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What many people think of when the Korean War is mentioned, it's a group of TV characters
with names like Hawk Eye, BJ and Hot Lips.
But unlike their TV counterparts
the real troops served in mobile army surgical hospitals known as 'MASH Units'
couldn't leave the set at the end of the day.
They witnessed every cruelity war could offer in graphic detail day in and day out around the clock.
Durlng the war the men and women of 'MASH' were backbone of successful field operations.
'MASH Units' made their debut in Korea.
Each was a complete lifesaving system
that could operate close to the front lines and shift position at a moment's notice.
Never before was war medicine so close to the war.
''Here 2.5 hour after this man was wounded
and he is lying pretty comfortably
now I would say.
The hospital how many miles this behind the line is this?''
'''It's about 10 miles.
MASH' is right on the 38th Parallel.''
''Right on the 38th Parallel?''
''The Surgery Zone is in North Korea
and this in South Korea.''
''The Surgery in North Korea
and the Pre-Op Room in South Korea.''
Each unit was equipped with a helicopter fleet
for air rescue
paramedics and cutting edge medical technology.
But the basic function of a 'MASH Unit' was known as 'Meatball Surgery.'
Doctors did whatever they could to keep a soldier stable until he could be airlifted to a full scale hospital
further behind the lines or even offshore.
Rescue teams adhered to the golden hour rule.
They made sure every wounded soldier was carried from the battlefield to a 'MASH Unit' in under one hour.
The teams relied on road and rail lines where they could.
But in the craggy terrain of Korea, airlift by helicopter was usually the best rescue option.
The teamwork of helicopter paramedics and 'MASH' doctors saved thousands of lives.
Medical teams in Korea saved 25% more wounded
than they had in WW ll.
They became the inspiration for the rescue teams in Vietnam and the Persian Gulf.
''Now over here
we see them to carry the patients to the X-ray Room.
What's going to happen now?''
''We're gonna X-ray his leg, left leg.''
- What's your name?
''Green Bobby Green.''
- You're medical crew?
''No I'm a medical technician.''
- I see. Will he be back in just a few minutes? ''He'll be back through the X-ray.''
- What are the things happen when I bring patients into the 'MASH'?
''It takes around 30 minutes to get him into Operation Room when we get him.''
Between battles, life for 'MASH' doctors occasionally
resembled the lives of their TV counterparts.
Woman served alongside men
back then it was the closest that they could get to the front lines.
Once the front settled down in late 1951
volleyball courts appeared at 'MASH Units.'
Games helped to pass endless hours of waiting.
But when the wounded suddenly flooded in
medics had to be ready for action.
Some 'MASH' veterans remember performing surgery for up to 80 straight hours.
These doctors do more operations in 3 days than they had in a year of private practice back home.
And the rules of medicine were quite different with casualties of war.
''We were concerned only with getting the kid out of here alive enough for someone else to reconstruct him.
Up to a point we were concerned with fingers, hands arms and legs.
But sometimes we deliberately
sacrificed a leg to save a life.
We may lose a leg because if we spent an
extra hour trying to save it, another guy would die waiting.'' - Doctor Richard ***
MASH' rescue operations were like a well-oiled machine.
They were a vital part of keeping UN lines stacked wi able-bodied men.
After being patched up,
the more critical patients boarded another helicopter bound for a permanent hospital.
Those less seriously injured went back to the front to fight.
With the Chinese attacking that front from all angles,
UN forces needed every soldier they could get.
By January of 1951
the Chinese had pushed United Nations forces back to the drawing board with a frightening display of manpower.
But they were quickly running out of steam.
They were overextended
and in dire need of supplies.
They wouldn't be able to sustain an offensive much longer.
Commander Ridgeway was confident that
the days of retreat would be soon be over.
''I find it difficut to understand the motives
the Chinese communist leaders
in continuing their aggression.
Surely by now, it must be clear to them beyond any shadow of doubt
that they are incapable with their own resources
for destroying the United Nations forces in Korea
or driving them into the sea as they continue to boost their will.''
The General launched 'Operation Wolfhound' a task force to investigate the communist weakness.
It set out north in the direction of Seoul.
The team made it all the way to Suwon
halfway back to the capital.
Before it found any strong Chinese force,
Air force pilots over -head reported that
enemy was moving north instead of south.
The abrupt turnaround was mysterious.
Ridgeway decided the time was right for a full scale offensive.
He commissioned an operation designed to push Chinese back to Seoul
and beyond.
On January 25th
'Operation Thunderbolt' was unleashed.
The troops charged forward
and sent the communists scrambling for cover.
Within days they recaptured Inchon and Kimpo airfield
taking both without struggle.
By February men found themselves
looking triumphantly across the Han at Seoul, as they had 5 months earlier.
No one could explain the sudden reversal of fortune,
but General Ridgeway was determined to do all he could to exploit it.
His battle strategy that recalled Napolean's famous command:
''Never mind towns, bring me prisoners!''
Ridgeway was more concerned with destroying the Chinese army than with regaining territory.
Under his watch
Korea would become a showdown between expendable UN firepower
and expendable Chinese manpower.
But neither could compete with the wrath of mother nature.
In February mud from heavy rains blocked the central Korea.
Both sides were stuck in the quagmire.
The weather stalled the UN advance
but the Chinese were crippled by it.
Their supply lines were wracked from above by mother nature and the American Air Force
and they were dangerously malnourished.
As the famous military saying goes:
"an army marches on its stomach."
and with chow always on hand
UN stomachs were satisfied.
UN spirits were high
thanks in part to a new 5-day R&R program that gave them a vacation from the front.
GI's were shipped off in groups to Japan, where they
took fulladvantage of their mini vacations,
treating themselves to great food
lots of sleep, ***
and girls.
It was just what men needed to recharge their batteries for a renewed offensive.
Back on the peninsula
USO shows kept the troops smiling and singing between battles.
By March 15th. 1951
the rejuvenated forces now at their way back within striking distance of the 38th Parallel.
All the way to Seoul's door step.
They bombarded the city limits with heavy artillery
and pried the communists from the city once again.
There was no celebration this time.
After 4 invasions
Seoul was in shambles, it was business as usual.
UN forces pressed on and reached the 38th Pailallel by the end of March.
It had been 6 months since the first invasion of North Korea.
And again there was a debate over how far this offensive should go.
This time,
President Truman wanted a settlement.
As he saw it, the first attempt at uniting Korea had proven to be a mistake.
and a second attempt would only waste more American lives.
MacArthur had a different view.
He insisted that the campaign against China be widened to include blockades of its coast
and air strikes on the Chinese mainland.
Truman had had enough,
he announced the world he was firing General MacArthure.
''It is with the deepest personal regret
that I found myself compelled to take this action.
General MacArthur is one of our greatest Military Commanders.
But the cause of world peace
is much more important than any individual.''
It was a shocking development and sent Truman's popularity into a tailspin.
Meanwhile MacArthur came home to a heros' welcome.
He concluded his life long quest for immortality
with a speech to a joint session of congress:
''Old soldiers never die they just fade away.
I now close my military career
and just fade away.
An old soldier who tried to do his duty
as god gave him the light to see that duty.
Goodbye.''
With Big Mac gone the war went on without him.
General Ridgeway took over the Far East Command
and General James Van Fleet was called in to replace him as Field Commander.
Van Fleet was the consummate soldier
a Colonel at Normandy and a staunch anti-communist.
He demanded an enormous increase in ammunition.
So his forces would ''Expend fire and steel, not men.''
As the UN arsenal expanded
the communist lines contracted.
On the map
their retreat looked like a massive withdrawal.
But air surveillance reports suggested the Chinese were
recoiling for a massive second wave of attacks.
When they came the UN would be ready and waiting.