EMPTY CHAIR

October 29, 2022

I’ve been wrestling with how to value my military service in the Republic of Korea (ROK hereafter) for many years. There really is no 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 (aka at the enemy)?” “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 mm 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 means the DPRK (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) has 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 means WWIII has started. That is the accepted scenario and the one we all anticipated and trained for.

Then I preceded to describe 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 decades to plan the total destruction of and everything in it. 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 receive little or no warning before they would unleash the complete and total hell that would literally destroy everything in Area 1 in a matter of minutes. At that time it was estimated that there were over 1 million hard core fanatical communists locked and loaded along the DMZ behind 1 million mines, supported by 6 million reservists, 12,000 artillery pieces and rocket systems, 1,600 aircraft and 2,000 forwardly deployed tanks.

To make matters worse, the DPRK would use their massive stockpiles of chemical weapons during the initial prep fires. We might not have any notice in Area 1. For some, like myself at time, even if we survived the initial assault, retreat would not be an option. Part of the plan is to blow the rock drops on MSR (Main Supply Route) 1 and MSR 3 if the DPRK advanced past the DMZ. That is why they are there. However, once they are blown, those forward of the rock drops cannot retreat. This is known by those who have served north of the rock drops as a DIP (Die In Place) mission. It is in fact part of the calculus of serving in Area 1. The powers that be at the DOD and in DC have known this for years. The book “Tripwire” (by Doug Bandow, Cato Institute) even lays out the theory that those in Area 1 are in fact there to ultimately ensure that the United States enters the war if the DPRK crosses the DMZ in force. You can read between the lines on this one. In other words, some could say that is where the expendable, serve.

After contemplating this for over 35 years, I finally have a legitimate and realistic response that I can handle and makes logical 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 most our current warriors don’t understand an enemy that has overwhelming firepower, at least in the initial days. We haven’t been outgunned by the enemy in most modern conflicts for decades. However, for those that have faced this, you know I speak the truth. President Clinton didn’t call the DMZ the “Scariest Place on Earth” just for political reasons. It hasn’t been called “Freedom’s Frontier” or the “Tip of the Spear” because it is not. My OER (Officer Efficiency Report) from that time clearly states I was “in the most forwardly deployed unit in the United States Army”. It is in fact a flashpoint capable of mass casualties equivalent to the days when we dropped the bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Keep in mind, now the DPRK has nukes and the war is STILL not over. Bottom line whoever goes first will obliterate the other on the first day of battle. Those in the kill sack in Area 1, on the receiving end, will most likely die. In the days that follow the DPRK will more than likely be destroyed by our forces. But folks, lets get real. That doesn’t change what would happen on day one in Area 1 to the servicemembers that are in Area 1.

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 will listen with a little patient, logic driven, education. It’s about the delivery and the facts that we ourselves have overlooked and undervalued all these years ourselves. The DOD hasn’t helped matters because they continue to downplay the realities that I have conveyed in this piece. I would imagine some of their lack of transparency is driven by monetary issues. Case in point is the dance that they have played with hostile fire and hardship pay over the past seven decades. In other words, admitting the truth I speak here is expensive. In any other arena the level of risks taken are compensated by corresponding rewards.

Regardless, finally, the icing on the cake. It must be said, as in my case, and for my brothers and sisters of that time. We must add other important facts. You see warfighting and peacekeeping share many common threads with other endeavors. The most important being measurable outcomes. Bottom line 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. This didn’t happen in 1953, it happened 1987. From 1953 to 1987 (35 years and more) and thereafter Defense Veterans ensured that democracy took hold and was allowed to 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 servicemembers and their families should be honored like any other war.

So next time you get those questions you use to dread, let them become opportunities. Reshape the battlefield and define success in some cases (like ours) as not firing your weapon. Instead, 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 is much worse. They could be looking at an empty chair.

God Bless Defense Veterans & Their Families!

Joseph Harman, Camp Howze 1987, Camp Casey 1987 & 1988, A Co. 1-72 Armor