MEMORIAL DAY PATRIOTS GIVE THANKS FOR THE COURAGE OF MEN LIKE THESE : HONORING OUR VETERANS.

Byline: Dennis McCarthy

Audie Murphy had it right after World War II, the Korean War vets say. When you've been to hell and back with a group of guys, you remain close for life.

Especially when life - your life - was something you thought was about to end at the Chosin Reservoir in North Korea on a freezing, overcast night in December 1950.

You had already made your peace with God, and said goodbye in your mind and heart to everyone you loved - your parents, your brothers and sisters, your wife and girlfriend.

Now all there was to do was wait.

Wait for an enemy who outnumbered you six to one, and had you totally surrounded, to move in for the kill.

Then something happens, and you are given a slim chance to make it home alive - to start a family, have a career, watch your children and grandchildren grow up.

A chance to grow old yourself, says 1st Marine Division veteran Clyde Queen - not die young on a piece of frozen real estate in this place you call hell.

What happens is something you will never, ever forget. A star shows up in the sky.

``Our only chance to make it out alive was for our planes to come in with close air support and keep the enemies' heads down while we made our escape,'' Queen said.

``But the skies had been overcast for three straight days, and the planes couldn't help us. Meanwhile, the enemy was moving in closer and closer every night.

``We could hear them out there, tens of thousands of Red Chinese soldiers moving in on 6,000 Marines. We knew it was only a matter of hours until we'd be fighting them hand to hand.

``It was looking very, very bleak when all of a sudden one of our guys shouted out, Look, a star, a star

'' Queen said.

``We all looked up at the sky, and here was this one bright star shining down on us. Pretty soon, there were hundreds, then thousands of stars. It was the most beautiful sight I've ever seen.

``The clouds had parted, and we knew our planes would soon be on the way to help us, and they were.

``There wasn't a Marine there that night who didn't think that star was a sign from God that he was not forsaking us,'' Queen said, touching the pin on his lapel above his combat medals and campaigns ribbons.

The pin worn by the survivors of the Chosin Reservoir - a star.

They call themselves the Chosin Few, but there's not a man among them who doesn't consider himself one of the chosen few.

They made it home alive from Korea after fighting in what historians called the most savage battle in modern warfare, what Time magazine once described as ``a battle unparalleled in U.S. military history.''

Twenty thousand allied ground troops - 17,000 of them Marines - facing 120,000 Chinese Communist forces whose orders were to annihilate the 1st Marine Division to the last man.

The battle was fought in November and December of 1950 in the mountainous terrain of North Korea in sub-zero winter conditions that sometimes reached 35 below.

When it was over, there were almost 15,000 allied casualties - 2,500 men dead, 5,000 wounded in action, and the remainder suffering severe frostbite and other injuries from the cold.

Enemy casualties were estimated to be almost 44,000, with more than 28,000 killed.

Chosin Reservoir still holds the record as having the most decorated soldiers in a single battle in U.S. military history, with 17 Medals of Honor awarded, along with 70 Navy Crosses and many Distinguished Services Crosses.

The Chosin Few proved indeed to be chosen. They made it home to raise families and grow old in retirement together, celebrating yet another Memorial Day.

Marines like Joe Strifler in Valencia, John Sadowski in Thousand Oaks, George Barbani in Porter Ranch, John Code in La Crescenta, Barry Jones in Granada Hills and Dale McKenna in West Hills.

They were there at the Chosin Reservoir with Clyde Queen of Cypress, who is vice president of the Orange County chapter of the Chosin Few, the only local chapter of this national organization.

It will be 50 years next year since many of them looked up at the sky that night they thought they were going to die and saw a star.

The bitterness of later coming home to a country that would try hard to forget there ever was a Korean War has subsided with age and wisdom, says Roy Shiraga, who was with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, attached to the 1st Marine Division.

``At the beginning, it bothered me,'' Shiraga said. ``I kept thinking, Don't these people know about the war and what we did?

``But then I began to figure out people just don't care unless they're personally involved and I'd better get on with my life and not waste time being bitter.''

Even now, almost 50 years later, it remains the forgotten war, says Don Lyon of Thousand Oaks, who was a Navy medic attached to the Marines at Chosin.

``We had a reunion in Portland a couple of years ago, and people would stop us on the street and ask what all the ribbons we were wearing were for,'' Lyon said.

``When we said Korea, we got a lot of blank looks. People just didn't know about it.''

It's not like the estimated 5,000 Marines still alive who fought at Chosin are looking for a slap on the back almost 50 years later, or pity for the fingers and toes many of them lost to frostbite in the freezing weather fighting a war we want to forget about.

But it would be nice for them to at least be remembered this Memorial Day.

After all, they did go to hell and back for this country.

On his way down to San Diego next year for the Chosin Few's 50th anniversary reunion, Joe Strifler will pass a spot on the highway near Camp Pendleton Marine Base that goes a long way in explaining what Memorial Day means for the men and women who have fought in this country's wars.

Respect. For each other.

The spot on the highway is where Strifler, who had just returned from Korea in 1951, stood trying to hitch a ride into Oceanside to catch a bus to Glendale to see his wife.

``I was standing there hitchhiking without any luck when a green car with a flag on it goes by me, then stops,'' said the Valencia man.

``It backed up, then the door opened up, and I realized it was a general's car,'' Strifler said.

The general looked up from the back seat at the young sergeant hitchhiking, and asked, ``Don't I know you, son?''

The young sergeant said, ``Yes, sir, we met a few times on the front lines of Korea.''

The general smiled and told the young sergeant to get in.

Respect. It doesn't know from rank or forgotten wars.

HONORING OUR VETERANS

Memorial Day activities are planned throughout the Valley.

Sunday

The Memorial Day Weekend Fair at Valley College at Coldwater Canyon Avenue and Burbank Boulevard in Van Nuys will end Sunday. The free event featuring carnival rides, games, vendors, food booths and live entertainment will run from noon to midnight.

The Topanga Days Country Fair at the Topanga Community House, 1440 N. Topanga Canyon Blvd., will be held from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Monday. The event featuring music, arts and crafts, children's games, food and storytelling costs $6.

The Best Friends Animal Sanctuary's Memorial Day benefit and family picnic will be held from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center at 480 Riverside Blvd. in Burbank. The event features fly ball and obstacle course demonstrations by the leaping wonders of the West Valley Dog Sports, animals available for adoption, games, jugglers and a veggie barbecue. For ticket information, call [phone].

The Festival of Flowers will be held at noon at Brand Park between San Fernando Mission and Brand boulevards in Mission Hills. The festival will include art exhibits, dance and musical performances, crafts and food booths.

Monday

The Canoga Park and West Hills Memorial Day Parade will start at 11 a.m. at Owensmouth Avenue in Canoga Park. The awards and flag presentation will take place at 1:30 p.m. at Canoga Park High School, 6850 Topanga Canyon Blvd.

The North Hollywood Post 307 American Legion will hold its annual Memorial Day ceremony at 10 a.m. at Valhalla Memorial Park at Victory and Cahuenga boulevards in North Hollywood.

The city of Burbank and the Burbank Veterans Commemoration Committee will hold Memorial Day ceremonies at 11 a.m. at the McCambridge Park war memorial, San Fernando Boulevard and Amherst Drive. This year's ceremony will commemorate World War I.

The city of Glendale and the Citizenship and Patriotism Committee of the Glendale Chamber of Commerce will hold Memorial Day ceremonies at 9:30 a.m. at the Veterans Memorial at City Hall, 633 E. Broadway. U.S. Rep. James Rogan will deliver remarks at the ceremony.

The Montrose-Verdugo Chamber of Commerce, along with the Montrose Park Association, will hold Memorial Day ceremonies at 8 a.m. at the Vietnam War memorial at Honolulu and Ocean View avenues in La Crescenta. After the service, breakfast will be served at VFW Post No. 1614 at 2837 Honolulu Ave. Donations for the breakfast are $2.50.

The West Los Angeles Healthcare Center will hold its Memorial Day program at 9 a.m. at the Los Angeles National Cemetery, 950 S. Sepulveda Blvd. The Tribute to Women's Veterans will be held at 9 a.m. with the program at 10 a.m. At 11 a.m., the vintage World War II Condor Squadron will fly over the cemetery. An audience of 2,000 is expected to witness the color guards, laying of flowers and firing of volleys, and to visit more than 84,000 graves.

A Memorial Day program will be held at 11 a.m. at Forest Lawn Memorial-Park, Hollywood Hills, 6300 Forest Lawn Drive. The program will feature a patriotic musical tribute highlighted by a presentation by the Blue Pacific Swing Band.

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, box

PHOTO (1 -- color) Korean War veterans Clyde H. Queen Sr., left, Joe Strifler and Roy Shiraga survived perhaps the deadliest battle in modern warfare.

Hans Gutknecht/Daily News

(2 -- color) no caption (Cub Scout with flag at cemetery)

Evan Yee/Daily News

BOX: HONORING OUR VETERANS (See text)