Forgotten War

It's currently 1950 and the war between the South and the north is still raging on. I'm Corporal Lee Jeong Sook from the 18th mobile infantry division and we were tasked with patrolling the outskirts of a small City 22 kilometers away from Seoul. In the time I spent serving with my brothers-in-arms in our company, I've seen horrid things that would make even the toughest soldier tremble with fear. From war crimes to mass killings, name it all - for I have already seen everything that the war has to offer.

It's nearing winter and it's in the middle of September when my unit heard distant gunfire followed by two of my subordinates falling on their back as their bodies started bleeding. I duck for what cover I could find behind the logistic truck, all of this as I hear bullets just pass above where my head was. The truck suddenly stopped, followed by glass shattering from what I guess was the windshield.

"Dismount! It's an ambush!" A soldier from the truck behind ours screamed at the top of his lungs.

This was then followed by a mix of loud explosions and horrifying screams of soldiers who were injured or shot. I crawled to the end of the truck and jumped out and as I did, the front of the hood bursted into flames from a grenade explosion. I froze on the ground, not knowing what to do with only my rifle in hand and the still warm blood that stained my uniform.

"Corporal! What the hell do we do?! The Sergeant's down and you're the one in charge! Tell us what to do!" The soldier screamed as he dragged me behind a log.

Is this really happening? Is real combat really this fast and disorganized? I was never expecting that we would be shot at this early into deployment. Everyone who I grew close to, the officers that I looked up to, they're all slowly dying one by one and I'm sitting here doing nothing as chaos spreads around me.

"Where's Soon Min? Tell him to radio in our position and call for back-up" I commanded the soldier next to me as I start to get a hold of myself.

"Corporal Lee! Soon Min is down, he got shot behind the last truck!" Private Park shouted while he braces behind a tree.

It was in this moment that I had to take action - I can't let my men die because of how incompetent I was. I sprang up and sprinted to the farthest truck in the convoy and there I saw Soon Min bleeding from a gunshot to his arm.

"Soon Min!" I shouted as I dragged him to a ditch by the side of the road.

"Corporal...I thought you died, I saw your truck blow up" he stated as he trembles in fear.

"I'm fine, you're the one who got shot so stop worrying about me" I state as I tied my handkerchief around his upper arm as a temporary terniquette.

"What happened to the others? The Sergeant?" He asked me in a very concerned voice.

"The Sergeant got shot and they put me in charge since I was next in the line of command, the others are trying to fire back at those Northern dogs." I say in a calm voice while I try to bandage his wound.

He simply nodded and closed his eyes while he trembled from the gunshots and explosions going off just a few meters away from us. I took the mic of the radio and I tried to adjust the frequency of the radio.

"HQ this is the 18th, do you read, over?" I tried to speak clearly to the mic.

"We read you, what seems to be the issue?"

"This is Corporal Lee of Bravo company who went out on patrol, we are currently under heavy fire and we're requesting for assistance ASAP!" I shouted as the truck just ahead blew up.

"Bravo company we read you loud and clear, we're now sending over Alpha company to your position to act as reinforcements. They should arrive in a few minutes after being informed, over and out."

"Soon Min, Alpha's coming to help. Stay here and keep your head down, I'll call a medic over," I said as I pat him on the chest before sprinting out of the ditch to a big rock.

I ordered a medic to sprint out to where Soon Min was and set up my rifle against a branch to provide covering fire. We couldn't see where the enemy were but we kept firing where we saw where the tracers were coming from. Everything was a mess and all I could do was inspire my men to keep shooting blindly through the shrub where we think the enemy was. As the smoke started to clear and the small hill in front of us became more visible, this time we could now see the silhouette of our enemies up on the hill where they set up their machine guns.

"Their MGs are on the crest of the hill, suppressive fire! Keep their heads down so we can get our wounded in cover!" I shouted as I proceeded to empty a whole clip from my rifle.

"Corporal, HQ said that Alpha company got caught in an ambush as well!" Soon Min shouted while he and the medic dove into cover.

"Keep firing! Anyone with a gun should keep shooting the enemy! It's just a few gunners, we can handle them!" I say as I finish reloading my rifle.

I took aim at the enemy gunner and I slowly pulled the trigger while exhaling. One shot then the soldier manning the gun was hit and no longer did his gun fire on us. I then ran to the right of the rocks and ordered them to pop smoke in front. They did and before a matter of time, the road was covered with thick white smoke. I then ordered 2nd and 5th squad to rush to the other side of the road while the remaining is to provide covering fire for the two squads.

"Corporal! HQ said that we're on our own now! Alpha company won't be able to support us because they've been overrun by the enemy!" Soon Min shouted.

"Damn it! Men, hold out to the last man! We're getting out of this alive so keep shooting!" I shouted to boost the men's moral.

I kept squeezing the trigger then reloading, I kept cycling these actions until we heard no more gunfire from the hill. It was then followed by the return of 2nd and 5th squad, they said that they've cleared the hill and they neutralized all the enemy soldiers. This was great news for me because everything was finally over, or so I thought...

"Corporal, HQ wants to speak with you" Soon Min said as he handed the radio over.

"This is Corporal Lee, I read you, over." I said after giving a sigh of relief.

"Corporal, I was informed that you've survived the ambush and we're glad here at HQ but we have a situation regarding Alpha company."

"Yes, I heard that they were ambushed as well on their way here." I replied as I tried to catch my breath.

"I need you to mount up and head to point Charlie-Tango 4-2-0 and assist Alpha company, do you read?"

"I read you loud and clear, we'll head to point Charlie-Tango 4-2-0 and assist Alpha company with the remaining men I have, over and out." I stated then sighed, for it was not over yet.

"The remaining members of 1st squad, assist the wounded. The rest of you are with me, we're going to help out Alpha!" I shouted in a serious voice to show authority.

2nd through 6th squad took the remaining trucks and headed towards Alpha company. The men were exhausted but they still wanted to fight for their brothers in Alpha who were in a worse situation than us.

"Corporal, isn't point Charlie-Tango near the city?" The driver asked.

"It is...just outside the city actually, that only means that the enemy has already pushed that far into our territory." I grit my teeth in rage from the thought of those Northern dogs taking over our lands.

We kept driving down the road until we began to hear gunfire once more. I ordered my men to dismount and proceed on foot to not catch the attention of the enemy units attacking Alpha. We ran through thick vegetation to try and flank the enemy and cause confusion. Once we could see the red of the enemies uniforms, we stopped and took point from a treeline just several meters away.

"We shoot on my command, all at once now men." I whispered to the nearby soldiers as they were taking their aim on the enemy.

I take a deep breath and took aim at an enemy officer, I slowly pull the trigger then shout out the order to fire at will. With every shot we fired, enemies began to drop like flies from where they stood. Soon, only a handful were left and they soon disappeared from sight when a grenade went off just by their feet. When the shooting stopped, I saw the chaos that unfolded before me. That was when I realized that the worst part about this war wasn't the battles, it was the aftermath. There were dead soldiers everywhere, chunks of human bodies on the ground, the dirt soaked in blood. This isn't war anymore for me, this is just pointless killing that won't result into anything. All these soldiers...they had family, they had loved ones but they'll never be able to see them again because they died in a battle that had no purpose.

"Corporal, is it done now? Is the fighting over?" Soon Min asked as he approached me.

"I think it's just begun, this has only been a minor battle in a war that's bigger than all of us." I state in disappointment as we both stared into the destruction and death that was the aftermath of this battle.

More battles ensued after this and we lost Seoul to the hands of the North Koreans several times in the duration of this now forgotten war. We pushed against them and we were pushed back several times over. We suffered multiple losses and achieved several victories throughout the war. I wasn't able to watch the fighting end nor was I able to participate in any of the major battles because of an injury I had, shrapnel from a mortar damaged my left eye and I was never able to heal again. I was pulled out of my company and was relieved of any responsibility in serving my country. The last I heard of Bravo company of the 18th mobile infantry division, there were only a few of my friends left. Soon Min later visited me in my home after he was also pulled out of combat from an injury that costed him his leg. As for the brave souls of Bravo company who fought hard for the peace that we have today, I praise them and I give them the honor they deserved for the country they died for.

"Wow, and this all happened in your time in the military grandpa?" Seok Min asked curiously.

"Yes, yes it did..." I nod while smiling.

~FIN~