I was recently doing some research on my Uncle who was killed November 28th, 1950 at the Chosin Reservoir during the Korean War. I found out he was in the 1/32 Infantry Regiment, B Company, 3rd Platoon. Other than this, my family knew little about it. Only that he was KIA, and likely buried in a mass grave somewhere near the Chosin Reservoir.
I started researching, and found the name of a man living in Lubbock, Texas who served in the same regiment. I found his phone number and decided to give him a call. I told him who I was, and as soon as I mentioned my Uncle's name, the tone of his voice immediately changed.
He proceeded to tell me that he and my uncle were very good friends and were in the same SQUAD! What he said next absolutely floored me.
He told me that they were awakened in the middle of the night on the 28th of November and told to get their rifles ready. It was 30 degrees below zero, and they had no winter clothing.
They were surrounded by Chinese Communist Forces who had poured across the border from Manchuria, and were in for the fight of their lives outnumbered 10 to 1.
My uncle and six others were sent ahead to scout a trail on top of a hill near their command post. They were ambushed by the Chinese and all of them were killed instantly by machine gun fire. "Mowed down" as he put it.
He then told me that he and several others ran up the hill, grabbed the bodies, and dragged them back down the hill. He was the one that dragged my uncle's body down the hill. They lined the bodies up next to eachother, and were then attacked again by the Chinese. They were forced to leave the bodies behind in a fighting retreat. He was then shot 6 times himself and manged to drag himself down an embankment and hide under an railway bridge. He is now missing both of his legs which had to be amputated due to his injuries.
He told me that he has a map and could show me exactly where they left the bodies. He also has several pictures of him and my uncle together in Korea which he is going to send me. My aunt gave a DNA sample last year for possible DNA matching, but the Army had no idea where his remains were located.
What are the odds that the first man I contacted was the one who actually dragged my uncle's body down from the top of that hill? Unbelievable!
I now hope that his remains can be located thanks to the help of this brave man.
<> to my uncle John H. Pekkala, a member of the famed "Frozen Chosin". KIA Novermber 28th, 1950, and special thanks to Cecil McMorris who has helped my family more than he'll ever know.
