Second To None
Warrior Voices
by
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Leonard’s Story
I (Leonard Ferrell. 9th lnf. G. Co) joined “George” Co. 9th Regiment August, 1950. A couple of days later we were on the Naktong River scattered pretty thin. When the North Koreans attacked at 0100 September 1st. they bypassed my position. They went through G Co. to my left. The next afternoon a runner came and told us to withdraw. There were two tanks from the 72nd Tank Bn on the road. I rode out on one of the tanks.
We bivouacked just to the South of Yongson. I didn’t get any sleep. I could hear burp guns firing and the sound of the tracks on the T-34 tanks. I knew the next day I would know what it was like to be in combat.
When ‘G” moved out to attack I was the 2nd 5 scout. I made a lot of mistakes. I was lucky. I sat down on a North Korean soldier I thought was dead…who wasn’t. You can believe that I didn’t ever do that again.
As I was about to cross a small concrete bridge, I came across an American lying on the ground with his head looking straight at the sky. I tried talking to him, but got no answer. I then noticed his right leg was blown off below his knee. The blood was not flowing. I knew then he was dead. I still dream about him sometimes.
After crossing the bridge we were pinned down by enemy fire. I was lying behind a M-4 tank. He fired that 76mm and the muzzle blast almost tore my head off. I still have a ringing in my ears. As we were about to pull out M/Sgt. D. P Hernandez pointed his finger at me and told me to take over the squad.
The M-4 was pulling out. I told my squad to get behind the tank. There was also an M-26 tank about 75 yards in front of us. After going about 40-50 feet, I noticed I was the only one left behind the tank. I probably went back about 30 or 40 feet to see what happened. A T-34 had hit the M-4 on the right side blowing the tank commander out of the top turret, killing all inside. I’ll never forget the Tank Commander, there on the side of the road crying, saying over and over, “They killed my boys! They killed my boys!”
There was a small ridge North of Yongson. To get there we had to cross a rice paddy. We succeeded in taking the ridge without too much trouble and set up defensive positions. The next morning I looked towards Yongson. I saw a regiment of Marines coming our way. They relieved us. 46 of us from C Company were left. We fought almost every day and every night. Hill 125, Hill 201, Hill 409. The Pusan Perimeter was tough and I was lucky.
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About the Book
The stories compiled in this book are about the veterans of the SECOND INFANTRY DIVISION of the Army. Division members have served in WWI, WWII, and Korea and they are still serving in South Korea, Iraq and Fort Lewis today. These are true stories written by the veterans of the Korean Conflict and passed on to me to be included in this book. The book is dedicated to the brave men who fought to preserve our freedoms at a cost that many of us can only imagine.
About the Author
Barbara Ann Derksen began writing seriously about 8 years ago. Since then, she has had over 2500 of her articles published as well as a murder mystery titled Mind Trap, a household management guide Dance With a Broom, and two series of six children’s books each, Trumpeter Swan Adventures and Shih-Tzu Puppy Adventures.
IBPW (Iowa’s Business and Professional Women) chose Mind Trap as their selection for 2005. Barbara Ann is currently completing the first of the Wilton Strait Murder Mystery series titled With Warped Certainty. This first book is a mystery surrounding the disappearance of close friends and a murder, which takes the main characters to Haiti.
The Trumpeter Swan Adventures and Shih-Tzu Puppy Adventure series have evolved into three CDs each with two stories on a CD. The swan stories depict the progression of baby Trumpeter Swans (cygnets) from hatching to migration educating children about their natural predators and their eating habits in an easy to listen to format designed for children from age 2 on up.
Shih-Tzu Puppy Adventures tell the story of six new born puppies who lose their mother five days later. They learn to trust their human care-giver while discovering the world around them before moving to homes of their own.
Barbara and her husband Henry make their home in Iowa. They have four children and seven grandchildren. Besides writing, Barbara rides motorcycle with her husband for an organization called Christian Motorcyclists Association, is a certified scuba diver, and loves all species of animals. Their two dogs, Patches and Pokey, have spent hours at her feet while she writes. Her husband just completed his own creative project, a professional CD, Miracles, original songs with a Christian Gospel flavor.