My next door neighbor is in his 80s. He celebrated his 21st birthday in the battle of the Chosin Reservoir. He is a little guy, so the Marines made him a tank crewman.
He said the tanks had a terrible time getting up the narrow, icy, single-lane mountain pass road. He said a couple of tanks just slid off the road, down into the ravine.
I asked him how well his weapons worked in the cold. The Chinese attacked during the night. He became rather solemn, then he told me, the .50 cal machine gun on top of the tank was frozen solid, and wouldn't work when they needed it most.
The .30 cal machine gun was inside the tank with just the barrel sticking out, and it worked well.
Then he laughed, and said, "The cannon always worked!"
He said he helped bring badly wounded soldiers to an aid station. He saw some whose bloody wounds were completely frozen. When they warmed up in the aid tent their wounds thawed, and they quickly bled to death.
Your neighbor has my utmost respect.
THE CHAIR IS AGAINST THE WALL.
The Tikka T3 in .308 Winchester is the Glock 19 of the rifle world.
