I was with the 2nd ID from Oct 1975-Nov 1976. I was there when two american officers were axed to death over a tree. It seems that the US is responsible for the up keep of the grounds at the peace village. In Aug 1975 a Korean worker was trimming a tree. He was told to stop by a North Korean Guard. The worker told him he was doing his job. The North Korean Guard told him if he didn't stop he would kill him. The Korean worker informed the US commader about the problem. The worker was taken back to the tree under escort, and continued to trim the tree. A confrontation took place, and North Korean Guards picked up two axes and killed the american commander and his xo. We went on full alert, drew our basic load, and was ready to move out to our contingent areas. My Battalion was assigend the job of blocking off the Qui Jon Bou valley. President Carter decided to have the tree blown down. That was the extent of our retalation for what the guards did.
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If your going to suceed your going to have to know how to deal with failure. (Joe Torre).
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