Notes
Ambrose, October 22, 2018:
Born in 1929, 89 years ago, the 6th of 12 children.
This was during the great depression and the dust bowl era.
The family was extremely poor, living on a small farm in North Dakota, miles from any town.
The basic necessities of daily survival were few, clothing was handed down from one child to the next with holes and patches regardless of size.
Crops that were planted failed. Survival from day to day was at the core. Neighbors helped neighbors in any way they could.
Ambrose recalled times when mother had nothing in the house to make for dinner and sat in the kitchen crying. Whenever the children could, they'd scour the prairie and rock piles to snare rabbits to eat.
In 1933, the CCC (Civilian Conservation Core) was created. The eldest child was enlisted to serve. When his enlistment was up, the next oldest joined the CCC. Each was paid approximately $25/month. Out of that, $20 was sent home to the family. In the mid 1930's, government food distributions and the WPA (Work Program Act) took place, guaranteeing the survival of the family. This is the period Ambrose endured as a child.
Ambrose attended a one-room country school where all eight grades were taught simple reading, writing, and arithmetic.
In June of 1950, at the age of 21, Ambrose enlisted in the Army. In the same month/year, the Korean War broke out. After completing his advanced combat infantry training at Camp Carson, Colorado, he was sent to Korea. Ambrose stated that when they arrived in Korea, they were loaded into trucks and headed out. Within a short time, they came under fire, and everyone bailed out, taking cover. That's when he realized what he'd gotten himself into.
Ambrose served with the Army's 7th Infantry Division, 32nd Infantry Regiment. He fought in the historic Battle of the Chosin Reservoir that lasted from November 26 to December 13, 1950, during very harsh winter weather with inadequate clothing. At this time, they were attached to the Marines.
They were attacked by a Chinese force of 20,000. At one point, they were surrounded by the enemy. The marines broke through the lines to rescue them. He said he had never been so glad to see the marines. Of 2,500 army soldiers, about 1,500 were lost, many of them slaughtered in trucks, taken prisoner or left to die in the cold. When it ended in December 1950, only 385 of the soldiers were combat-able. Ambrose was one of the 385. They were later nicknamed the “Chosin Few”. (A good article to reference is by Steve Vogel, 50 Years Later, an Army Force Gets Its Due).
Ambrose fought in several other battles. In one of those, he was wounded and sent to a hospital in Japan for recovery.
At one point, he stated that he felt so sorry for the young Chinese boys.
The Chinese used to attack in waves. They (the army) would have the fields mined. In the first wave, only about one in ten had a wooden rifle. They were drugged. Their purpose was to detonate the mines. In the second wave, most only had a sag of grenades. On the third wave, they all had weapons and grenades. He said they'd shoot them down like turning pages in a book. They fired to the point where the machine guns would lock-up from the heat of firing. At that point, all they could do was take off their boots and run like hell, or you'd throw bodies on top of yourself and play dead, hoping you wouldn't get bayoneted and wait until the Chinese had left. Ambrose said that while he was fighting on the front lines, his unit got overrun on three different occasions, and each time he threw bodies over himself and played dead. On one occasion, only five of them escaped being bayoneted. He said he doesn't know why God spared him. Otherwise, he seldom made any reference to his war experiences.
Ambrose was awarded the Purple Heart, Combat Infantry Batch and several other medals.
Ambrose never complained. He lived a simple life.