Turtle ditch
- Thread starter Txwalt
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From the articles below - I would assume they are what we call bar ditches.
From ASK.com
Eric Koch wrote on 2000-06-11 09:47:19.0
Comments: FIST member assign to 2/17 FA but attached to 1st Plt B Co 1/9th Inf from Nov 85 to Nov 86. Looking for other Fist'ers (Buckey, Rosso, McCrory, Lt J.M. Collins, Hutchinson, Rodriguez, Commisso) as well other manchus (D. Silva, L. Bird, M. Best, LLavin, etc.) to catch up with. Great reading through some of these stories about the ROK and some of the "incidents" during the mission.
We did the tour from Dec 85 to Feb 86. Biggest memories for me were the first SR-71 sonic boom I heard while in the barracks at Oulette (took off out the door from a dead sleep), our Katusa Hong puking in my boots after a night of drinking soju (we tried to get him to morning formation but ended up sticking him in a turtle ditch which worked fine until he started moaning during formation), and taking our laser range finders and aiming for the faces of the N. Koreans across the MDL. Does that sign still say "WECOME To The NORTH"? By far the best time I spent in the service was that tour.
Dietrich Grabau wrote on 2003-11-22 20:37:10.0
Comments: Looking for anyone how served with me in the JSA. Empie,Lester,Mac,Smith,Berryhil,SGT Brown, you know how you are there are to many names. But Joe Butcher should have told you that him and Huebner were standing on cordon row watching a north korean tour when the Chinese JDO defected. Yes I know that 1 PLT had the duty that day but there were five or six maddogs augmented that day.Butcher,Huebner,Vanover,Empie,and Collins. As for X-Mas 1989 The maddogs and some members from 4 PLT were useing any thing we could find to sledding down the hill from the JSF orderly room and ditching just before we ran into the building at the end or the escort car that some one droped in to the turtle ditch. We also used one of the CUCV's to instruct the fine art of bumper skiing. It was truly a great time and I would not give it up for anything.
From ASK.com
Eric Koch wrote on 2000-06-11 09:47:19.0
Comments: FIST member assign to 2/17 FA but attached to 1st Plt B Co 1/9th Inf from Nov 85 to Nov 86. Looking for other Fist'ers (Buckey, Rosso, McCrory, Lt J.M. Collins, Hutchinson, Rodriguez, Commisso) as well other manchus (D. Silva, L. Bird, M. Best, LLavin, etc.) to catch up with. Great reading through some of these stories about the ROK and some of the "incidents" during the mission.
We did the tour from Dec 85 to Feb 86. Biggest memories for me were the first SR-71 sonic boom I heard while in the barracks at Oulette (took off out the door from a dead sleep), our Katusa Hong puking in my boots after a night of drinking soju (we tried to get him to morning formation but ended up sticking him in a turtle ditch which worked fine until he started moaning during formation), and taking our laser range finders and aiming for the faces of the N. Koreans across the MDL. Does that sign still say "WECOME To The NORTH"? By far the best time I spent in the service was that tour.
Dietrich Grabau wrote on 2003-11-22 20:37:10.0
Comments: Looking for anyone how served with me in the JSA. Empie,Lester,Mac,Smith,Berryhil,SGT Brown, you know how you are there are to many names. But Joe Butcher should have told you that him and Huebner were standing on cordon row watching a north korean tour when the Chinese JDO defected. Yes I know that 1 PLT had the duty that day but there were five or six maddogs augmented that day.Butcher,Huebner,Vanover,Empie,and Collins. As for X-Mas 1989 The maddogs and some members from 4 PLT were useing any thing we could find to sledding down the hill from the JSF orderly room and ditching just before we ran into the building at the end or the escort car that some one droped in to the turtle ditch. We also used one of the CUCV's to instruct the fine art of bumper skiing. It was truly a great time and I would not give it up for anything.
HerefordSire
Well-known member
Ditch-like stone or cement structurs built along side roads and sidewalks to allow water run off to flow during the rainy seasons. The word "turtleditch" is most commonly used on military bases in South Korea where these types of channels flourish throughout the region and it is believed that the concept of "turtleditches" originated on U.S. military bases in South Korea.
The "turtle" came from the kevlar helmets that U.S. and ROK soldiers where which resembles the shell of a turtle. The ditch of course comes from the actual purpose for which the structures were built. Although the turtleditches can be found in various depths and widths, in most cases they are not marked or protected by railings. Many drunken soldiers and civilians alike have fallen into the ditches hence the name "turtleditch".
The "turtle" came from the kevlar helmets that U.S. and ROK soldiers where which resembles the shell of a turtle. The ditch of course comes from the actual purpose for which the structures were built. Although the turtleditches can be found in various depths and widths, in most cases they are not marked or protected by railings. Many drunken soldiers and civilians alike have fallen into the ditches hence the name "turtleditch".
HerefordSire":1e9na9ct said:
The explanation for where "turtle" came from is wrong. When a soldier gets to Korea he stays at an inprocessing center for a few days. From there he goes to his assigned camp for the duration of his tour. Generally 12 months. Then he goes to the outprocessing center wich is across a parking lot from the inprocessing center. So you see it takes these turtles 12 months to cross the parking lot.
Walt
