Duty on the DMZ

Soldiers Magazine, March, 2004 by Beth Reece

LAND mines and barbed wire blanket the no-man's land that divides communist North Korea from its southern, politically separated half. But hatred still stretches over the 151-mile-long Military Demarcation Line.

"There's always a look of total disgust on the North Korean soldiers' faces. We have no doubts about how they feel," said CPT Lucas Braxton.

Braxton is adjutant for the United Nations Command Security Battalion --Joint Security Area at Camp Bonifas, Korea. He's joined by 250 U.S. Soldiers, each well aware that their presence is like a thorn in North Korea's side.

The UNCSB-JSA helps South Korea monitor compliance with the Military Armistice Agreement that halted the three-year Korean War in July, 1953. The agreement directs North and South Korea to stay out of one another's land, sea and air space. But recurring armistice violations by the North continually confirm the need for vigilance along the demilitarized zone.

UNCSB-JSA Soldiers secure the DMZ alongside members of the Republic of Korea army, which accounts for about 60 percent of the joint command. A platoon stands guard 24-7, ready to react in under 60 seconds should North Korea test boundaries set by the armistice.

The Soldiers also keep watch over Daeseong-dong, the only village existing inside the DMZ. Residents must be able to prove their ancestry back to the Korean War. They live under nightly curfews and constant reminders that the enemy is near. But residents' thoughts of moving elsewhere are tempered by the South Korean government, which exempts Daeseong-dong residents from taxes and promises steady incomes to its farmers.

"Sometimes the North Koreans like to disrupt farming. They'll cross a few meters over the boundaries and smoke a cigarette before going back just to test our reaction," Braxton said. "I wouldn't say the farmers are scared of them, but they don't want to take any chances."

The Military Armistice Commission requests meetings with officials from the north to discuss such violations. "But they never answer us," Braxton said.

Handpicked

U.S. Soldiers serve one-year tours at the JSA and are handpicked based on physical condition, maturity and attitude. ROK soldiers serve two years, and each must obtain a security clearance from the Korean government to help guard against communist sympathizers.

Soldiers camped along the DMZ get used to the blaring sounds of propaganda that drifts into the south via strategically placed speakers in North Korea. At night, the North seems to fade from existence.

"There's no electricity. All you see is black, and sometimes you hear metal clanging," Braxton said. "It's very eerie."

Security escorts at the UNCSB-JSA guide about 100,000 tours a year. SPC Bryce Mahoney has guided everyone from fellow Soldiers to governors and ambassadors.

"We do this out of respect for the thousands of Soldiers who died in the Korean War, and to educate people on why we're still here mediating between North and South Korea," said Mahoney. "If you took a poll asking Americans what the Joint Security Area is or what the DMZ is, the majority of them would probably start talking about Vietnam. The Korean War is the forgotten war."

Two North Korean guards hold watch on their edge of the DMZ, their watchful gaze always directed South. Throughout their 12-year stints on the DMZ, North Korean soldiers are ordered to shoot anyone who betrays their brutal dictator, Kim Jong-II.

On the opposite side, South Korean guards stand poker-faced at the corner of conference buildings that straddle the DMZ--half of their bodies exposed, the other half behind cover to give the North Koreans smaller targets should they start firing rounds.

The only buildings on South Korea's side of the JSA are the Peace House, where peace talks are held, and the Freedom House.

"The Freedom House is akin to what you see in Propaganda Village," Braxton said. "There's no use for that building other than for ceremony."

Almost 100 Americans have died in hostile tire with North Koreans since the armistice was signed. More than 130 have been wounded in action. The most recent death occurred Dec. 17, 1994, when CW2 David Hilemon and CW2 Bobby Hall's aircraft was shot down after accidentally straying into North Korean airspace. Hilemon died; Hall was held captive for 13 days.

In December 2002--the same year President George W. Bush coined North Korea part of an "axis of evil" in his 2002 State of the Union address--the North Korean army set up machine guns along the DMZ.

"The North Koreans believe we're here occupying South Korea. They don't trust us," Braxton said. "But we don't trust them either."