Christmas 87 (10/17/23) As you get older at least two things happen – you forget a lot, and some things come back to haunt you clear as the day they happened. Sometimes the haunts are blended with some good, which should not be forgotten. During the summer of 1987, the Republic of Korea (ROK) was coming unglued. The ROK was not a democracy like it is today. Since WWII the ROK had been governed by a series of dictators who were supported by the US and their allies. All these leaders had to do was be tough on communism. “Tough” took the form of being oppressive to the ROK’s citizens to stamp out any form of communist insurrection. To make matters worse, the enemy, the DPRK (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea), had operatives all over the ROK planting their seeds. The ROK had due cause to be extreme at times. From June to October 1987, there were up to five million citizens rioting and protesting across the country at any given time. The people wanted democracy and the government wanted security. The government feared democracy would take the form of communism, like the misleading “D” in the acronym “D”PRK. To be clear, the DPRK has nothing to do with “Democracy.” They were, and still are, hardcore communists, period. I arrived in Seoul on September 25, 1987. Seoul, the capital of the ROK, was at the epicenter of the riots. The Army’s reception base, Yongsan, was at the center of Seoul. Because of our support of the ROK government, all Americans were considered allies of the current regime. We were dead center in the middle of all the chaos. There is no other term to use for this environment other than to call it a war zone. When citizens, police, and soldiers, are shooting, beating, bombing, and killing each other for five months straight (June to October), what else do you call it? The Korean film: “1987: When the Day Comes”, released in 2017, reflects the magnitude of those times. Meanwhile, to the north, on the DMZ (ironically called the demilitarized zone) we were experiencing multiple infiltration attempts. Firefights were frequent. We had casualties. Things were tense. The DPRK was doing its best to destabilize the ROK from all avenues. They worked the DMZ while the rioters disrupted everything else throughout the ROK. After leaving Seoul, I arrived in Area 1 (just south of the DMZ) in early October of 1987. By the end of October of 1987, I was at Camp Howze, the closest tank base to the DMZ. I was geographically at the other end of the spectrum, on the most heavily fortified border in the world. There was not a day during that time I rested easy. After a month at Camp Howze my company returned to Camp Casey. Although still in Area 1, Camp Casey was off the DMZ around fifteen kilometers. I felt a little safer being located between the two hot spots, Seoul, and the DMZ. Life was getting better. On December 23, 1987, my tank Battalion deployed to the north. We all wondered and complained about the timing of this exercise. We occupied a gunnery range just south of the DMZ called “Nightmare Range.” We fired our guns from dusk on Christmas Eve until dawn on Christmas Day. Then we started all over again on the morning of Christmas Day and fired till dusk. Politically, it was a transition period for the ROK government, a time of weakness. They were preparing to install their first democratically elected president at the beginning of the new year. The democracy movement protests and riots had paid off. Their intentions turned out to be true. Meanwhile, we wanted to put the fear of God into the North Koreans and to remove all doubt. What a better way to send this message than to have a tank Battalion unload thousands of rounds towards the DMZ for two days and nights. We never slept. We didn’t eat. It was freezing. Normally this was time off for our forces, even during wartime, if possible. But keep in mind the North Koreans like to attack during or right after holidays (Chosin for example). Once again, the North Koreans did not come. We did our job. South Korea was shielded as they transitioned to the world’s newest Democracy. Once again, last night, I had a dream about this. It all came back as it does at times. I got up and cooked a hot meal for my wife, as a thank you. You see the most important event that happened during that time was about to happen. On December 25, 1987, at the end of the day, after all the rounds were fired, I had a Christmas meal on the front slope of my tank at Nightmare Range. It consisted of homemade cookies from a sweet beautiful young lady named Becky, from Mississippi, I had met earlier that year. She sent them to me for Christmas. Somehow, although hot chow didn’t make it to us, which was the norm, the mail did. I opened her box of cookies and set them on the front slope of my tank for me and my men. Most of them got nothing from home. I was the fortunate one. I placed Becky’s cookies by a small Christmas tree, mailed to me by my mother. Although it was small, it was a fine tree. It had a couple of ornaments, tinsel, and a base that my mother had made. I still remember how it all looked and how I felt. Sitting there under a 105MM tank cannon that was still hot. My commander came by and joined me and my men. He loved Becky’s cookies. Its wasn’t the first time. He would thank her later in person. If I had a picture, it would speak volumes, but all I have is words. My men and I had our brief Christmas dinner at a Christmas tree on Nightmare Range. We were grateful as is the theme of the holiday. Once again, the North Koreans were kept at bay. There was peace through strength as President Ronald Reagan would say. The new year would bring another democracy into our world with only a few shots being fired. And the world would go on about their lives, as silent sentinels protected them all on the edge of freedom's frontier. Merry Christmas and may God Bless You All!