If you slept in your bag you could get bayoneted, so we slept with our bags over us with our shoes on. To this day I tend to have serious pain in the cold weather. So do many other Korean War veterans. Troops at the Battle of the Chosin Reservoir were particularly brutalized, with temperatures estimated at -100 degrees Fahrenheit. Crippling pain Frostbite occurs when body tissue freezes.
Enough heat is lost that ice crystals form in between the cells and suck out cellular water.
The frozen water dehydrates the cells, making them collapse. This results in permanent tissue damage, possibly leading to loss of motor and neurocirculatory function, gangrene, amputation and, in extreme cases, death. The Australian government is conducting studies of the incidence of cancer among their Korean War Veterans. In fact, the VA is well aware that over the years frostbite victims are at a very high risk for squamous cell carcinoma of the heel. Generally, squamous cell carcinoma of the lower leg is usually the result of chronic skin conditions and persistent irritation.