Global cold snap reminds soldier of Korea story

http://www.sandmountainreporter.com/story.lasso?ewcd=02757f25ec3ea874

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Well, maybe so, but anyway, the cold weather is beginning to return to our area and it set me thinking again, nostalgically, about cold weather incidents in my past and my military experience.Korea, in the winter of 1964, was, for me, reminiscent of winters in New England, except I didn’t live in an uninsulated corrugated-steel Quonset hut with 25 other guys.Nor did a single, round, black, metal-barreled stove, fed by a 30-gallon Geri can of diesel fuel, heat our house.Geri cans were copied from a fuel can used by the Germans in World War II and thus named Geri cans. The barrel stood in the approximate middle of the hut in an unsuccessful effort to spread its warmth — once fired up — to all parts of the building. That Quonset hut reminded me of a giant Maine lobster trap, and I often felt like one of those crustaceans trapped inside — especially in the winter.One particularly cold night, several of my companions and I almost became “steamed” lobsters...