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The Start
WIlliam Bill Richardson was at home in Philadelphia on leave when the war broke out. He was getting ready to join the army again in hopes of seeing an Austrian girl. -
Period: to
Korean War
The Korean War started June 25, 1950 and "ended" Jul 27, 1953 with an armistice -
Forming the Battalion
At the start of chapter two we see William being asked "What job can you do" and he responds "I can do any job in this company". At that moment he was being questioned about different aspects of an assortment of recoiless rifles. He was then given a squad to train and maintain. -
The Order "Stand Or Die"
On page 54 William is in a ditch on the side of a road in Pusan. He remembered his orders which read "We are fighting a battle against time there is no more retreating, withdrawal or readjustment of the lines". Following the memory was artillery rained down on him and his men. This shows how desperate both sides became at the start of the war. It also shows the reality that the soldiers had to live with -
Attempts
When we read of a William's men walking down a road only to get shot from a nearby ridge and get trapped. His only chance to get everybody out is too run for trucks being sent to him. It shows how many hard it was to be leader against an army as big as North Korea. It also shows the stress and responsibility on William Richardson's shoulders. -
Tough Fight
In the blackness of night William and his men are stuck in trenches. All the while North Koreans are advancing under the cover of night. William and his men were low on ammunition, outnumbered and blind. -
Stuck
After running into a North Korean HQ on top of a hill William and a few of his men try to take the position. As they slowly hike to the top while getting shot at they end up losing to many man that they cant take the hill until reinforcements arrive. -
Divided
After being stuck at the top of the hill William and his men are forced to retreat. The problem they found out is the Korean have blocked them from the parallel, They are surrounded. After running into stragglers William tries to lead everyone back to there side of the parallel. But the chances of that happening are very slim. -
Worst Situation
After running into another defensive North Korean Position William and other high ranking officials are left with a choice, Leave the wounded or drag them with them. They end up leaving them since they have just to many. -
The Fighting Is Over
After fight for so long the numbers overwhelmed William and his men. After getting hit with shrapnel William tries to retreat with his men. Only to end up holding off two Korean soldiers to allow time for his two friends to escape. He realized his life was theirs to decide what to do with. -
Animals Driven By Desperation
After not been given food the North Koreans put William Richardson with other Americans and through a bag of rice on the floor for them. What happened next William couldn't believe, After fighting together for so long the other men attacked each other like animals over the rice. -
Death March
After having a light meal William and his men are now forced to walk toward North Korea. They would walk by day and be forced into a pile covered in corn stalks for warmth at night. Many died during the night due to the harsh cold. Others were executed since they would not go any further. -
Chance of Freedom
After the march they arrived at a North Korean camp. While there they hear and see a US bomber plane fly over them everybody quickly rushed to hide in the ditch. Fortunately William fell asleep due to exhaustion and the North Koreans didn't notice he was gone. But this lasted only for a small time since He was found when he tried to move out of the camp. -
Arrival To The Valley Of Death
After leaving the camp to march they arrive at an abandoned village. William was crammed into a small house with no heating with other prisoners. -
Disease
Due to the conditions they were living in, many got sick and others gave up. Many were dying by the day but William stayed healthy -
When Luck Runs Out
After healthy for so long William got an infection of some kind in his legs. Because of this he was to be moved to the hospital known as the the morgue since nobody ever returned -
The Morgue
The morgue was a dark room with sick people piled in and left to die. There bathroom was where they were sitting or the trench outside. -
Speeches
While in the camp prisoners would be forced to sit through a lecture about propaganda like how North Korea knows your following orders we don't blame you. William typically would refuse to go along and agree when he was questioned about the lecture afterwords. -
Nature Is Beatiful
Luckily for William his legs started to heal and he could walk again and was released. This raised moral significantly, But Spring was also starting to come around. So William started to prepare to escape by building a raft and floating down the river. -
Luck Strikes Agian
Before they could escape William and his friends were transferred to another village. This one had civilians who were being oppressed by the North Koreans. -
Freedom
While in the camp it was announced that a cease fire was signed. He was then told to go onto these trucks that would bring him home . But William didn't know whether to trust them since they did threaten to not take him home.
