When Tootsie Rolls Became A Weapon Of War

Common Sense Commentary: Someone sent me the video link below addressed to "Jim". I assume whoever sent the link is a friend of mine who knows the story of Jim Storey, my best friend, at the time, in the Korean War. Jim was mortally wounded in Hell Fire Valley when we were fighting our way north, into the Chosin Reservoir valley, in North Korea, where our First Marine Division Headquarters was surrounded by ten Divisions of Chinese Communists. Our Division HQ had just one Marine Battalion defending it, and they were being over-run by thousands of Chinese soldiers each night. We managed to get about a third, parts of two Companies, of our Task Force Drysdale in to reinforce that one Battalion protecting H.Q..  We held off the Chinese until we could withdraw two extended Regiments back out of the mountains farther north and secure our position at the Reservoir. Jim died the first night after he was hit and his body was evacuated by air.  We reorganized, had ammo dropped, by air, and turned south to fight our way back out to the sea, 70 miles south. It was on that leg of the Battle Of Chosin that the story below occurred. We were all exhausted beyond description, frostbitten, bearded, dirty and near starving when a plane load of Tootsie Rolls was air dropped on us. Those Tootsie Rolls probably saved some lives. We not only ate them, we repaired punctured gas tanks and radiators with them. I still love Tootsie Rolls. Here is the link from the Marine Corps Museum..... RB

http://www.wimp.com/tootsieroll/