To whom it may concern,
I am writing this letter concerning Sgt. Robert Barfield with whom I served during the summer of 1953 while on the front line of Korea .
I am honored to have served as Barfield's assistant squad leader on the night of June 14 th , 1953 and early morning of June 15th, 1953 . During that time our Co.“F” 7th Inf. Reqt. 3rd Div. was involved in a battle with Chinese forces. After a murderous barrage of artillery and mortar fire, Chinese Infantry breached over trenches involving our company in a violent 5-6 hour hand to hand combat. Many Chinese Infantry were killed, as well as many men from our company and as well as many men from a relief company that helped us that night.
I can attest to the fact that Sgt. Barfield did indeed rescue three of our fellow soldiers during intense undescribable artillery fire and while Chinese troops were in our trenches. I would also mention that even though told that it would be necessary to leave the dead and wounded until daylight Sgt. Barfield disregarding his own safety did rescue the soldiers mentioned. It was a miracle that he survived! I cannot say enough about the courage shown by him.
I also witnessed a fire fight between Sgt. Barfield and three Chinese Soldiers as he was attempting to rescue one soldier.
The next morning 3 dead Chinese were recovered where the fire fight occurred. Sgt. Barfield also constantly entered the trenches during battle to check and direct his men to pass out ammunition, etc. The courage shown by Sgt. Barfield astonished me. He risked his life many times that unforgettable night, and I was told after the battle that Sgt. Barfield was put in for a high award. As far as I'm concerned Sgt. Barfield deserves the highest award possible for his heroism during that horrendous battle. He was indeed an inspiration to his men!
Sgt. Barfield transferred to another outfit after we were pulled from the line. I never heard from him again until Dec. 1996 when I received a letter from him through the Dept. of Motor Vehicles – State of California . I swear that these statements concerning Sgt. Barfield are true.
Sincerely, Rene A. Silva
1/4/97
This letter was notarized on
01-04-1997 By Karla Dojaquez
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