Suffer the childrenSuffer the children
“I recall one day finding this little girl who couldn’t have been more than eight, trodding down the road crying hard. In her hands she carried a rusty tin of water. We tried to stop her because she was entering a dangerous area. She tried to get away from us; her screaming broke our hearts. . . . Everyone in war suffers. Children, however, suffer the most. They don’t understand. Try explaining it to a child. They are terrified, dirty, and hungry. . . . Mile after mile, the convoy drove north. . . . I remembered how anxious I was to get to Korea. I was eighteen and couldn’t wait to see combat. That lasted until the first firefight. Afterward it was, Please, God, don’t let me get hurt. If I do, please let it be small, something that will get me home in one piece.” – Corporal Mario Sorrentino, 2nd Engineer Combat Battalion (quoted by Donald Knox in The Korean War: Pusan to Chosin – An Oral History)