Excerpt from The Blue House Raid

Pak Jun-seok, Lieutenant, North Korean Army watch a reading

A half hour later, the reconnaissance lieutenant said, “Here they come. Look—the other side of the outposts.”

The Americans walked single file on the path between the two opposing forces. They wore flak vests and soft field caps and carried M14 rifles. Their left shoulders bore a patch with the head of an American Indian in profile. The Yankees looked ahead and to the north, into the trees where Jun-seok’s patrol squatted.

“Don’t worry,” whispered the reconnaissance lieutenant. “They don’t see us. But what do you notice?”

“They’re sloppy,” said Ho.

“They have Negroid as well as Caucasian soldiers,” said Chong. “Wait. There’s a Korean—no, two Koreans—with them.”

“Yes,” said the reconnaissance lieutenant, “they force Koreans into their army. But what do you really notice?”

Nobody spoke up.

“How old do you think they are?” said the reconnaissance lieutenant.

Of course, that’s it, thought Jun-seok. He considered himself to be immature at thirty-one, but these American soldiers were only boys. When the binoculars came to him, Jun-seok examined their faces. He guessed three or four of them were in their twenties, the rest in their teens.