Upon finishing my Basic Training and AIT at Ft. Jackson, SC in December of 1969, I was surprised to learn that I was the only recruit in my company headed for South Korea-the majority went to Viet Nam, and a few to Germany. Immediately upon arrival at Kimpo Air Port in Seoul, the new arrivals were ushered off to a reception center for a brief introduction to our new post. It was during this reception that I was told of the Joint Security Area and Panmunjom, and it was explained that it would be necessary to volunteer for duty there-and we all know what we were told about volunteering in the US Army! What really got my attention was that Security Guards at Panmunjom would be paid an additional $65.00 per month in Hostile Fire Pay! I was accepted, still not having any idea of what lay ahead.
After about a week of processing in, and being given an assignment to guard a few South Korean wood cutters in the DMZ (never did fully understand that one!), I found myself standing face to face with communist North Korean Guards in the Truce Village of Panmunjom. While there were long stretches of boring guard duty, there were also some violent conflicts with the communist guards, reminders that the Korean war had never officially ended, and that only a very fragile truce existed between the North and South, and squarely in the middle were young American and South Korean security guards, just like me.
At the time, Viet Nam occupied all of the headline news, and I found out that little, if any, news of Korea made it home. My parents were now having to deal with one son in Viet Nam, my brother Cpt. Danny Suit, and me at my new duty post. I began to hear stories of past fights with the N. Korean Guards, and began to feel the tension of this "up close and personal" daily contact with the enemy. It wasn't long before the North Koreans began to provoke incidents which resulted in "hand to hand" fighting. I was able to obtain photographs of some of these incidents, and occaisionally another JSA vet will email or send pictures, which I will gladly include on this website.
If you have any suggestions or pictures you would like to see on this website, please let me know. You can contact me at Panmunjom@aol.com .
Hope you enjoy your visit,
Stan Suit