Posted on Aug 18, 2021
The ‘God Damn’ Tree That Nearly Brought America and North Korea to War
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Posted 3 y ago
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When I was a platoon sgt in Bravo Co, 2nd Engr Bn at Camp Giant, near Freedom Bridge, we had several large branches from that tree in a closet in the orderly room. There was always talk about plans to do something with the wood, but nothing ever came of it as I remember. That was in 1987/88. When I was a contractor I visited Camp Giant in 2002 and was surprised to find it was occupied by Easy Co, 506th Parachute Infantry, the Band of Brothers company. I have no idea what happened to the wood.
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..."In the fall of 1975, a fresh-faced, 17-year-old Bill Ferguson reported to duty in a tinderbox. Today, the Military Demarcation Line that runs along the border between the two Koreas separates their respective security forces in the Joint Security Area as well. But back then there was no such arrangement in the jointly guarded zone: North Korean troops awkwardly intermingled with U.S. and South Korean forces in an 800-meter-wide bubble, which was fashioned out of the 1953 armistice as a venue for future meetings between the warring parties and their mediators.
Ferguson found the place strangely exhilarating. It was understood that “if anything serious happened we probably wouldn’t live, so go ahead and enjoy each day as much as we could,” he said. He remembered snapping pictures of his enemies as they spat on him; elbowing and stomping the feet of North Korean soldiers as they all crowded around the windows of conference buildings while talks took place; giggling as he and other members of his platoon woke up snoring North Korean guards by banging on their checkpoint with axe handles."...
..."In the fall of 1975, a fresh-faced, 17-year-old Bill Ferguson reported to duty in a tinderbox. Today, the Military Demarcation Line that runs along the border between the two Koreas separates their respective security forces in the Joint Security Area as well. But back then there was no such arrangement in the jointly guarded zone: North Korean troops awkwardly intermingled with U.S. and South Korean forces in an 800-meter-wide bubble, which was fashioned out of the 1953 armistice as a venue for future meetings between the warring parties and their mediators.
Ferguson found the place strangely exhilarating. It was understood that “if anything serious happened we probably wouldn’t live, so go ahead and enjoy each day as much as we could,” he said. He remembered snapping pictures of his enemies as they spat on him; elbowing and stomping the feet of North Korean soldiers as they all crowded around the windows of conference buildings while talks took place; giggling as he and other members of his platoon woke up snoring North Korean guards by banging on their checkpoint with axe handles."...
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