Remember Korea

Remember Korea

Baseball: 1) Who has the most pinch hits, career? Actually, try

to name the 3 who had 140 or more? Answers below.

Memorial Day – Korea

It was on June 25, 1950 that North Korean forces invaded the

south. 3 days later they had captured Seoul. As we approach the

anniversary, I will have more in Bar Chat. For now, we should

honor and remember the 6 million Americans who served in

Korea, 33,650 of whom were killed.

A story by the Star-Ledger”s Matthew Reilly captures the essence

of the time and is a good reminder of the horrors of that conflict.

Hector Cafferata was a local New Jersey boy and a private with

Fox company, a unit attached to the 2nd Battalion, 7th Regiment,

1st Marine Division. On November 6, 1950, Cafferata and other

friends from New Jersey arrived in North Korea, heading for a

village at the southern tip of the Chosin Reservoir. Recalled one,

“At this point, MacArthur was still saying we”d be home by

Christmas.” There, up in the Chosin, they dug in for what would

become a hellish experience. Their company was to protect a

strategic hill that overlooked the only road in or out of the area.

At 2 a.m. on Nov. 28, the Chinese launched an assault on what

would later be called “Fox Hill,” for the Marine company that

fought to hold it. Writer Reilly picks up the story.

“Cafferata said the Chinese were 25 feet away by the time he and

his partner managed to get out of their sleeping bags. The two

friends made their way to a shallow gully that was already full of

dead and wounded Marines.”

“That”s where we made our stand,”” Cafferata said.

“We were about seven hours in constant combat. I never stopped

shooting, single shots, aimed shots. They just kept coming.”

In his haste to take cover, Cafferata had left without his boots or

a parka and was in his stocking feet throughout the first night of

the battle.

Cafferata told Reilly, “There were times when the Chinese hand

grenades were coming down like rain…I beat some off with an

entrenching tool. Some I picked up and threw back. Some, I

dove flat on the ground and waited for them to go off.”

Cafferata went through several hundred rounds of ammunition

that night. His Medal of Honor citation credits him with killing

15 Chinese soldiers and wounding dozens more.

“There are some poor bastards I remember shooting. They were

so close I could see their faces, 15 feet away, and I shot them. I

looked at their face and I thought, ”Jesus Christ, I”m going to

shoot him.””

As dawn broke the next morning, Cafferata and his partners went

to retrieve their gear and he was shot in the arm and chest. He

had to wait through four more days of battle before he could be

evacuated.

Against incredible odds, the 15,000 Marines at the Chosin

Reservoir eventually fought their way out against 120,000

Chinese troops. Only 89 of the 240 in Cafferata”s company were

able to walk off the battlefield on their own.

Beetle Bailey

Last Wednesday, the Army honored Mort Walker, the creator of

Camp Swampy, with the highest civilian award – The

Distinguished Civilian Service Award – for 50 years of the strip, as

well as his own military service.

Army Secretary Louis Caldera said, “The troops of Camp

Swampy may not be the rock-hard fighting force we see in

today”s Army but they”re a lovable and unforgettable bunch who

serve as a daily reminder of all the men and women who serve our

nation in uniform.”

Of course, over the years the Army”s Stars & Stripes newspapers

twice banned the strip on such grounds as it promoted lack of

respect for officers. Walker said, “I think the brass has learned

how to laugh at themselves a little bit.”

Walker also poked fun at his own service. “I was in almost four

years and I didn”t win the war. But I was in and we didn”t lose

it!”

The Baseball

Recently, Sandy Alderson, Major League Baseball”s Executive

Director for Operations, took a van full of execs on a tour of the

Rawlings baseball factory in Costa Rica. The goal was to find out

if the ball is truly juiced, as many of us despondent over the

proliferation of HRs believe. The conclusion? It”s not the balls

fault.

Alderson explained, “It is not enough for us to tell the media and

the fans that there”s nothing wrong with the ball.” [He was

careful not to use the word ”juiced.”] “We need to be more

familiar with the process ourselves.”

Alderson left the tour believing that the hand-stitched balls could

somehow be altered to become more hittable. But he added he

did not think that was happening. “I”m not a physicist,” he said.

“But I think you could look at each component of how the ball is

made and realize there could be ways to make slight changes.

(However), I am now confident there is no difference in the balls

being made here now and those being made here at the start of

last season.” Not really convincing, Sandy. Too many were hit

last year as well. Personally, it”s all a Commie plot.

[Source: AP]

Top 3 songs for the week of 5/27/67: #1 “Groovin”” (The Young

Rascals) #2 “Respect” (Aretha Franklin) #3 “I Got Rhythm”

(The Happenings).

Canadians – The Rant

As a follow-up to the last Bar Chat, my friend Harry K from

Toronto asks the simple question, “How many Americans have

even the slightest clue that Canada is by far the U.S. largest

trading partner?” Good point, as always, Harry.

NRA Theme Restaurant

You probably heard that the NRA wants to open a restaurant in

New York”s Times Square which would feature fresh game. So

Canadian commentator Mark Steyn, and the ever ubiquitous

Harry K, came up with some potential menu items:

Carbine blue, trigger lox, Saturday Night Special, gun rack of

lamb, sea bass served on a Ruger, assault trifle, Soldier of Fortune

Cookie, Colt 45 on tap and, of course, the option to magnum-size

your fries. [You all are welcome to submit your own choices.]

New York Restaurants

If you live in the New York area you may want to check out the

following web site which gives you the health ratings for each

restaurant. For example, a famous one, Le Bernardin, seems to

have a “vermin” problem (though they vehemently deny it).

“http://207.127.96.244/webfood/search.htm”

Quiz Answers: Manny Mota (150), Smoky Burgess (145), Greg

Gross (143).

*I was just watching James Carville and Mary Matalin on “Meet

the Press.” Mary, come back to us. Please, please, dump him.

Next Bar Chat…Wednesday.