The Korean Demiliterized Zone

While I am on the subject of adventures...probably the most interesting one....was my trip as a United Nations Observer to the Korean DMZ in 1979. I was stationed in South Korea at the time, just 45 miles from the frontier with North Korea. I had signed up on a list for an open spot as a UN observer.....never expecting to get it. Several weeks went by, when I was informed by my First Seargent that I had been selected. I had to wear my Air Force Blue uniform....devoid of anything that identified me as military police.
We were told that a contigent of approximately 10 of us were going to observe a conference at Panmunjom.....the truce village in the center of the DMZ.

The morining came to head north....and we boarded a bus for the trip. We were warned that we could take no pictures during the trip.....and I soon found out why. It was unbelievable the amount of military vehicles and weapons we encountered on the way up. Fields and fields full of armed vehicle, tanks, howizters and other weapons of war. There were thousands of them.....waiting for just one thing......war. Never had I seen such a collection of war machines. All new...ready to go. The DMZ itself is devoid of any military hardware for 2 miles on each side of the Koreas....save for a limited amount agreed upon.

It was a nice warm sunny day when we arrived at Panmunjom....the demarcation line. On one side, the Republic of Korea (South), and the other side, the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (North). I noticed that the US Army had about 40 ready troops on standby at all times.....with trucks always running and at the ready. I then noticed the guard towers on the other side....with North Korean soldiers armed with machine guns and binoculars. If ever there was a way to go back into time and envision what NAZI Germany had been like.....this was it!
All of the North Korean soldiers were dressed in olive drab class A uniforms, remarkably similar to the NAZI uniforms of WW2.
They wore jackboots....with flared pants....just as the NAZI army. And each soldier had afixed to his jacket....a picture of Kim Il Sung.....the "great leader" as he was known to them.
The drilled why we were there......marching in unison the goosestep adopted by the NAZIs. They showed no emotion, other than to stare at you with a deep buring hatred.

As delgates of the United Nations....we were required to wear large official UN badges afixed to out clothes. We were led into the main building, were truce talks were held. It was sparton....just a long table in the middle with chairs on each side. A microphone cable ran down the center of the table....North Korea on one side, South Korea on the other. At one end of the table were 2 flags....one North Korean and one United Nations. Before the commission arrived, I stood in the middle of the demarcation line and took a few pictures....half of me in the freedom of the west.....the other half in the totalitarianism of communism. While they had had their short 20 minute meeting to accuse each other of violations of the armistice.....we could not speak, move or take photos. It was very somber and cold. You see.....the Korean War never officially ended....just a cease fire truce. When they left...we were finally free to move around again.

It was then that I noticed something going on outside....in the North Korean sector. I looked out of the window and saw 2 black limos pull up and out came several high ranking members of the Chinese Peoples Army. Yes....communist Chinese.....in uniform.
They wore armbands....yellow for unarmed....red for armed. There were plain clothed men with red armbands....I could see the submachine guns tucked under their shirts. I wanted to see more of this....so in a real act of stupidity.....I slipped outside of the truce building and slid along the outside of the building....just into North Korea. I was only steps over the demarcation line. Then I saw something that truly amazed me. As I watched....a young Chinese soldier exited from one of the limos....with a briefcase in his hand. He saw me.....stopped and turned toward me.....maybe 50 feet away. He stood at attention....and placed his right hand over his heart.....for what reason.....I did not know. Maybe he was wanting to defect.....I would never know....but I got some good pictures of this display. I then slipped back inside the building as quickly as I had left.....the whole thing only took several minutes. No one knew what I had done....but I had my proof locked in my camera.

We spent several hours there.....as we were continually warned not to point at the North Koreans, or use any gestures that could be taken as signs of hostility. When we left....I looked at my shirt....and to my surprise...I had forgotten to take off my military police badge. A violation of the truce....since each side was only allowed an exact number of police in the area at any given time. I was damned lucky I was not shot....let alone start an international incident. That's what I call living life on the edge. A time of living dangerously......not soon forgotten. And I have the pictures to remind me of that experience forever.