While we were on perimeter guard duty in Pleiku, after a 6 week tour sleeping in the mud on rocket ridge, we had a ROK (Republic of Korea) unit from their Tiger Division move in next to us.  They were really sharp.  Clean, tailored, uniforms, sharp drill and formations, and often brutal physical punishment for the smallest infraction.  They took their duties very, very seriously.  You slept better at night, knowing they were watching your back.  The only problem I had with them, was the mutt of a dog their CO had as a mascot.  It kept setting off trip flares in the perimeter wire every night.  Even the Korean troops hated the fact that the CO allowed the dog to run amuck at night.  One day the Korean First Sergeant came by and inquired about the dog.  It seems it had disappeared and his CO feared foul play.  I suspected that one of my men might have killed it, but said nothing.  Several days went by and one day the same First Sergeant invited me to an evening meal in the Tiger Division Unit CO's tent.  They served Kimchi, a spicy, pungent, cabbage based stew with unidentified and fermented meat base.  It smelled really strong and very unpleasant, but I bravely ate some anyway.  To my surprise, I found it to be great.  As I finished my second bowl of Kimchi and began to feel the effects of the rice wine, the Korean First Sergeant asked me again, if I had seen the CO's dog lately.  I told him I hadn't, but was glad that he was no longer setting off the trip flares every night.  The Sergeant agreed, with a sly smile on his face.  Several glasses of wine later I inquired about the makings of the stew.  He informed me that he had made it himself.  It had vegetables, bamboo shoots, rice, cabbage, and meat that had been fermented for three days.  Then he leaned in close and confided that he would surely be shot if I told anyone that the mystery meat was the CO's damn mutt!  He had personally broken the poor things neck and prepared it for the pot.  I sat there in stunned silence for a few seconds, that seemed like an eternity.  Then I raised my wine glass and clinked it to his and drank...smiling in shared secrecy.  It had been something that needed to be done, and the First Sergeant was the only one who could get away with it.  I left that night with an even greater respect for NCO's and the Korean First Sergeant in particular.  Hope he made it home safe.  Funny thing is that it never even phased me that I had eaten dog.  In fact, I still maintain that it was the best Kimchi I ever ate.

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Homer R. Steedly Jr.    (Email:  )       More stories coming soon...Check back often.    Copyrighted ...  10/31/2007.         Site Map