Chapter 1
Robert Duncan
1963-1964
Robert Duncan enlisted in the Army in September of 1962 as a field radio and carrier operator with the military occupation specialty (MOS) of 293. The Army would later change this MOS to 31M. He attended basic training and Signal Corp Advanced Individual Training (AIT) at Fort Gordon, Georgia.
Bob completed his basic training and received orders for thirteen months in South Korea. He had absolutely no idea what to expect being assigned to Korea and was completely unaware of the incidents involving the North Koreans in the DMZ. In the early 1960’s, soldiers were typically transported to overseas assignments by boat which was a long, miserable trip that most dreaded. Bob was prepared for this awful trip and was pleasantly surprised when the bus took him to a nearby airfield. He was given a box lunch and loaded on a six propeller cargo plane flown by the Military Air Transport Service (MATS.)
The plane would make stops in Honolulu and then Wake Island where he was treated to an amazing meal in the Wake Island Air Force dining hall. He can’t remember what was better, the food or the plates with silverware. One thing was certain, this meal made every Army soldier on his plane envious of their Air Force brethren.
He finally arrived in South Korea in February 1963 and was assigned to Bravo Company, 304th Signal Battalion. The company was headquartered in Seoul but Bob found himself spending his year on detachment at an Army engineering compound at Uijeongbu which was approximately fifteen miles south of the DMZ. The road he traveled from Seoul to get to Uijeongbu was a gravel, two-lane road that made for a really bumpy ride to his new home. The compound was not far from the I Corp headquarters at Camp Red Cloud. Bob’s unit was at a remote site at the back of the compound known as TV Hill where the Armed Forces Korean Network (AFKN) TV antennas were located – hence the name.
We Were Soldiers Too: The Unknown Battle to Defend the Demilitarized Zone Against North Korea During the Cold War (Book 3) Description:
Just Released! Book 3 of the Historical Documentary Series on the Cold War. (Military History) Order Now! The Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separates North and South Korea and is the most defended border in the world
Both sides have dug their heels in and fortified the DMZ with defensive positions, mines and booby traps, missiles, and soldiers as they remain vigilant for the recommencement of a war that never ended.
READ ABOUT THE DANGEROUS JOB OF OUR SOLDIERS IN KOREA ON THE DMZ!
The soldiers were responsible for enforcing the armistice agreement that ended the Korean War. The North Koreans violated it almost daily sending spies, marauders, hit squads, and ambush patrols into the southern controlled portion of the DMZ in their never-ending effort to destabilize South Korea and cause its collapse.
Their blatant violations of the agreement has left a bloody trail of dead bodies that includes many American soldiers. This book takes the reader on a journey through the history of the Cold War and the defense of the DMZ from the perspective of nine American veterans, and eleven tours, who served in different capacities in South Korea from 1962 through 1991.
