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“I Cry Over Tootsie Rolls”
One of my church sisters shared this story today. It’s well past Veterans’ Day now, but poignant story all the same. The Korean War is called “The Forgotten War,” and it’s easy to forget just how vital it was. Here’s a part of her mother’s story.
I cry over tootsie rolls…
On June 25, 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea and took over most of South Korea. Thankfully, America came to the rescue and began pushing back the North Koreans. The Americans pretty handily pushed the North Koreans back into North Korea. This seemed relatively easy until the Chinese secretly joined forces with the North Koreans. Due to a series of poor choices by an overzealous general, the Americans found themselves in the frozen tundra of North Korea set for battle. There was one particular group of marines that had to hold a hill that overlooked a pass they were ordered to protect. Let’s just say that the temperature on that hill was a balmy -20 degrees. The hill very quickly got cut off from the other American forces and all communication. All they knew was that they had to hold that hill, and Marines are apparently stubborn enough to do what they are told. All of their rations were frozen. They couldn’t start fires to heat them up because they would become easy targets. They found that the only thing they could eat were tootsie rolls. They would put the frozen tootsie roll in their mouths and let them warm up until they softened enough to be chewed and swallowed. This is what they consumed for three days and three nights as the Chinese fought relentlessly to push them off that hill. Believe it or not, they held that hill even though they lost 2/3 of their men. They limped off that hill with only half of the remaining force not injured.
I once heard my Korean mom say, “Without the Americans, we would not be here today.” My mom was born in November of 1949 in South Korea. She was 1 year old when they were on that hill. Those marines held that hill for her and for me. They consumed tootsie rolls as a diet so that I could have a future of freedom. They suffered frostbite and had limbs amputated. They fought beside their friends, and saw them fall. They gave their lives on that frozen hill. On Veteran’s day, this is what I think of. I cry over the families that had to say good-bye forever on that day. I cry over the men that were forever scarred physically and emotionally from that day. I cry because they inadvertently did it for me. I cry over tootsie rolls.
–Noreen Lemon
Published in History
Why must you make my eyes moist and my voice break?
Running dog imperialsts.
My dad (RIP) was a Korean war vet. He used to joke sometimes with his two Vietnam vet brothers-in-law that at least they got spit on.
It was actually a little bit funny. Maybe you had to be there?
Took me awhile, but I think I get it now.
I think it was something like better to be assaulted and despised than forgotten and ignored (for service to our country).
That’s what I figured. When I was of high school age I was aware of some people (an uncle and one of my teachers come to mind) who had served in the Korean war, some actually in Korea. But I think you’re right, that this service didn’t get a lot of attention compared to WWII vets. . One of my grad school cohort had been in Vietnam, and he used to listen to abuse from another in the same cohort, a hippy type. I’m afraid that all I did and all that the rest of us did was observe.
When you read these accounts you marvel at the fidelity to duty and the suffering endured. And, yes, the families of the fallen…it is just heart breaking. Tootsie rolls have always been a favorite of mine. I hope I recall this story whenever I next have cause to eat one.
In the mid 90s, I had a client whose father, Lt. Col. Olin Beall, saved over 300 soldiers in the fighting in Korea. It’s an amazing story.
http://www.leatherneck.com/forums/showthread.php?113519-Lt-Col-Olin-Beall-at-the-Chosin
For the first few years of my youngest daughter’s life with us, Korean War vets would spy us in the mall or at the beach and ask, “Excuse me sir, your daughter, is she Korean?”
“Why yes, she was born in Korea, we brought her home late in 2001”. We’d chat a bit and the vets would inevitably get misty-eyed. I would always thank them and ask them if I could buy them a beer or a coffee and they always refused, I don’t think I even once had to take out my wallet. I usually got misty-eyed too.
I particularly remember one guy with whom we chatted in a gazebo off the boardwalk in Ocean City NJ. What a kind, humble, decent man.
This must have happened 25 times in the years 2001-2008 or so, but it never happens now. My girl at 17 is too old for such a comment to be couth, and all the Korean War vets are 88 years and older. Not many of them are left at the beach or the mall.
Korea was as fine a display of American virtue as any war we have fought, as any task we have undertaken. Korea is a thriving, technologically advanced nation of free people because of our vets’ sacrifices. We should deeply honor the lives and memories of our Korean War vets. I certainly do.
FIFY (assuming he was a jarhead). My internet is super slow and I have not yet been able to open the link, therefore I am making an assumption.
Fun fact: Ranks are abbreviated differently depending on the branch of service. Obviously Navy & Coast Guard ranks and their abbreviations are a horse of a different color.
Got the link to open. If I understand correctly “Col” Beall was at least 52 years old when he saved those ~323 wounded soldiers. The cold alone, not to mention the enemy in near proximity, would have kept many men from attempting the rescue.
I wonder what he would think about our current state of affairs?
His daughter told me that he was evacuated with his men to Japan. He then told off MacArthur (said that he was out of touch with the front). In 1976, she worked at a mall where President Ford was speaking. They investigated all the employees, and the Secret Service wanted to meet her dad.
I had the opportunity to spend a couple month’s-worth of Sunday afternoons visiting the website of the National Museum of the Marine Corps recently, and learned about this…Truly incredible. (Haven’t started the Vietnam gallery yet, but will soon.)
I hope it was to honor him. (joking – of course it was)
I just found his daughter on LinkedIn and sent her an invitation. I last spoke with her in 1997.
Maybe pass this on to her from another Marine and thank her for me for her service. Daughters also serve. And from the 3rd verse of our hymn.
Thanks for that story, but it’s a little off.
The unit needed 60mm mortar rounds and the code word for them was tootsie roll. Someone up the chain didn’t know that tootsie roll was a code phrase and as the unit repeated over and over again that they desperately needed more tootsie rolls, they moved heaven and earth to give them what they thought they wanted.
The happy ending is that it turned out that they were about the only thing edible at that temperature and saved the Marines from starvation.
Here’s a link from the Marines about the tootsie roll story.
Even more awesome! I recalled this part…Wow, talk about “improvise, adapt, and overcome”. Thanks, @skyler!
Indeed, that makes it even better. And I wonder if the company that makes Tootsie Rolls knows about it.
If I may, yes, they do: They send boxes each year to the unit members’ reunions. And are proud to do so…Another bit of learning from the Museum.
A similar story is told of the US Embassy in Saigon ordering 100,000 paper clips. The Vietnamese had been Frenchified before being Americanized. The French word for “paper clip” is trombone. You can figure out the punch line.
Oh, that’s a much better name than the boring “paper clip.”