I cry over tootsie rolls...

On June 25, 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea and took over most of South Korea.  Thankfully, America came to the rescue and began pushing back the North Koreans.  The Americans pretty handily pushed the North Koreans back into North Korea.  This seemed relatively easy until the Chinese secretly joined forces with the North Koreans.  Due to a series of poor choices by an overzealous general, the Americans found themselves in the frozen tundra of North Korea set for battle.  There was one particular group of marines that had to hold a hill that overlooked a pass they were ordered to protect.  Let’s just say that the temperature on that hill was a balmy -20 degrees.  The hill very quickly got cut off from the other American forces and all communication.  All they knew was that they had to hold that hill, and Marines are apparently stubborn enough to do what they are told.  All of their rations were frozen.  They couldn’t start fires to heat them up because they would become easy targets.  They found that the only thing they could eat were tootsie rolls.  They would put the frozen tootsie roll in their mouths and let them warm up until they softened enough to be chewed and swallowed.  This is what they consumed for three days and three nights as the Chinese fought relentlessly to push them off that hill.  Believe it or not, they held that hill even though they lost 2/3 of their men.  They limped off that hill with only half of the remaining force not injured.  

I once heard my Korean mom say, “Without the Americans, we would not be here today.”  My mom was born in November of 1949.  She was 1 year old when they were on that hill.  Those marines held that hill for her and for me.  They consumed tootsie rolls as a diet so that I could have a future of freedom.  They suffered frostbite and had limbs amputated.  They fought beside their friends, and saw them fall.  They gave their lives on that frozen hill.  On Veteran’s day, this is what I think of.  I cry over the families that had to say good-bye forever on that day.  I cry over the men that were forever scarred physically and emotionally from that day.  I cry because they inadvertently did it for me.  I cry over tootsie rolls.