A Christmas Far from Home 9780306822322-text.indd 1 8/6/14 12:26 PM 9780306822322-text.indd 2 8/6/14 12:26 PM A Christmas Far from Home An Epic Tale of Courage and Survival during the Korean War k Stanley Weintraub Da Capo Press A Member of the Perseus Books Group 9780306822322-text.indd 3 8/6/14 12:26 PM Copyright © 2014 by Stanley Weintraub All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Printed in the United States of America. For information, address Da Capo Press, 44 Farnsworth Street, Third Floor, Boston, MA 02210. Designed by Jack Lenzo Set in 12 point Caslon by The Perseus Books Group Cataloging-in-Publication data for this book is available from the Library of Congress. ISBN: 978-0-306-82232-2 (hardcover) ISBN: 978-0-306-82233-9 (e-book) Published by Da Capo Press A Member of the Perseus Books Group www.dacapopress.com Da Capo Press books are available at special discounts for bulk purchases in the U.S. by corporations, institutions, and other organizations. For more information, please contact the Special Markets Department at the Perseus Books Group, 2300 Chestnut Street, Suite 200, Philadelphia, PA 19103, or call (800) 810-4145, ext. 5000, or e-mail [email protected]. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 9780306822322-text.indd 4 8/6/14 12:26 PM For Phil Zimmer, whose suggestions originated this book 9780306822322-text.indd 5 8/6/14 12:26 PM 9780306822322-text.indd 6 8/6/14 12:26 PM The second law of thermodynamics dictates that every physical system tends toward maximum disorder. 9780306822322-text.indd 7 8/6/14 12:26 PM 9780306822322-text.indd 8 8/6/14 12:26 PM Contents Preface xiii 1 A Turkey for Thanksgiving 1 2 Upbeat Thanksgiving 29 3 The Pincers Parlay 61 4 Mission Impossible 83 5 An Entirely New War 105 6 Beginning the Breakout 129 7 Hagaru to Koto-ri 157 8 A Bridge Apart 187 9 Downhill All the Way 215 10 Christmas Eve 233 Epilogue 257 Sources 263 Acknowledgments 277 Index 279 ix 9780306822322-text.indd 9 8/6/14 12:26 PM