South Korean Jung-wi (First Lieutenant) Christian Park and his American host had just emerged from Camp Casey’s Conference Center, when the first salvo of North Korean artillery shells fell. The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) had dozens of pre-registered targets to fire on, and the center was among them. It took two hits, and the force of the overlapping explosions knocked both men off their feet. Park got up and Green Beret Captain Jeremy Holmes didn’t. A red halo surrounded his head. The reason was obvious. A shard of metal was protruding from his skull.

That was when the ground nearby erupted, and DPRK shock troops poured out of a tunnel that originated on North Korea’s side of the DMZ (demilitarized zone). They were Yelling “Manzai! Manzai! Manzai!” Which meant 10,000 cheers.

Park would have been killed then and there—if an errant 170mm artillery shell hadn’t landed on the NK troops and obliterated them. The orange-red explosion hurled bodies, parts of bodies, and weapons into the air. Blood fell like rain. Park stooped to grab a bulky assault rifle. It was equipped with an integrated grenade launcher. A voice blared over the loudspeakers. “Fall back to the blast wall! We’ll make a stand there.”