Evening star., 1950-10-10
u. 5. Officer Is Safe
After 50 Days Back
OF Red Lines in Korea
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him from one mountain hideaway
to another whenever danger of
capture grew near.
For security reasons this native
patriot cannot be identified now.
But he risked the lives Of himself
and his wife and six small chill
dren to help the American.
HE is the only reason I am
alive" said 1t. Hicks gratefully.
Il had to depend on his thinking
and initiative rather than my own.
And we could talk to each other
only by gestures and by drawing
pictures on the ground with
sticks"
1t. Hicks, who served with the
Marines in World War II, looked
like story-book hermit when he
came down out of the hills after
nearly 10 weeks. His black hair
fell to his shoulders. He had a
thick matted beard. And only
thin tatters OF his fatigue uniform
still clung to his 6-foot-1-inch
frame.
The first six days of his ordeal
he had nothing at all to eat. The
rest of the time he had lived al
most entirely on rice. But he made
a rueful discovery!
why. I've gained weight"
But 1t. Hicks was far below his
normal ITS pounds when his ad-
venturous saga began. For more
than three weeks he and his men
had been fighting desperate de-
laying withdrawal actions with
the rest of the remnants of the
shattered American oath Division.
Survived Siege of Taejon.
They were among the heroes
who came out of the siege of
burning Taejon alive. And they
still had the lonely mission of
making further defensive stands
to give the Army time to rush re-
inforcements from Japan and
America.
In the early hours of July 80, 1t.
Hicks and his platoon were in a
pltifully small force assigned the
impossible task of outposting Ko-
chang, city so miles southwest of
Taegu, the provincial capital.
The vanguard of several Red
divisions rushing south trying to
seize the vital port at Pusan SIM
ply flowed around them. encircled
the city and blew up the river
bridge behind them on the escape
route to Taegu.
1t. Hicks fell back to the river.
divided his men into squads and
waited until his own squad was
almost over to the far bank be-
fore starting across the stream
himself. On the other side they
were caught in a rice paddy by
Red machine-gun fire. and all
were killed, wounded or captured
except 1t. Hicks.
Lay in Water in CuIvert.
Il escaped by crawling into a
small road culyert." be said. 1T
was almost flied with water and
there was only about 4 inches be-
tween the water and the ceiling of
the culvert. I stayed there until
dark with just my face out of the
water 50 ! could breathe. /.
Enemy troop conveys rolled
ever the culvert as Red patrols
prowled about. A bright moon
was shining when 1t. Hicks
crawled out. And there were so
many OF the enemy moving
through that he had gone only
200 feet before he had to hide
again-this time under a roadside
strawpile.
| 1T overhung a ditch" recalled
1t. Hicks, land I sat hunched
against the ditch wall under the
straw without food for six or seven
days. I kind of lost track of time. -
He finally emerged when heavy
enemy traffic slowed and there
was no full moon to keep him
from travelling at night. He was
so weak he fell while trying to
cross the road. He crawled to a
stream and drank the first water
he had had since his canteen went
dry four days before.
Peasants Supply Rice.
That revived him. He got a
meal of rice from a peasant hut,
then walked for two nights across
the mountains. But enemy troops
grew more numerous as he ap-