Since so many folks like the picture of the beat up S&W revolver my father carried in Korea and specially while he and his buddies were stuck up north for a few days dealing with a few chinese ... I'm going to post a picture of it again and then another one to remind some of the younger ones here of the sacrifices of a few for the many... below the picture of the revolver is a picture of may fathers hands.... all my life he had not only problems with his hands but also with his feet... both got severe frost bite during that little conflict....

Great story. Thanks for sharing.

That is awesome, thanks for sharing this story with us.

Thank you for sharing an incredible story.

Very cool.

Thanks for posting. I love stories like this. Brings history alive.

A handgun was a valued item in the Korean "Police Action". Nice to have in the foxhole with your sleeping bag in the event of a surprise attack or infiltrators. Especially given the extreme weather conditions.

In most wars, average grunts weren't allowed handguns. For some odd reason, many would beg, borrow or steal to obtain one. Anybody who has been in the military knows, of course, that GI's would never knowingly violate official policies.

That is a wonderful keepsake and I'm sure it will be treasured for a long time.

There's a reason it was called the land of the "Frozen Chosin." I was there in the 70's, riding the rails as security for high value military shipments. Pusan to Freedom Bridge (almost) on flatcars, boxcars or gondolas with no passenger facilities. Boxcars were the worst, they were sealed

Thank You Sir for the information and history. In my eyes your father's revolver is like my father's it was used to save his life so the value is priceless...VI

Was in Korea 1969/1970 up near/on/and inside the DMZ with 105mm field artillery (5th/38th FA). Visited several of the major battle sites while there. Charlie Block (large hill top position)lost 35meters in height due to artillery engagement during the Korean Police Action. Our troops were not properly equipped with cold weather clothing and other things that would not function in the extreme cold conditions ............ drill sgt.

A priceless keepsake for you family.

Actually a few years ago I had contacted the USMC museum and was supposed to ship it to them to review and possibly keep but I put it off. I still plan to do it one day.

Few things my father told me about that conflict ... besides it was damn cold...

He slept with that revolver because if they came in your tent at night it was your only chance while in the sleeping bag.

they were firing the howitzers at night with grape shot in all directions so much that the kerosene lanterns in the tents would not stay lit.

His company 'acquired' two water cooled browning machine guns from the army... and one night they melted the barrels...

Nothing makes a better sand bag than a frozen dead chinese solder. They stacked them up....

M1 carbines would not stop them.

Always keep one round in your M1 while walking through the dead enemy as you bayonet them to make sure because if the blade gets stuck between bones the best way to get it to release is to fire a round.

Finally, his company, recon, was the last to leave, the bridge had already been blown... there were a lot of civilians headed south down that road too trying to get away from the chinese and the chinese soldiers were mixed in with them.... they kept these refuges a minimum of 400 yards back up the road from them.... how they did this... well I think you can figure that out.

They don’t make them like they used to, be they pistols or men.

Thank you for sharing these stories from your father. They remind us of what the world can be truly like and what is necessary for the survival of freedom and liberty.

Thanks for the kind words... my father was a good man that always did right. He spend two weeks before Inchon in a submarine and got Pneumonia .... once in korea his company commander told him to go to a MASH unit and get well.... his story... he walked into the MASH tent and a solder was sitting in a chair with the back of his head split open and a doctor was standing behind him poking around in there while smoking a cigarette and the ash of the cigarette let loose and fell in the guys head... may father turned around and walked back up to his unit.

At first he was the BAR man (at 138lbs) but then they decided to give him an '03 springfield with a scope on it for the duration... he was one of the first marines to ever be dropped into a zone via helicopter.... He qualified at Paris Island with an M1...shooting a perfect score.
Here's a picture of him and his brothers, (he's the skinny guy in the front shirtless)

An awesome story. Thanks for sharing. Semper Fi to your dad!

Awesome historic revolver.

Thank you for sharing the story and the photos. I cannot imagine the severity of what they went through.

Magnificent!

Great revolver and a better story. My dad and uncle served in Korea. Dad flew the medevac helos like you see on M.A.S.H. and Robert served in an infantry unit up north. They both had vivid memories of the cold.

Marines at the frozen Chosin were under the leadership of Colonel " Chesty" Puller. Please tell your dad Semper Fi and thank you for his service.