(Historical note:\u00a0 there really was<\/span> a US MASH unit based at Uijeongbu during much of the Korean War.\u00a0 That unit was the 8055th MASH, to which the book\u2019s author was assigned.\u00a0 The book\/movie\/TV show is based, presumably loosely, on his experiences at that unit. In the 1980s the 8055th\u2019s old compound was still used by the Republic of Korea [ROK]Army. I ran or bicycled by that compound on occasion while I was a youngster stationed in the Uijeongbu area.)<\/em><\/p>\n At Uijeongbu, the road split.\u00a0 From Uijeongbu north toward Dongducheon and Camps Casey\/Hovey\/Castle\/Nimble, the road was called MSR3 by US forces.\u00a0 It continued northward from there, crossing the 38th Parallel and passing through the towns of Jeongok-eup and Yeoncheon.\u00a0 The branch of the road from Uijeongbu west led past Third\u00a0 ROK Army (TROKA) HQ.\u00a0 It then joined another major route – called MSR1 by US forces – northwest towards Munsan-ri.\u00a0 On its way to Munsan-ri this road passed by Camp Howze.<\/p>\n The road did not end at Munsan-ri.\u00a0 It continued to the Imjin River, crossed to the north bank of the Imjin, and continued on to Panmunjom.<\/p>\n The bridge where the road crossed the Imjin was called Freedom Bridge.\u00a0 It was so named because it was the bridge across which POWs released at Panmunjom at the end of the Korean War crossed the Imjin on their way south to freedom.<\/p>\n Freedom Bridge<\/p>\n The road crossing Freedom Bridge was a single lane; traffic reversed periodically.\u00a0 Guard posts at either end controlled traffic across the bridge. The bridge still exists today but was replaced for north-south traffic in 1998 by a nearby modern structure, the Unification Bridge.<\/p>\n In 1983 Freedom Bridge was the only way to cross the Imjin without swimming or flying – or, during the coldest parts of the winter, perhaps skating or ice-walking.\u00a0 Since the banks of the Imjin were mined and under observation, you really didn\u2019t want to try swimming or skating\/ice-walking.\u00a0 Air transport to and from locations north of the Imjin was also rather scarce.\u00a0 So if you went north of the Imjin and weren’t a VIP, you crossed Freedom Bridge.<\/p>\n North of Freedom Bridge a few kilometers lay the Korean DMZ. In 1983 this part of the DMZ was still patrolled by US troops from the 2nd Infantry Division.<\/p>\n Just after crossing the Imjin the road passed by Camp Greaves on its way to Camps Kitty Hawk and Liberty Bell (renamed Camps Bonifas and East Bonifas in 1986 and 1991, respectively) near Panmunjom.\u00a0 A smaller road branched off and climbed a hill to a small, isolated US facility nearby.\u00a0 From Camp Greaves and that smaller facility one could often hear the North Korean propaganda from loudspeakers at their propaganda village, Kijong-dong, north of the DMZ. Even today, it is believed that no one actually lives at Kijong-dong; lights reportedly go on and off in unison as if controlled by a single switch. But the propaganda broadcasts via loudspeaker have reportedly been discontinued.<\/p>\n Kijong-dong, AKA “Propaganda Village” – the large tower was once the tallest flagpole in the world and flew the world’s largest flag<\/p>\n This area was often referred to as Freedom\u2019s Frontier.<\/p>\n The name was apropos.\u00a0 The Korean DMZ at that time was reputedly the most heavily fortified border in the world \u2013 more heavily fortified, allegedly, than even the Inner German Border (IGB) between East and West Germany.\u00a0 Though much rarer than during the 1960s, infiltration attempts and firefights still occurred on occasion.\u00a0 And by 1983 three infiltration tunnels had been discovered running under the DMZ \u2013 tunnels large enough to pass thousands of troops per hour.\u00a0 (For descriptions, see here<\/a>, here<\/a>, and here<\/a>.)\u00a0 A fourth tunnel<\/a> would be discovered in 1990; as many as 17 such tunnels<\/a> are thought to exist.<\/p>\n If you think I\u2019m trying to tell you the area near the Korean DMZ was a damned tense place in 1983 \u2013 you are correct.\u00a0 Freedom Bridge was rigged for demolition, as were many if not all bridges on the main roads north of Seoul.\u00a0 Numerous tank traps<\/a> and military roadblocks\/checkpoints existed on those major roads and were simply accepted as a normal part of life.\u00a0 And there was still a nighttime curfew for all persons \u2013 civilian and military \u2013 in areas close to the DMZ.<\/p>\n Yes, the APF was high.\u00a0 And from just north of the DMZ, North Korean artillery could reach the northern outskirts of Seoul \u2013 so it was pretty damn tense in all<\/em> areas north of Seoul, not just in those areas immediately adjacent to the DMZ.<\/p>\n — — —<\/p>\n It was to this place that President Reagan traveled on 13 November 1983.\u00a0 He visited Camp Liberty Bell, just outside the DMZ, and addressed the soldiers there. \u00a0He attended a Sunday church service with the troops there.\u00a0 And he visited the DMZ itself, viewing parts of it from Guard Post Collier.<\/p>\n President Reagan at Guard Post Collier, 13 November 1983<\/p>\n No other US President had been to the Korean DMZ before.\u00a0 President Reagan was the first.<\/p>\n Reagan’s visit occurred during a particularly tense time during the Cold War.\u00a0 This was 3 weeks to the day after the bombing of the Marine Barracks in Beirut.\u00a0 It was less than 3 weeks after Grenada.\u00a0 It was just over a month after the Rangoon bombing<\/a>, where North Korea had attempted to assassinate South Korean President\u00a0Chun Doo-hwan and a number of other senior South Korean government officials.\u00a0 And KAL 007 had been shot down by the Soviets<\/a> near Sakhalin Island less than 2 1\/2 months previously.<\/p>\n (It was also just a few days after<\/a> I\u2019d come way too close for comfort to getting my own<\/span> ass shot off by friendly fire.\u00a0 In the great scheme of things, I guess that would have been minor \u2013 but it mattered to me<\/span> at the time.\u00a0 Still does, actually.\u00a0 [smile])<\/em><\/p>\n President Reagan was easily within North Korean mortar range at Camp Liberty Bell.\u00a0 He was doubtless under North Korean observation and was possibly within sniper range during his visit to GP Collier.<\/p>\n I won\u2019t quote any of President Reagan\u2019s speech that day; the text can be found here<\/a>.\u00a0 It was a damn fine speech; even 29 years later it\u2019s very much worth reading.\u00a0 And Reagan\u2019s delivery was, as usual, virtually perfect.\u00a0 He truly deserved his sobriquet of \u201cThe Great Communicator\u201d.<\/p>\n But the delivery, and even the content, that day were secondary.\u00a0 What truly mattered was who<\/em> he was – and where<\/em> he was that day.<\/p>\n — — —<\/p>\n I can\u2019t say I heard Reagan\u2019s speech in person or saw President Reagan that day.\u00a0 My place of duty during his visit was that small remote facility I mentioned earlier, just north of Freedom Bridge.\u00a0 I was supporting the President\u2019s visit from that location.\u00a0 I recall that we listened to the speech \u2013 probably via listening to AFKN radio.\u00a0 But I had other things on my mind at the time, so I was only able to pay partial attention to the speech itself.<\/p>\n That day was\u00a0 my seventeenth day in the Republic of Korea.<\/p>\n I would end up staying in Korea for more than two years \u2013 two very eventful and meaningful years.\u00a0 But all things considered I don\u2019t think I spent a more meaningful or memorable day in Korea than that day in November 1983. \u00a0And that includes the day a bit over a year later when a Russian tourist defected at Panmunjom<\/a>, risking his life in a desperate dash for freedom and triggering a firefight for which four US soldiers were later awarded the Silver Star<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.qsl.net\/ah6hy\/Freedombridge.jpg\")
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\nFreedom Bridge is a steel truss bridge.\u00a0 It was originally a railroad span but had been converted to road use.\u00a0 Originally there had also been a second, parallel span; that parallel span was destroyed during the Korean War. (The remains of the pilings supporting the former parallel span can be seen in the above photo.)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/2\/2c\/North_Korean_village_Kijong-dong.JPEG\/640px-North_Korean_village_Kijong-dong.JPEG\")
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