SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA--On Nov. 5, 1950, a soldier from Hatfield, Wisconsin, was guarding a ridge in South Korea, when Chinese forces emerged from the brush on a surprise raid. He sounded the alarm and engaged in a firefight to slow the assault, giving his company time to brace their defenses.

Badly shot, he pulled himself around a tree, and continued to fire until eight bullets finally brought him down. Corporal Mitchell Red Cloud Jr. was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, the military's highest award. This is the legacy for Wisconsin soldiers defending what is nicknamed "Freedom's Frontier."

Since the end of the Korean War, the demilitarized zone (DMZ) separates communist North Korea from democratic South Korea. It is a no man's land that stretches across the peninsula for 151 miles from the east coast to the west coast. Barbed wire and razor wire mark this area that holds the world's largest concentration of land mines.

In honor of Corporal Red Cloud's bravery, an infantry camp was named after him. Camp Red Cloud is located in Uijongbu City, roughly between Seoul and the DMZ.

It is home to the Second Infantry Division, the strongest and most forward-deployed division of U.S. Forces Korea. From Camp Red Cloud, a short drive leads to Camp Bonifas, where the motto is "In Front of Them All." Camp Bonifas is the focal point of the entire DMZ and the global geopolitics that accompany such a significant place.

It is the base for the United Nations Command Security Force and the Joint Security Area (JSA) where armistice negotiations are held in the blue nondescript buildings. At each end of the buildings, North Korean soldiers face the allied South Korean and American soldiers in a daily stare-down.

No other American soldiers are closer to the enemy on a regular basis than those serving at Camp Bonifas. The American soldiers that serve at Camp Bonifas are hand picked for their excellent fitness and medical and weapons skills.

Their South Korean counterparts are also selected with high scrutiny. Strong English speaking ability is required to minimize communication problems between U.S. and South Korean soldiers. Most of the South Korean soldiers have black belts in tae kwon do and are above average in physical and mental abilities.

Visitors in the JSA are warned not to make any gestures to the stone-faced North Korean soldiers. Sergeant Craig Lau from Whitefish has seen a more expressive side of the North Koreans during his nine months at Camp Bonifas.

"It gets pretty interesting when they flip you off," he said, imitating a throat-cutting gesture they make as an intimidation ploy. "They're pretty civil with the South Korean soldiers but they hate Americans," Lau said.

Recently, Lau received some time off from his duties at the DMZ for a quick wedding ceremony. His wife, Kristal Lau, flew to South Korea from her home in Madison. On his return to the United States, they plan to have a large wedding party for friends and family. He spends much of his free time keeping in touch with her via phone and e-mail.

Soldiers at Camp Bonifas pull 12-month unaccompanied tours that take them away from their families. At such an isolated post, most soldiers are limited to basic recreational activities. However, one notable feature of Camp Bonifas is the "World's Most Dangerous Golf Course." It is a one-hole course: 192 yards long and par three with a sign that warns, "Danger! Do not retrieve balls from the rough-live mine fields."

Private First Class Clinton Beguhn from Oconomowoc spends some of his free time exercising. Beguhn's duties as a military police officer allow him to gain insights not normally accessible to other soldiers at the DMZ.

Beguhn accompanies the Joint Duty Officer, who is the most forward-deployed American military officer in the world, and a U.N. representative. The officer receives and passes messages to the North Koreans, and has full access to all areas of the DMZ. While serving as his armed escort, Beguhn described coming across old pagodas on back roads that are accessible only to a few people in the world.

Surrounding the buildings and the military facilities is a landscape that has grown wild and untouched since the end of the Korean War. In recent years, the DMZ area has been noted by Korean ecologists as an accidental nature preserve. Since no human development is allowed in the area, the forests of mixed coniferous and deciduous trees are lush with vegetation and wildlife. Endangered red-crowned cranes and white-naped cranes stay in the DMZ during their migrations.

Private First Class David Mauk from Oshkosh serves as a scout at Camp Bonifas. One of his main duties includes patrolling the rugged terrain of the DMZ. "We're looking for evidence of anyone crossing into the area."

The patrols are pretty rough; the brush is thick. We have a kind of deer up here that has fangs and we spook them sometimes," said Mauk.

The American soldiers in the DMZ area and its vicinity may be the last of their kind to be deployed in this unique theater of operations. From a recent announcement, the U.S. Defense Department is planning a withdrawal of 70,000 service members across Europe and Asia. For South Korea, U.S. troops will be reduced by a third, and those that remain will relocate south of Seoul, roughly a two-hour drive from the DMZ.

The news of U.S. troop reductions produces different reactions among South Koreans. Some believe that the U.S. troops are necessary to maintain the nation's stability. The majority of Korean lawmakers hold the same view.

South Korea's younger generations believe otherwise. Anti-American protests are regular events in Seoul and the U.S. embassy is fortified with buses of riot police everyday of the week.

On the evening of December 15, 2002, Lieutenant Colonel Steven Boylan from Wausau left the Yongsan Garrison in central Seoul. He encountered three Korean men, who cursed him as a "G.I." They cornered Boylan and slashed him with a knife. Fighting defensively, he escaped without further injury.

Now serving in Iraq, Boylan completed 24 months of duty in Korea as the Chief of Public Affairs for the 8th United States Army. Even though he was attacked, he considers it one of the most rewarding experiences of his career.

"Actually it did not impact or change my views on serving in Korea or why were are there and why we need to be there. I don't consider the actions of three stupid individuals to be representative of the entire Korean public," said Boylan.

With the troop relocation and withdrawal, the uneasy friction between the presence of 34,000 American soldiers and the densely populated Korean public may be alleviated. "It is never easy to be a foreign military in the host nation. There is always some level of resentment and dislike.

"That is the wonderful aspects of a democracy. The ability to have one's views and opinions heard. In fact, those that serve in the military are sworn to defend those rights," said Boylan.

Copyright © James Card.