Thousands of words have been written about the fighting and bravery during the Chosin Reservoir campaign, but not much has been said about what it felt like to be there.

In 1965, I visited Lt. General Lewis B "Chesty" Puller at his home in Saluda, Virginia, and the first thing he said to me, as we shook hands was, "Have you thawed out yet, Sarge?" After all those years, the cold was what he thought up first.

I personally believe all of us who were there remember the cold above all. Yes, we all have memories of our buddies being killed, of the hordes of Chinese assaulting our frozen lines and the long walk out, but I truly believe the uppermost thought in our minds, when we think of the Chosin Reservoir campaign is the COLD!