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William "Bill" L. Bates

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Everyone else was scared of General Puller, but Bill Bates approached the legendary Marine to ask a favor, which he got, along with an earful. At this point in the war, he had become the operations officer, after the division had withdrawn from North Korea. (5:39)

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It wasn't written up, but the Battle of Horseshoe Ridge was a furious fight against advancing Chinese troops, who had entered the war and were now leading the push toward the South. Bill Bates tells how his men got through that ordeal and how they got out of it with a beautiful "retrograde maneuver." (7:25)

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Faced with a difficult assault, Bill Bates and his unit were able to walk away after a furious artillery barrage which drew on multiple batteries. This was his last big action of the war and he was soon on his way home. (2:40)

William Alli

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William Alli joined the Marine Reserve while still in high school. By the time he was in boot camp, the training was geared toward a possible fight in Korea. As an ammo bearer, what he needed most was not the training. (4:59)

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He didn't get seasick crossing the Pacific, but William Alli disliked the sea, nonetheless. It's too big. He finally arrived in Korea and he wasn't too thrilled with that, either. What was that smell? (4:47)

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His first mission in Korea was nerve wracking. William Alli was put in a listening post all alone in front of the line. There wasn't much combat until the Chinese launched their spring offensive. Then it was time for advancing in a different direction, that is to say, a retreat. (5:56)

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The Marines reversed their retreat in the face of the Chinese spring offensive and began to advance to the north, once again. Ammo bearer William Alli had to hit the deck when the enemy fire started and his load scattered across a dry rice paddy. Leave it, came the shout. Later, very high up in the mountains near the coast, he was serving last watch when daylight revealed a surreal scene. (6:21)

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After describing the different enemy mines used in Korea, William Alli gives a spirited account of two battles in which he was involved. During the first, he heard the order fix bayonets and charge! It worked. At the Punchbowl, it was four days of intense action. (6:44)

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The whole division was pulled off the line and in reserve when William Alli read a letter from a cousin in Turkey. Why don't you go visit the Turkish troops serving in Korea, tell them your father is from Turkey and you are all brothers fighting Communism together? Great idea, until he got there. (7:00)

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Marines in Korea had a special relationship with Tootsie Rolls. William Alli missed out on that but he does have something to say about the chow when he was up on the line. When you were opening up the boxes and pulling out the cans, you had what you called The Deadly Three. (3:04)