Chosin Star When Hell Froze Over: When Hell Froze Over

The author, John Smith, is an eighty-three-year-old United States Marine who served before and during the Korean War. He was wounded in the battle of the Chosin Reservoir at age eighteen in North Korea and was awarded the Purple Heart medal. After his discharge from the military in 1952, he finished high school and then went on to receive a BS degree in public administration at the University of Detroit on the “GI Bill.” He worked for a major computer manufacturer during the 1960s and later became assistant to the president in public relations at Siena Heights College in Adrian, Michigan. Also during the 1960s, he was awarded five daughters and eventually numerous grandchildren. John retired from Central Michigan University in 1991. In 1998 he formed a unit of US Naval Sea Cadets (a youth program) dedicated to teaching the importance of respect, courtesy, and commitment, in which he was the commanding officer for fifteen years. In 2014, he formed another local group designed for youth emphasizing drug demand reduction and is presently the unit commander of the Central Michigan Young Marines in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. In addition he is a proud member of the VFW, the DAV, the American Legion, the Military Order of the Purple Heart, and the “Chosin Few.”