Introduction of The Book, East of Chosin
Today, I am going to introduce the book, East of Chosin, written by Roy Appleman. Let me take you back to the winter of 1950, 75 years ago, at this season, to a place called Changjin Reservoir in Kaema Highland, North Korea, where unyielding courage met deadly catastrophe. The book, East of Chosin, tells the harrowing story of the 31 st U.S. Army Regiment Combat Team trapped east of the reservoir during the Korean War. The name, Chosin is Changjin in Japanese, as U.S. troops were provided with Japanese maps in the war. While the First U.S. Marine Divisions’ breakout on the west side of reservoir is well known, Appleman wrote this book to shed light on the forgotten soldiers of Task Force Faith’s men who were surrounded by Chinese forces on the east side of reservoir, outnumbered, and left to fight in subzero temperatures with diminishing supplies. The author, Appleman, was driven by a sense of duty to honor those who had been overlooked and to correct the historical record of cou...