Allan Anderson only saw combat once, but that was more than enough for him.

The Orem resident arrived in Korea in January 1953. Peace negotiations were ongoing and the war would only continue for another six months. But still the war raged on.

Anderson doesn't remember the name of the hill his unit was defending. The number designated to it by the United Nations didn't really matter anyway. What did matter is that the North Koreans wanted it. So one day, they let loose a barrage of mortar fire on the hill, located just north of the 38th parallel, where the border between the two Koreas stands to this day. Anderson, who was new to the Marine Corps, was an ammo bearer. His job was to bring the ammunition to the machine gunners, not to fire the .30-caliber guns himself.

"All I remember is we went up to the top of this ridge, got into the trenches. They were dropping mortar rounds all around us," he said. "You're scared as hell. You don't know what's happening. It was daylight so you could see. There was an awful lot of noise and smoke.

"It was a job I guess that had to be done and we just did it. There was nobody else there."

It was his first and only combat experience of the Korean War. A mortar round landed in the trench he was in, taking out the crew of a nearby gun. Anderson and another Marine happened to be the only people near enough to take over for their fallen comrades.

"They were scattered all over and the gun was still sitting there and so this young lad behind me ... just said, 'Let's see if we can get the gun back going,' " Anderson said. "We got the sandbags back up, we got the gun set up, loaded it, started firing."

The battle lasted two days, including the night that Anderson calls the worst of his life. On the third day, the North Koreans pulled back.

Anderson doesn't really remember what went through his mind at the moment he took up his position at the machine gun. It's not because the details have escaped him after more than 50 years. He just didn't really think about it at the time.

It wasn't until after the battle ended that Anderson had the time to reflect on what had happened, on all the things he didn't have time to think about in the heat of battle.

"After it was all over I didn't even get upset or nervous or sick or anything like that. But three or four days later it really bothered me, what went on," he said. "What if this would've happened, what if that would've happenedfi"

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page A1.