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    The Korean War
    The Korean War
    The Korean War
    Ebook140 pages1 hour

    The Korean War

    By Norbert Mercado

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    About this ebook

    In 1951, best friends Pete Alvarez and Jose Aban, young men with adventurous goals and ambitions, have joined the Philippine Expeditionary Forces to Korea (PEFTOK) along with other Filipino soldiers in the 19th Battalion Combat Team.

    What experiences await the two in the Korean War?

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherNorbert Mercado
    Release dateNov 11, 2012
    ISBN9781301725014
    The Korean War
    Author

    Norbert Mercado

    "In this age of revolution, the contemporary writer should utilize the pen for the preservation of peace," Norbert Mercado, a Filipino author, stressed. The books he has written and published, including his anthologies, unapologetically assert the indispensability of peace in a nation’s progress. The author has written more novels than any Asian writer had in just a brief period of time. In fact, he has surpassed the number of novels written by world-renowned novelists like Russian author Alexander Solzhenitsyn (winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, 1970) and American authors Ernest Hemingway (winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, 1954). Solzhenitsyn has four novels to his credit, while Hemingway has eight. His style of writing is simple and succinct, but poignant and colorful like Hemingway’s THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA, and Solzhenitsyn’s ONE DAY IN THE LIFE OF IVAN DESONOVICH. "The simpler the novel, the better," he said. In line with Japanese Yasunari Kabawata’s writings about the Japanese way of life, most of Norbert’s novels focus mostly on the current situation in his country. Kabawata is the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1968. His books present hope to the Filipino, especially to the "economic exiles" in Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan whom he has spent most of his time with, in their daily struggles. But most of all, his novels lucidly show the futility of war and violence in the resolution of political-economic-class conflicts in the Philippines. "War should not be used as an instrument in resolving political conflicts. Writers who abet wars and revolutions must think of the widows and the fatherless, the chaos, destruction, and suffering of the people whom they claim to be concerned about," he said. What if, like Solzhenitsyn, Hemingway, and Kabawata, he eventually wins the Nobel Prize? What will he do with the US$1,000,000 award? "I will use the prize for establishing a Peace Foundation that will assist in the formulation of policies which will resolve the current shooting conflicts in the country and help alleviate the continuing poverty of our countrymen." He will take charge of the foundation and personally campaign for a peaceful settlement of the conflicts in the Philippines. "The insurgency and the secessionist rebellion have foreign support. A Nobel title will give me the personality to approach the leaders involved in the conflicts," he explained. Born on March 25, 1955, he is the youngest among the children of Mr. and Mrs. Aurelio Mercado, Sr. of San Manuel, Tarlac. He graduated from the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City, with two degrees, Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Bachelor of Arts in Broadcast Communication. Voted Outstanding Campus Journalist in 1974, he was a columnist and associate editor of the Philippine Collegian, the campus publication of the University of the Philippines. He has also written articles for various newspapers and magazines in the Philippines, as well as abroad. He also won the 1981 National Essay Writing Contest sponsored by SIDESTREETS Magazine. Norbert is a graduate of the National Defense College of the Philippines (NDCP), the topmost armed forces school in the country, where he was conferred a Master’s degree in National Security Administration (MNSA) and the rank of Lt. Colonel in the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). He graduated from the NDCP at the age of 32, the youngest in Class 21 which had already produced several generals in the Armed Forces, and the youngest graduate in the history of the National Defense College of the Philippines. He was elected one of the fifteen directors of Class 21. He was conferred the degree of Doctor of Divinity (Applied Servanthood), Honoris Causa, for his almost 30 years work in Christian literature. His batch mates include Senator Robert Barbers, Undersecretary of Trade and Industry and Bulletin Columnist Nelly Villafuerte, Actor and Producer Fred Galang, Rev. Peter Vasaya, and the His Royal Highness Sultan of Sulu and Sabah Ishmael Kiram. A sports lover, he was a rifle marksman in his UP ROTC days, and a winner of the 1988 and 1989 5,000 meter-run sponsored by the National Defense College Alumni Association. His sports include swimming, basketball, volleyball, boxing, karate, cycling, and marathon among others. A traveler, he has attended various international conferences and trainings in Asia and Europe. His travels have widened his insight not only of places, but also of people he has constantly observed and empathized with. He is the youngest graduate of the Singapore Haggai Institute for Third World Leaders in 1980 at the age of 24. "Let us work for peace in our country, in any way we can," Norbert stressed. Jesus said, "Blessed are the peacemakers." Ria M. Mercado

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      Book preview

      The Korean War - Norbert Mercado

      THE KOREAN WAR

      BASED ON THE STORY OF SGT. JOSE ABAN, 19TH BCT, PEFTOK

      by

      NORBERT L. MERCADO, MNSA

      Also by Norbert L. Mercado

      NOVELS

      72 Hours in Moscow

      After the Summer Rain

      Beyond Revolution

      The Children of Mars

      Chrysanthemum

      The Days of an Empire

      Even the Grass Bleeds

      I Don't Need A Throne

      The Last Romanov

      One Love, Three Summers

      The Protracted War and the Quest for Peace

      Some Winds Blow Forever

      Three Cornered Sun

      Unchained Melody

      Windflowers

      The Winter is Young

      OTHER BOOKS

      Asia Health Book 1

      Asia Health Book 2

      Cambodia's Children of Sorrow

      The Future and Your Family

      Jerusalem: The City of Destiny

      Ronald Reagan: Profile of a President

      For more information on Norbert L. Mercado, visit

      http://norbertomercado.blogspot.com

      THE KOREAN WAR

      Norbert L. Mercado

      Copyright © 2012 Norbert L. Mercado

      Norbert L. Mercado has asserted his right

      to be identified as the author of this work.

      This book is a work of fiction, and except in case of historical fact, any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

      This book is sold, subject to the condition that is shall not, by way of trade or otherwise be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form or binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition, including this condition, being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

      ISBN: 9781301725014

      Smashwords Edition, License Notes

      This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

      VERSION: 201211212000

      TABLE OF CONTENTS

      Chapter 1

      Chapter 2

      Chapter 3

      Chapter 4

      Chapter 5

      Chapter 6

      Chapter 7

      Chapter 8

      Chapter 9

      Chapter 10

      Chapter 11

      Chapter 12

      Last Chapter

      Epilogue

      Postscript

      Dedication

      A Historical Novelist For Peace

      You Can Also Connect with Me Online:

      Discover Other Titles by Norbert L. Mercado:

      Back to Table of Contents

      CHAPTER

      1

      "You may die in Korea."

      Jose Aban wryly smiled at Jackie Espino, his former basketball teammate at the Far Eastern University in Manila as they conversed about Jose’s departure for South Korea with the 19th Battalion Combat Team (BCT) of the Philippine Army.

      They were talking in a restaurant not far from the Far Eastern University gymnasium where they and their fellow basketball team members used to practice.

      I have always believed that when it’s your time to die, you will die anyhow, whether in an accident, or in the battlefield. I believe that God has appointed a specific time for a person’s birth and a person’s death. It’s all up to God. If it isn’t my time yet, God will protect me in the battlefield. But if my time is up, God will take me even today as I go home. I can be hit by a car on my way home, or be knifed by a drunk thug after we part, Jose replied.

      Jackie smiled back.

      True. I also believe in the same manner. God knows our lifespan on earth, Jackie said.

      If it’s not God’s appointed time for me to die, even a thousand bullets from the Chinese and Korean communists can’t kill me. You believe that Jackie? Jose asked his friend.

      Jackie nodded.

      Does your family know that you are going to Korea? Jackie asked him.

      Jose looked at the almost empty plate on their table and shook his head.

      Why’s that? Jackie asked.

      They won’t know it till I’m in Korea.

      You’ll write them when you’re already being shot at by the Chinese and Korean communists?

      That’s why I asked you to meet me today. I’m asking you now to tell them that it was my decision to go to Korea. Nobody forced of influenced me to go there, Jose said.

      Why me? Why not you? Why don’t you tell your family? Jackie protested.

      Jackie, you’re my friend. You are like a blood brother to me. You can tell them what I don’t want to tell them.

      Why not you?

      Jackie, you know my mother. You have met her several times. She won’t allow me to go to war, more so in Korea. She will cry, and may even have a heart attack. But if I’m already there when she learns about it, then she can’t do anything anymore. She will just have to accept it as it is – that her son is already in Korea, Jose said.

      Jackie fell silent. He stoked his chin whith his right hand, unsure on whether he was willing to take on the task Jose was giving him. He changed the topic.

      You will be fighting both the Korean and the Chinese communists. That’s a tough assignment, isn’t it?

      Yes, it is heavy. But that’s the reality of war, Jose replied.

      Why did the Chinese communists join the North Koreans? Jackie asked.

      From what I heard in the news, Kim Il Sung sought the help of the Chinese and the Russians before he launched his invasion of South Korea, Jose replied.

      What’s the name of the communist leader of China? Jackie asked.

      Mao… Mao Tse Tung, Jose replied. He is helping the North Koreans. The North Koreans would have been pushed back to Pyongyang and defeated by the United Nations’ forces if the Chinese communists did not enter the war, Jose said.

      Maybe so. That’s why General Douglas MacArthur needs reinforcements, Jose said.

      The Philippines has already sent two battalions, right? Jackie asked.

      Yes, but the UN forces need reinforcements. That’s why more battalions are being sent, Jose answered.

      Which battalion do you belong to?

      The 19th Battalion Combat Team. We have been training for months in Marikina and Tanay. Our trainers told us that Korea’s topography is rugged. There are a lot of hills. That’s why they chose Marikina and Tanay for our training grounds, Jose said.

      Suppose the Russians will also send forces? Jackie asked.

      "Well, that’s a possibility. Let’s see. So far, they are not committing their forces yet, although I heard from the Voice of America that the Russians continue to ship armaments to North Korea. I think Josef Stalin will continue to support the North Koreans," Jose replied.

      Do you think this Korean War may lead to a third world war since the Chinese and the Russian commanders are helping the North Koreans? Jackie asked.

      I don’t know Jackie. I hope not, Jose replied.

      By the way, does Linda know that you’re going to Korea? Jackie asked.

      Jose shook his head. I haven’t told her.

      I think you need to tell her. She is your girlfriend, and she deserves to know that you are joining the Korean War.

      She is not yet my girlfriend.

      Whoa! That’s news to me!

      But it’s true, Jose admitted.

      You have been dating her for months, and she still isn’t your girlfriend, Jackie kidded him.

      Those are just friendly dates. We have dinner, and that’s all. Nothing special. I can’t commit myself to a relationship yet, more so now that I’m going to war. I don’t want any girl to by crying over my dead body if I don’t make it, Jose explained.

      So you won’t tell her? Jackie asked.

      Jose grasped for an answer.

      I will. I’ll write her when I’m there.

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