In 1980, between Vietnam and Desert Storm, America was experiencing a seventeen-year period of relative peace. One of the few places a young army officer could find adventure was on the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in Korea, Freedom's Frontier. Day two after arriving in country, Lieutenant Osterhout reported to the 1st of the 9th INF at Camp Greaves, the pointy end of the spear that was the American contribution to the forces in the DMZ. Minutes after his arrival, he was in a truck on his way to Panmunjon. Later the same week he was wounded by a North Korean booby trap.
Lieutenant Osterhout's daily routine was anything but ordinary: A shooting incident occurred every ten days and there were thirty-three combat dearths during the year. The casualties came from small arms fire, minefields, short rounds, and drownings, amongst others. The patrols were long and cold. The guard posts were desolate. Guarding the Freedom Bridge was unrelentingly boring, until enemy frogmen shattered the monotony. The most feared affliction was river blindness: going down to the river and getting your eyes shot out. Peace, in the DMZ, had a strange definition.
However, it is an interesting story, like the ones told around the kitchen table or over drinks. When told, people become quiet, and listen. The reader will be completely entertained and amazed at what happened to one man in the Land of the Not Quite Right. Go to any bookstore and you will see racks of books about Vietnam, World War II and Iraq/Afghanistan. Noticeably missing are books about Korea. This is an exceptional military tale not only because it takes place in Korea, but it is also about a peacetime military and the sacrifices soldiers make even when they are not at war. OinK! Only in Korea! is a must read for veterans and there are millions of them who served in Korea during the time of the truce. This book brings to people a story that should be told and that will allow the lieutenant to finally lay his peacetime war to rest.
