Photo By L.A. Shively | Leo Perez, a Navy hospital corpsman who served in Korea during the Battle of the...... read more read more
SAN ANTONIO - Students and staff at the Navy Medicine Training Support Center unveiled a sign naming the walkway between Jaenke and Fralish Halls “Avenue of the Chosin Few,” in an Aug. 24 ceremony honoring Korean War veterans who fought the battle of the Chosin Reservoir, during the frigid winter of 1950.
Remembering the contributions our veterans make is imperative, said Navy Capt. John Larnerd, commanding officer of NMTSC.
“If we forget the sacrifice of what has gone into making our country the beacon of democracy and freedom that it is today, then it will be easier for us to lose sight of what is really important,” Larnerd said, noting that NMTSC is in the business of training Navy hospital corpsman who often put themselves in harm’s way caring for those at the frontlines of battle as did the Korean veterans.
“Fifty-three corpsmen have paid the ultimate sacrifice in support of our country just since 9/11. Corpsmen today are warriors who set aside their own interests to take care of their soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines,” Larnerd said, “making it possible for them to come home and spend time with their families.”
Retired U.S. Army Sgt. Maj. Elliott Sortillo, guest speaker for the ceremony, recalled that he and his unit landed at Inchon with the Marines who headed north. His unit first headed south to fight, marched to the southernmost tip of the country and again, boarded ships heading for North Korea, and finally marched deep into the mountains to the Chosin Reservoir.
Other guests included former Navy Hospital Corpsman Leo Perez, who served at the Chosin Reservoir and retired Navy Hospital Corpsman Master Chief Leo Stanley, who treated wounded returning from World War II.
Battle survivors of the North Korean reservoir are known as the Chosin Few because so many lost their lives during that one fight.
“We were fighting the elements, we were fighting the terrain and we were fighting the Chinese,” said Sortillo. “It was deathly cold – 30 and 40 degrees below zero. We were in mountainous terrain and the Chinese were coming at us in droves,” he remembered.
“To put it bluntly, we had one hell of a fight up there,” Sortillo said.
He said he and his unit, along with three rifle companies of Marines and British commandos, were ambushed on their way to reinforce troops already at the reservoir. The enemy was able to separate the column into sections. His company was at the rear of the column and got hit the hardest.
“We’d fought all day and about three o’clock in the morning our commander surrendered. We were out of ammo and he tried to bargain with the Chinese for time so that others could escape to the south,” Sortillo said.
Sortillo was with the commander and was captured. He spent 33 months as a prisoner of war. His memory of prison camp was not pleasant.
“We lost over a thousand from starvation, wounds and any other numbers of things,” he said. Sortillo was only 16 years old when he captured.
After the ceremony, guests, staff and students shared refreshments and screened “Chosin,” a documentary about the battle at the Chosin Reservoir. After the film, Anton Sattler, a writer and producer for the film, answered questions from the audience.
“It was an honor,” Larnerd said, “to meet and spend time with these heroes.”
| Date Taken: | 09.06.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 09.10.2012 18:05 |
| Story ID: | 94475 |
| Location: | SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 824 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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