April, 1951

Young Daniel Guerra had joined the United States Navy in 1948...he was just about to be discharged when the Korean War broke out in 1950. Over two hundred thousand North Korean troops invaded South Korea....it was a Cold War conflagration, the president at the time, Harry Truman, declared that all deferments were to be cancelled...so Daniel was stuck for another two years...he hated Truman for that....but, he did his duty...
One night, on board USS Severling, a destroyer...he heard the Buzzer, an "A-OOOO-GAH" sound over and over, and then, "General Quarters, General Quarters, Battle Stations, All Hands to your Stations!" Daniel manned his gunner's station....."Put these on!" his buddy told him, they were a pair of crude earplugs, they were about to bombard the port of Inchon in Korea...in a daring plan by General MacArthur, a D-Day type of operation.
The 105mm guns went off over and over, with a loud BOOM! each time, with an echoing report when the shells landed, for the rest of his life, Daniel never forgot the sound of those booms....especially during the 4th of July...
In the meantime, on the other side of the Korean penninsula, on board USS Oriskany, an aircraft carrier in the Sea of Japan, there was a young, brash machinist mate named Joe. In time, he and Daniel would become friends...and brothers in law...