thedrifter
04-10-08, 06:53 AM
April 10, 2008
Veterans remember their lives on the line
Korean War Marines gather for reunion
Jamie Page
jepage@pnj.com
It was a heartfelt reunion of some 35 Korean War veterans Wednesday at Veterans Memorial Park, made extraordinary by the presence of a friend some thought had been killed in battle long ago.
Ron Hale, who was a U.S. Marine corporal, said John Casarow "was considered a dead man for 55 years."
On Wednesday in Pensacola, Casarow appeared, very much alive, at a reunion of Marines who were part of Item Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment in Korea from 1950 to 1954.
"I am flabbergasted," said Hale of Red Oak, Texas. "I still remember seeing him lying there dead. We just about got annihilated on that hill."
Hale recalled the bloody day in 1953 when a satchel explosive was thrown into his platoon's bunker. Only six of 32 Marines survived, he said.
Casarow, 74, who lives in Phoenix, said he remembers lying on the ground. He thinks he was knocked out for a time. Then somehow, he was able to make it to safety.
Casarow said he found out about the Pensacola gathering at the last minute.
"How do you put it into words? I didn't know this reunion existed until I got a call recently," he said. "When I left Korea, I left it in Korea. So it's been quite an experience seeing these guys."
Bob Faul was one of the Marines on the hill when Chinese soldiers attacked. He, too, thought for decades Casarow was among the dead in the bunker.
"(Casarow) called me this summer and said, 'I was with you on that bunker in Korea in 1953' ... I couldn't believe it," said Faul, 73, who lives in Wellington, Ky.
Faul recalled a Chinese soldier taking a ring off his hand as he lay on the ground and played dead. Wounded three times, Faul received three Purple Hearts and a Silver Star.
Item Company veterans gather each year in a different location. At Wednesday's event, they lined up by platoon for roll call, just as they did when they were active troops.
They gathered for photos around the Korean War monument, and they told stories they haven't thought about in decades.
At least 50 others, including wives and family members and local veterans of other wars, came to honor them.
Retired Marine Col. John Peeler oversaw one of the platoons represented.
"I loved these men," said Peeler, 80, of San Antonio. "When you fight hand-to-hand combat like we did, you become so close because you are dependent on them, and they are certainly dependent on you.
"The bravest bunch of Marines I ever served with were in Item Company; they served beautifully."
Ellie
Veterans remember their lives on the line
Korean War Marines gather for reunion
Jamie Page
jepage@pnj.com
It was a heartfelt reunion of some 35 Korean War veterans Wednesday at Veterans Memorial Park, made extraordinary by the presence of a friend some thought had been killed in battle long ago.
Ron Hale, who was a U.S. Marine corporal, said John Casarow "was considered a dead man for 55 years."
On Wednesday in Pensacola, Casarow appeared, very much alive, at a reunion of Marines who were part of Item Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment in Korea from 1950 to 1954.
"I am flabbergasted," said Hale of Red Oak, Texas. "I still remember seeing him lying there dead. We just about got annihilated on that hill."
Hale recalled the bloody day in 1953 when a satchel explosive was thrown into his platoon's bunker. Only six of 32 Marines survived, he said.
Casarow, 74, who lives in Phoenix, said he remembers lying on the ground. He thinks he was knocked out for a time. Then somehow, he was able to make it to safety.
Casarow said he found out about the Pensacola gathering at the last minute.
"How do you put it into words? I didn't know this reunion existed until I got a call recently," he said. "When I left Korea, I left it in Korea. So it's been quite an experience seeing these guys."
Bob Faul was one of the Marines on the hill when Chinese soldiers attacked. He, too, thought for decades Casarow was among the dead in the bunker.
"(Casarow) called me this summer and said, 'I was with you on that bunker in Korea in 1953' ... I couldn't believe it," said Faul, 73, who lives in Wellington, Ky.
Faul recalled a Chinese soldier taking a ring off his hand as he lay on the ground and played dead. Wounded three times, Faul received three Purple Hearts and a Silver Star.
Item Company veterans gather each year in a different location. At Wednesday's event, they lined up by platoon for roll call, just as they did when they were active troops.
They gathered for photos around the Korean War monument, and they told stories they haven't thought about in decades.
At least 50 others, including wives and family members and local veterans of other wars, came to honor them.
Retired Marine Col. John Peeler oversaw one of the platoons represented.
"I loved these men," said Peeler, 80, of San Antonio. "When you fight hand-to-hand combat like we did, you become so close because you are dependent on them, and they are certainly dependent on you.
"The bravest bunch of Marines I ever served with were in Item Company; they served beautifully."
Ellie