Hello Tom Tom,
My name is Larry Owens and I served in the US Army from 1/66-1/69. I was in Korea from 6/67-7/68. I currently reside in the Atlanta, GA area with my wife of 36 years.
One of my earliest duties when I got to Korea was to evacuate weapons from the forward based 702 Mt BN at Yon-Ju-Gol, Korea (near the DMZ) to Taegu. Once in the rear echelon camp I had several days in which to relax before my trailer was reloaded with fresh, or repaired weapons and I was on my way back to Camp Rice.
While in the camp at Taegu I observed a large hill outside the camp. (This by itself is not noteworthy as EVERY camp had a hill outside its tape line). But this one was different. ON the hill and almost at its peak was a LARGE image created by painted rocks and gravel. There was a LARGE (50ft wide) heart shaped pattern made of large (1ft. dia. avg) white painted stones. The interior of the heart was inlaid with small gravel and all of it was painted blood red. Through the center of the heart was a jagged cut of smaller stones also painted white, and intended to give the impression of a heart that was broken. You had to work to get to the top of this hill but I did manage to go up once and inspect it quite thoroughly.
Of course something as large as this MUST have a story behind it and it did. NOW! Is the story true, I DON'T KNOW. But I will share it with you anyway.
It seems that the 44th had been left behind as it were in Japan after the end of WWII. There was much military work to be performed and lots of civilian work to be attended to also, and they were there.
Well, all GOOD things must come to an end (I quote none other than Gen George S. Patton) and so did the work of the 44th in Japan. They were put on a boat and set sail for the Golden Gate Bridge for mustering out and just all around getting to know each other again. They had not been home, some of them, in over 7 years.
As the story goes, the ship SAILED under the bridge at San Francisco and while STILL in the bay, turned around and set sail for Korea. The date was 26 July, 1953. One day after the Korean War broke out. The Pentagon need them in Korea and they needed them NOW.
Young men and anticipating brides, wives, and girl friends and a whole ship of war weary and tired soldiers ALMOST touched hands that day in the bay, but it was not to be. It was enough to break anyone heart.
It is said that they returned to Korea and had to fight their way into battles. Their work as military engineers demanded a high degree of effort and skill but in this theater there was no one to go before them and clear away hostilities. They had to do that themselves.
I was never made privy to the number of casualties suffered by the 44th. By the time I had heard of their story, the country had pretty much settled down and commerce was on their minds. I was a young lad of just 21 and although I had remembered a cousin going off to war in a far away place called Korea in 1950, never to return. But the Broken Heart on the hill was a powerful metaphor of past grief and heartache. It is also not clear to me if the particular hill I mentioned was in fact a hill of contention between the two forces or if it was merely a marker set outside the compound where the 44th was eventually to settle down.
It's a nice story. Very romantic. I tell it true to the way it was told to me. But, is it true? I do NOT know.
There MIGHT be some meat in this story for you to research and see if any of it has the ring of truth. The compound is (was in 1967) part of a massive military installation with considerable storage and manufacturing facilities on the grounds. It was known in the trade as "Rear Echelon" so the location and description should lead you to the "hill' that I spoke of. The accuracy of the "Rest of the Story" will be for you to uncover.
Good luck.
Larry
