이것이 전쟁이다! positions. The absolute arrogance and almost exasperating belligerence with which he stood in that intersection delighted me. Turning around and starting back along the road to Suwon we witnessed a rather remarkable phenomenon. Where the villages had been inhabited earlier by only glum-faced people packing their few belongings for the journey south, there now were whole ranks of soldiers standing at attention. Their officers saluted, villagers waved and shouted greetings. Twice we heard, “McCalt. Wictolly.” There were also several convoys of trucks headed north, each filled with happily waving soldiers. And yet, even though several thousand soldiers did appear along the return route, I was left with a serious question unanswered. Had these men been occupying carefully selected defensive positions which they abandoned just for the few moments while the famous American general was passing? Or had they simply been stretched out in the shade of the houses avoiding the noonday heat, before starting once more upon their southern migration during the more comfortable hours of evening? One thing I deeply resented. It was the recent lengthy report by one of the biggest American newspapers, that this Korean Army was “the finest in Asia.” If accurate Intelligence reports were being filed by qualified observers, then they must have been ignored by those who became oversold by their own advertising. The sun was moving into the western sky by the time we arrived back at Suwon headquarters. Sunlight still poured down but a freshening breeze had stirred up considerable dust in the long valley which connects Seoul with Suwon and the country to the south. Thus the light was hazy and autumnal that bathed the trees under which we sat while waiting for MacArthur to finish his last conference and start for the airport, and Japan. Suddenly I knew that we had to get to the airport immediately. Convincing Lambert that my hunch was true, we piled into the jeep and headed for the strip. We had crossed over the viaduct which spanned the railroad tracks west of Suwon when a Yak came screeching down out of the haze above us to drop its Ⅲ. Korea 1950 l 31
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