At 5:30 a.m. on November 29 he led a nine-jeep communications convoy north from Hamhung through five inches of newly-fallen snow toward the Chosin Reservoir, 56 miles away. By late afternoon he had stationed his teams at vital points along the road. Then he and his driver, Cpl. David E. Klepsig of Macon, Ga., headed for the village of Koto-ri, regimental command post of Marine Col. (now Lt. Gen., retired) Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller. Page didn't know it then, but his first taste of combat lay just a few miles ahead.

It was nearly dark as the jeep approached a blown-out bridge. Klepsig steered off the road, down the embankment to the frozen stream. A burst of machine -gun fire ripped the air above them. Page and Klepsig scrambled out of the jeep and raced for cover of an abutment on the far side of the stream. The Reds were on a low hill, 50 yards away. Every few minutes Page and Klepsig would peer over the top of the abutment and bullets would splatter the road in front of them. For half an hour they stayed pinned to the wall. The last light of day was fading. Page was worried, in the dark the enemy could surround them.