One of the advantages of living for over three-quarters of a century is that one now has a long view of life. Rather than using it to complain about how much better things used to be, we are now in a position to see how well some of the stories we have lived with have turned out. There is the difficult three-year-old who drove his parents crazy and is now the mainstay of the family. There is the young person who pursued her passion when it did not seem financially viable but has made a good life using that passion. There is the adult who finally found his stride and righted what seemed a doomed life.
Recently, I had an experience which was the end of a very long story. My grandfather, a Marine general, commanded the 1st Marine Division in the Korean War which made the iconic landing at Inchon, recaptured Seoul, and successfully completed the breakout from the Chosin Reservoir in what is now North Korea. Last week two very gracious members from the South Korean Consulate in Atlanta, Georgia came to my house to present me with a lovely plaque from the Korean government designating my grandfather as a hero of the Korean War.
One of these gentlemen read a very touching tribute to General O P. Smith, and during his talk seemed to choke up a little bit. After the formalities were concluded he said that his family owed their lives to my grandfather. This young man’s grandmother had been one of the refugees that followed the Marines on the long winter march to the sea and safety. She left North Korea and all it was and would become. Her grandson added quietly, “That was the start of my family.”
Of course, my grandfather did not know this lone woman, probably carrying all she could of her possessions on her back, as she trudged down a winding, snowy mountain road in sub-zero weather to board one of the American military vessels waiting in the harbor at Hungnam. She was among the 86,000 refugees saved back in 1950 --- saved so that they could begin a new life of freedom in the south. Yet, my grandfather’s masterful preparations and fighting ability allowed him not only to save the Marines in his care, but also one young woman whose family would grow up in freedom. What a priveledge to hear the end of this 72-year-old story.