06/05/2007

Generation Why

Veterans History Project

Fear of War

A person's eyes show how much they fear

The thought of losing loved ones so near

The bullets fly and men start to cry

Bravery takes its time to rise

I can't stand to see all this anger

When do I continue to live in all this confusion

I don't want to live anymore

With all this hate

— Cady Burkholder, Class of 2009

Disbelief

So much fear and dismay

And all this anger and hate

I dread this date

Down in history it will be

Then every time I try to disbelieve

I thought I was to be

A brave soldier just for me

But now I really disbelieve

That it was all out of bravery

— Nate Voice, Class of 2009

Sniper Stand

Sitting here in this sniper stand

Watching our troops march across the land

Looking at this scope at the enemy

Is this really something I want to be?

Sitting here for my country

As the pride starts to overwhelm me

A sharp pain grown in my side suddenly

I am out of this war finally.

—Ari Bucco, Class of 2009

Faith in War

Gun shots

People cry

Jesus sent us to live or die

Blood shed

Wounds bound

Jesus is with us all around

Battle scars

Last for life

Jesus is with us by our sides

War ends

No one's around

Everything is quiet, not even a sound

You go home without a care

Help us Jesus, we feel so bare

—Kalynn Young, Class of 2009

The First Contact

At 06:00 a group of soldiers from the 3rd army discovered a Battalion of the people's army moving over hill 132

At 07:30 we were ordered to move out and cut them off about a click west of where we were. Most of the soldiers did not know what combat was like. Four soldiers from Washington 38 thought, "Well this is going to be easy, all we have to do is find them and kill them. But I hope we don't get into a battle just yet.”

At 08:45 we were at the spot where the scouts had spotted the North Koreans. There was a small campfire pit, various things just left there.

At 09:00 the commanding officer told us to move out and check the next hill. This "hill,” as everyone called it, was no hill. It was the gate to hell.

At 09:10 we heard a gunshot, another, another and then the whole hill lit up with machine gun fire and small arms fire. Two men were killed before it even hit the ground; they were two brothers from South Carolina. Their names were George and Steve. I barely knew them, only briefly from earlier in the morning. Captain Morton 39 of Michigan called for a tank to provide support. But it will take over two hours before one will be close enough to do any good. I had an M1 Grand, but the only time I had fired it was in basic training. Besides I have never killed anyone before. So I mustered up enough courage to at least point my rifle at a group of North Koreans. And before you know it, I had killed one North Korean and fatally wounded three. That was the first time I had ever killed someone. I didn't even know until the battle was over and we checked the area for bodies. It was very different knowing you killed someone's husband

At 09:45 we called headquarters and told the stupid radioman on the other end to send us support, we were going to die. The guy gave us some lame excuse that they couldn't find replacements to help us. The captain yelled at him and told him, "I will hunt you down and kill you if you don't send us more troops.”

At 10:00 the firing stopped. We waited for over 10 minutes and then moved up to see what was left of the scarred battlefield.

That was it, the first battle, the first guy I killed. That was what I needed to see, what war was like.

— Mike VanderMey, Class of 2009