Empty Chair

I’ve been wrestling with how to value my military service in the Republic of Korea (ROK) for many years. There really is nothing comparable. I’ve done everything from forgetting about it to being angry about it. I’ve been asked repeatedly over the years “Did you shoot anyone?” “Did you fire your weapon in anger?” “Were you shot at?” The answer to all these standard questions has always been “no.” The “no” is then followed by the silence of parties involved in the conversation. This is at times followed by feeling that my service in Korea was meaningless. I didn’t get shot. I didn’t kill anyone. Things didn’t go like wars play out on TV. Therefore, it must not be real or have value. Then I would suffer in silence for a while.

The other day I tried something new. I got the same old question: “Did you fire your weapon in anger?” Again, I said “no,” but this time I was finally ready to respond. I bluntly said, “If I fired my weapon in anger (in my case a 105-millimeter gun on my M60A3 tank), you would be looking at an empty chair. Is that what you want?” In other words, I would have been killed in 1987 or 1988 had I fired my weapon in anger.

You see, firing a 105-mm tank round in anger in the ROK would have meant the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) had launched a full-scale attack across the DMZ, the 152-mile border between North and South Korea. Those who have been there know this is true. Simply put, firing anything beyond small arms in the ROK at the DPRK in or around the DMZ would have meant WWIII had started. That was the accepted scenario and the one we all anticipated and trained for.

Then I described my duty in Area 1 (generally everything north of Seoul to the DMZ) in blunt terms. I explained that during my time in Korea my unit was in the mother of all kill sacks for over a year—a massive engagement area that the DPRK had studied for decades to plan for its total destruction. Most weapon systems the DPRK had were aimed at Area 1 because it had to be taken to conquer Seoul. More than likely, we would have received little or no warning before they would have unleashed the total hell that woulddestroy everyone and everything in Area 1 in a matter of minutes. At that time it was estimated that there were over one million hard-core fanatical Communists locked and loaded along the DMZ behind one million mines, supported by six million reservists, 12,000 artillery pieces and rocket systems, 1,600 aircraft and 2,000 forward deployed tanks.

To make matters worse, the DPRK would have probably used their massive stockpiles of chemical weapons. We might not have had any notice in Area 1. For some like myself at the time, even if we had survived the initial assault, retreat would not have been an option. Part of the plan was to blow the “rock drops” on Main Supply Routes 1 and 3 if the DPRK advanced past the DMZ. However, once the rock drops were blown, those forward of them could not have retreated. This was known by those who have served north of the rock drops as a DIP (die in place) mission. It was in fact part of the calculus of serving in Area 1. The powers that be at the Defense Department and in Washington have known this for years. The book “Tripwire” by Doug Bandow even lays out the theory that those in Area 1 were in fact there to ultimately ensure that the United States entered the war if the DPRK crossed the DMZ in force. You can read between the lines on this one. In other words, some could say that was where the expendables served.

After contemplating this for over 35 years, I finally have a legitimate and realistic response that I can handle and that makes sense. I will be honest: the concepts that support this view are hard to understand by many because they have never been there or don’t have similar experiences. Even our current warriors don’t understand an enemy that has overwhelming firepower, at least in the initial days. However, for those who have faced this threat, you know I speak the truth. President Clinton didn’t call the DMZ the “scariest place on Earth” just for political reasons. It’s been called “freedom’s frontier” or the “tip of the spear” for a reason.

My Officer Efficiency Report from that time clearly stated I was “in the most forwardly deployed unit in the United States Army.” It was in fact a flashpoint capable of mass casualties equivalent to Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Keep in mind the DPRK now has nukes, and the war is STILL not officially over. Bottom line: whoever goes first will obliterate the other side on the first day of battle.

So folks, it’s time to hold our heads high and educate those who don’t understand the risks we took. Those alumni of Area 1 and beyond played Russian roulette and so far have won with some exceptions. Most asking about that arena will listen to a little patient, logic-driven education.

And don’t forget some of the positive consequences. In December of 1987, the Republic of Korea held their first democratic election for president. In January of 1988 the Republic of Korea’s first democratically elected president peacefully took office. After years of dictatorship, Korea was in fact reborn. From 1953 to 1987 veterans ensured that democracy could eventually take hold and thrive. We protected the people and the process. Today, the ROK is one of the most economically successful democracies in the world.

We left our families, friends and hometowns for many a year or more. We suffered the cold, rain, heat, lack of sleep, operations that went on for months. Some of our brothers and sisters did pay the ultimate price. This is the true cost of freedom. These service members and their families should be honored like those from any other war.

So next time you get those dreaded questions, let them become opportunities. Reshape the battlefield and define success in some cases (like ours) as not firing your weapon. Instead, tell them you helped protect and build a democracy. We were there to keep the peace, and we prevented all-out war. We should be proud of accomplishing both. After all, the alternative would have been much worse.