was still trying to give us a hard time, but no hits. After chow we climbed yet another very steep hill, scrambling over rocks and boulders. We finally made it to the top and took up positions. After dark we watched a machine gun duel in the valley. Our gun fired red tracers, while the NK gun fired silver tracers. The fight lasted about five minutes, then ours apparently got theirs because there was no further return fire. We then settled in for the night. Later during the night the US Army artillery batteries were firing harassing missions, when some of their shells started landing too close to our positions. We were jumpy enough without this. A call to regiment put a stop to that in a hurry. The remainder of the night passed uneventfully, except that it was getting colder. Last edited by Davidwhitewolf; 10-01-2020 at 9:41 PM.. Reason: removed comma |
#436
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ORVILLE BIERKLE'S KOREA DIARY, 70 YEARS AGO TODAY.
SUNDAY 01 OCTOBER: After breakfast, we moved off the hill and down to the valley. On this date our push toward Uijongbu and the 38th parallel, about ten miles to the north, was started. By the time we got to the main road on which the advance was to be made, it was time for noon chow, after which we received new supplies and shoved off down the road. There were many abandoned and shot-up vehicles and equipment left on the road by the retreating NK. There were also weapons and ammunition left behind. It was very odd that a lot of these items appeared to be stashed, not dropped, by an army in full retreat. Later in the afternoon, as we passed through a small village, we picked up the bodies of three US Navy aviators who had been shot down by NK ground fire several days earlier. After dark, we moved off the road into a large turnip field, set up positions and spent an uneventful night. We learned that the NK 120mm that had been giving us such a bad time had finally been knocked out. It had been hidden in a hut with a hole in the roof that it shot out through. Some of our spotters had noticed that a lot more people than normal had been going in and out of this hut. Further investigation revealed the NK troops using the hut to hide the mortar. A flight of Corsairs did the honors. Last edited by Davidwhitewolf; 10-04-2020 at 5:58 PM.. Reason: punctuation; added link to video of Corsair at Kimpo. |
#437
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ORVILLE BIERKLE'S KOREA DIARY, 70 YEARS AGO YESTERDAY [sorry I missed one, folks --David].
MONDAY 02 OCTOBER: The whole day was spent in the turnip field. We cleaned up, wrote letters and generally goofed off. The company 1st sergeant came around to compare notes on who had been killed, wounded or missing in action. Every one was accounted for. After dark, we moved out into the hills to the west and set up positions. We spent a rather quiet night. |
#438
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ORVILLE BIERKLE'S KOREA DIARY, 70 YEARS AGO TODAY.
TUESDAY 03 OCTOBER: After breakfast, we went on a patrol back to the village that we had gone through on the first of October. It was an uneventful patrol. By the time we got back to our positions, we were ready to continue north. By midafternoon we were near the outskirts of Uijongbu. An NK anti-tank gun held us up for a bit before it was knocked out. It was firing rather wildly; most of the shells were landing in a river bed rather than up the road. My squad and I were hiding in a culvert and were fairly well protected. After the gun was knocked out we headed up the road before taking to the hills again. Before long we were ordered to go into the town. It was quite a sight to see the villagers returning; they were streaming out of the hills where they'd sought protection during the preceding battle. We lost another sergeant during a small skirmish outside of town. We crossed a rice paddy and took up positions east of town. After dark, several of our multiple rocket launchers plastered a hill to the north. The sight and sound were awesome. We could hear the rockets passing overhead and impacting on the hill. The whole countryside was lit up. An NK mortar hidden inside our lines tried to knock out the launcher, with no success. The mortar was quickly taken care of. Afterward, we set up roving patrols. Last edited by Davidwhitewolf; 11-10-2020 at 9:30 PM.. Reason: fixed video links |
#439
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ORVILLE BIERKLE'S KOREA DIARY, 70 YEARS AGO TODAY.
WEDNESDAY 04 OCTOBER: After breakfast, the 3rd platoon went on a patrol into town. Our aircraft had worked over Uijongbu several days before and had really flattened it. We found a quantity of mortar and artillery shells, and a supply of Communist propaganda. We went through a building that was apparently a small hospital, as there was a quantity of medical equipment and supplies. There was also a supply of small arms ammunition and some mortar shells. Afterward, we returned to our area and stayed there until midafternoon when we set up new positions on the northwest side of town. |
#440
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ORVILLE BIERKLE'S KOREA DIARY, 70 YEARS AGO TODAY.
THURSDAY 05 OCTOBER - FRIDAY 06 OCTOBER: We stayed in our fourth of October positions. The situation was quiet and pleasant. ROK troops had moved through our lines on the fourth on the way to the 38th parallel, so now we were in a rear area. We beefed up our patrol and security measures, as a number of NK were in the area. They had abandoned their equipment and uniforms and were living off the land. There were many civilian men of military age back in the town. Undoubtably, a good many were NK troops passing as civilians. When asked, they claimed to be students. |
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