Some Examples of rate patches worn on the right sleeve are, Bosn Mates, Signalmen, Gunners Mates, Cooks, Machinist Mates and a few other that time erased from my memory. All ratings were shipmates and when a brawl started with the Marines, it was one for all and one for all.

I really gained respect for the Marines when a convoy of U.S. Navy ships evacuated the Marines and Soldiers from the Chosen Resivior. The Chinese pushed across the Manchurian border by the hundreds of thousands. The temperature was forty degree minus zero and the ground was covered with snow and ice. The Marines and a few Army personnel fought their way back from the Resivior about 73 miles to the port where the Navy waited to evacuate the Marine & Soldier survivors. Both the Marines & Soldiers brought back their dead and wounded with them to be evacuated.

The dead was frozen solid and were stacked on flat bed trucks like cord wood, but none were left behind. The walking wounded were assisted by their buddies and those that could not walked were placed on stretchers and carried back by two men known as stretcher bearers. The stretcher bearers each had a military rifle strapped over their shoulder and the wounded had their military rifles hieing on the stretcher beside them.

We sailors had it fairly easy, below decks were fairly warm and we sailors that were topside were well equipped with foul weather gear and were able to trod the main decks without slipping down on the ice.

This is were the Marines impressed we sailors, as soon as the Marines were brought aboard the transports, they sat down on the decks and began disassembling and cleaning their weapons. After their weapons were cleaned, that was when the soldiers and Marines went below decks to get warm.

After the troops were aboard the transports, the ships got underway, fell back away from the coast about three miles and began shelling the enemy ships and shore facilities. After a few salvos from a heavy cruiser and two light cruisers and several Destroyers and one or two Destroyer Escorts finished their barrage, there was nothing left of the enemy ships nor the shore facilities except lots of heavy black smoke..

After we had done all of the damage possible, we hauled butt and headed for Japan were we could unload our dead and hospitalize the wounded men and returned to Japan without incident.

Even with the heavy loss of life in Korea,we still do not have a peace treaty only a demilitarized zone where our soldiers & Marines stare at the North Korean soldiers and marines across the zone.