Action for Men, May 1960 — page 43: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

They struck off down the trail, one behind the other, bent over and walking slowly. Their clothes were dirty and torn. Their faces were bearded and filthy. They hoped that from a distance, the guerrillas would take them for two old Korean peasants trudging down the path. Sawyer kept one hand inside his jacket on his .45. The ruse was successful. The guerrillas did not appear concerned. Soon the Chinese were out of sight. At the same moment, the airmen spotted a small, windowless mud house about 100 yards up the slope from the trail. Pausing briefly at the rear of the house, they split up, going around in opposite direc- tions. They met in front of the house. Then, with weapons drawn, they rushed through the opening that served as the door. There was nothing in it except a feeding trough. The “house” was actually a Korean barn. They searched the dirt floor for some- thing to eat and found several kernels of corn but, otherwise, nothing. “The cheap cows even ate all the salt block,” Sawyer ob- served, as he looked through the feed trough. GUMMERSILL suggested that they move on to the farmhouse itself, a few hundred yards down the trail. ““We can get warm and get something to eat.” Sawyer was thoroughly exhausted. He did not want to move. “I’m staying right here, Clem. I’m not moving another step. If the Communists come, I’ll fight it out.” Summersill got up and looked out the opening. It was now completely daylight. He could see for miles across the Korean coun- tryside. “Wayne!” he said, suddenly. “There are some Communists in the woods over there. Look!” Sawyed jumped up and whipped out his. .45. “Where?” he asked. “Over there.” Clem pointed to a nearby patch of trees. “Get back,” Sawyer said, wide awake. “That patch of trees probably contains a command post. No use staying here. They probably walk right by this barn all day long going from trail to the trees.” They waited a few minutes. Then, with Sawyer leading, they struck off down the slope toward the trail, walking at a slow pace, with heads bowed, posing again as Korean peasants. Summersill quietly con- gratulated himself for getting Sawyer out of the barn. He did not feel guilty about the lie. He sincerely believed that if they did not get to the house, they would both die. They branched off the trail and walked toward the thatch-roofed mud farmhouse. Sawyer ducked behind a large tree about 40 feet from the front door ; Summersill walked up to the side of the house and knelt down among several shocks of straw. With his ear against the mud wall, he could hear voices inside the house. After a few seconds, Summersill reached around the corner of the house and knocked on the door. Now he could hear the voices inside babbling in low tones, apparently dis- cussing the knock. Finally, an old Korean with a white beard and a fez hat stuck his head outside. Summersill grabbed the man by the neck with both hands, and literally jerked him through the door and around the corner of the house. He forced him to squat down in the straw. Summersill did not want anyone inside the house to see him just yet, and he did not want to attract attention from the outside. While the old man watched nervously, Summersill took out an-Air Force “pointee- talkie,” a device containing 15 or 20 sen- tences, to be used in such emergencies. Sum- mersill jabbed a finger at the sentence that read: “I am here to help the Korean people.” The old man did not seem to understand. Summersill pointed to another sentence. It read: “I am an American aviator.” The old man looked blank. Summersill then spoke to the old man in broken Japanese. The Korean’s eyes lit up faintly. Then, half in Japanese and half in sign language, he explained that he did not know how to read. He told Summersill he would go back inside the house and get someone who could. Summersill immediately suspected a trap. He looked toward the tree where Sawyer was hiding; then he turned the old man loose and signaled to Sawyer. Sawyer, with .45 held ready, stepped from behind the trees into the open, facing the door. He made signs to indicate that he would “i'll bet the navigator’s catching hell!’ start blasting the instant the first Commu- nist soldier came out. Summersill nodded, then waved his knife, indicating that he would rush from the side. Then they waited. Summersill could hear the voices inside the house jabbering excitedly. After about five minutes—it seemed like hours—the door cracked open. Summersill tensed. A Korean man about 40 years old stepped around the corner. He seemed friendly. Summersill put away his knife. If the man was sympathetic, he did not want to appear hostile. Unseen, Sawyer stepped back behind the tree. Summersill took out his pointee-talkie again. The Korean looked at it, shook his head, then pointed to his eyes. He apparently needed glasses. He would go back inside to get them. Summersill let him go, then once more alerted Sawyer. The two men once again braced for a rush of Chinese soldiers. In a few minutes, the Korean came out alone, wearing glasses. Summersill gave him the “pointee-talkie” and again jabbed at the sentence that said: “IT am here to help the Korean people.” The Korean nodded his head and smiled as he read the sentence in Korean. Then Summer- sill put his finger on the sentence that read: “IT am an American aviator.” At that the Korean became very excited. He slapped - Summersill on the back, smiled warmly, and shook his hand violently. He made signs to show that he was sympathetic. The Korean pulled Summersill by the arm, motioning toward the door. Sawyer stepped from behind the tree and walked up, his pistol leveled at the Korean. The latter got a glimpse of Sawyer out of the corner of his eye and turned pale. He jabbered ex- citedly, and waved his arms high in the air. He was very frightened. Summersill said in Japanese, Tamadachi. Tamadachi [friend].” The Korean was relieved. Sawyer slipped his pistol back in his shoulder holster. The Korean slapped Sawyer on the back, pumped his hand warmly, then urged both men to hurry inside before they were seen by Com- munist soldiers. (THE Korean pushed open the door to the house and entered. Before going inside, Sawyer and Summersill once again took out their weapons. Then they rushed in, quickly looking behind the door, into each corner, and inside an adjoining room. They found only an old Korean woman. The airmen felt it was important for their safety to make it perfectly clear to the Koreans that they were not hostile, and that they wanted to become friends. As a first step, they sat down on the floor and, in accordance with the polite Oriental custom, started to take off their boots. When the Koreans realized what the two men were doing, they rushed forward, shaking their heads. They had seen what the tired airmen had not—the boots were hopelessly frozen. No amount of tugging at the laces would undo them. The old man bent down and rubbed his hands over the ice-coated boots. Then he spoke to the woman. She disappeared into the other room and returned with a flatiron, which she placed inside the habachi, the char- coal-burning urn in the center of the room. When the flatiron was hot, the old man pressed it against the laces of the boots. (Continued on, page 46) OOKS y(CO