In 1950 during the Korean War ran into an interesting dilemma when the use of a codeword gets misinterpreted. While stationed in ChangJin Reservoir, the Marine troops found themselves severally outnumbered and undersupplied. When they were almost out of mortar shells they called for an airdrop using their codename for 60MM mortar ammo, Tootsie Rolls. When the delivery arrived the troops were surprised to see boxes of actual Tootsie Rolls. What was a terrible mistake, saved hundreds of lives.
The freezing temperatures cracked vehicle fuel lines and left the troops stranded with limited ammo and tons of Tootsie Rolls. A veteran said he survived for two weeks on Tootsie Rolls. Eventually they realized they could melt the chocolate with their hands to make a putty-like consistency. They used this to patch up bullet holes, seal the broken pipes, and fix up other equipment. Finally, the chocolate refroze and they were able to get to safety, all thanks to this blessing in disguise.
I think if I was expecting bullets and got candy, I would laugh then probably cry. I wonder what went through the head of the guy who had received the request for "Tootsie Rolls" and didn't think it was a code work and instead sent actual ones. If I had gotten a request from Marine Troops out fighting in a war for Tootsie Rolls, my mind wouldn't think to send them Tootsie Rolls, if I was confused I would have asked. I think I would get very sick if I had to survive on Tootsie Rolls for two weeks and would probably not eat any more for a really long time.
Sources:
https://americangimuseum.org/tootsie-rolls-saved-troops-at-the-battle-of-the-chosin-reservoir/
https://unbelievable-facts.com/2018/03/funny-stories-from-history.html
Questions:
What would have been your reaction if you received candy instead of bullets?
How do you think the mix-up happened with the code word?
Could you survive on Tootsie Rolls for two weeks?
Replies
It will be very confusing if I get candy than bullets. They probably worded code wrong or in a different way. I would not survive in 2 weeks with tootsie rolls.
This is definitely would be very confusing if they were expecting more bullets and received tootsie rolls instead. It is possible that the soldier messed something up on their part with the codeword. It would be hard to survive two weeks on chocolate.
This is a really interesting story, and I find it interesting how the soilders thought outside of the box and used the Tootsie Rolls for things other than eating, it shows their resourcefulness in a strange situation like that. Using candy as a bandage wouldn't be my first idea, but it ended up still helping people.
It is pretty interesting that this happened at all. They definitely had to think outside the box to be able to use the tootsie rolls to fix things they need fix to bring them to safety. It's good that it all worked out for them.
I would be stressed if I had recieved a tootsie roll instead of a bullet. Thinking about the abilities of a bullet versus a tootsie roll it isn't hard to see which one would most likely have more use. I don't think that I could survive on just tootsie rolls for two weeks straight without anything else.
It is a very stressful situation that happened . They obviously really needed the bullets because they asked for more. Although they definitely needed the bullets them made great use out of all the tootsie rolls the had received.
I would pry think it's very funny but also be shocked in a way, because I think that's just crazy that happended. To be honest I think it would be very difficult to survive the whole two weeks, I don't think I could do it because of how tough it would be
It would be very funny and shocking and a whole bunch of other emotions mixed together. It was a very weird thing to happen. It makes me wonder if this wasn't the only time their was a mistake with the codewords.
I would have been worried and nervous that we wouldn't have enough ammo to win if there were another fight. I think the mixup happened because the words kind of sounded the same and it was just an accident. I probably could survive the tootsie rolls but it would be hard to do.
I would too, they obviously needed more ammo if they asked for more. I wonder if they ended up calling in again about the mistsake and asked for ammo again. That way they had it. It was definitely an accident, but at least it worked out.
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