Young soldiers Soldiers still in their teens saw brutal fighting and the atrocities of war. Many of the first U.S. soldiers in Korea had no previous war experience, which exacerbated an already-confusing battle scene. Richard Sharp, who was a corporal with the 1st Marine Division at the Chosin Reservoir, remembers seeing three big pits dug to bury dead soldiers during the U.N. Command's retreat from North Korea. It just floors me. It just about killed all of us.
Marines are very tender-hearted toward kids.
Soldiers returning to the States received little fanfare or congratulations. Even veterans themselves put their war experiences in the back of their minds. No one asked him about the war after he returned, and Peterson said he wanted to forget about it. There was no asking, and I kind of kept it hidden inside me. Only after a visit to Arlington National Cemetery and the Korean and Vietnam war memorials did Peterson start to buy used books about the conflict.