Breaking the Silence.

• Position: THE WORLD YESTERDAY - Korean War

I was in Korea for parts of 1951 and 1952, one among thousands of men and women serving there. I was told what to do and where to go. I was a hospital corpsman Third Class assigned to the First Marine Division. In fact, in roughly three years of active duty, I did not advance beyond my starting rank of third-class petty officer--not impressive. I had progressed faster in the Boy Scouts.

I did not discuss my experiences in Korea for 60 years. I did not talk about Korea with my mom, dad, or brother. I told them I wanted to avoid the subject, and they seemed content I was home and uninjured.

I met my wife, Audrey, in 1953, not long after I had returned. She knew I had been in Korea but understood I wanted to put it behind me. Not once did we discuss the war.

My silence broke in 2011 after I enrolled in Washington University writing classes through a program called Lifelong Learning. Students and facilitators encouraged me to write about the war and my role. I hesitated, and then penned a short poem about taking a hill. I read it to a gathering of students and a friend, Dick Hyde, who asked me to talk with a class he was facilitating on the Korean War.

The class surprised me with their interest in what happened at the 38th Parallel. My crisp memory also surprised me. People at the university strongly urged me to write about the realities of combat. They thought too many young people think of war in the...