A platoon leader with the 1st Republic of Korea Division looks through a set of binoculars toward North Korea from his position in the Demilitarized Zone. (Kim Ki Sam/Stars and Stripes)
This article first appeared in the Stars and Stripes Pacific edition Aug. 16, 1960. It is republished unedited in its original form.
With the 1ST ROK DIV., Korea — Farmers in the Republic of Korea may pray for rain, but ROK soldiers manning the Demilitarized Zone here dread the annual summer deluge as a season of mud.
The soldiers live in isolated battle positions and perform a tense, lonely job year round.
Soldiers of the 1st Republic of Korea Division keep their machine gun ready for any threats against their outpost on the Demilitarized Zone. (Kim Ki Sam/Stars and Stripes)
But it’s worse when it rains.
The narrow roads that lead to their positions turn into quagmires and are impassable even for emergency use. Stocking up for a hard summer, the soldier lay in the month’s supply of food before the downpours begin.
Helicopters stand by to aid them in case of flood or other emergency.
The rain falls on famous battle sites. The 1st ROK Div. soldiers stand a 24-hour watch and can look into north Korea at Heartbreak Ridge, scene of some of the bitterest fighting in the Korean War.
