And I was probably more fortunate than most of the victims. Even now, at his lakeside house near Flint, his feet burn on chilly nights when the temperature dips below 50. Year-round, his stumps and heels are prone to dangerous infections and wounds that won t heal. The battle at the Chosin Reservoir lasted about a week toward the end of 1950, ending in retreat. Frostbite occurs when ice crystals form inside tissues, destroying cells and blood vessels as they expand.
Extremities can die from lack of blood flow even though they don t actually freeze.
In either case, surviving tissues are often left with damaged blood vessels and nerves. Later the natural forces of aging, such as impaired circulation, can make once manageable ailments intolerable. But the victims were scattered by time and place, their symptoms poorly understood until a group of men who fought under the same extreme conditions came together. The Chosin Few. It happened in a San Diego hotel in 1985.