Suffer 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)