War: Korean War, 1950-1953
Branch: Marine Corps
Unit: 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division
Service Location: Camp Pendleton, California; Korea
Paul Steppe, a Marine infantry corporal serving in Korea, saw fierce action, punctuated by long nights when he and his foxhole buddies alternated two-hour watches. Wounded by a grenade on Christmas Eve 1951, Steppe was evacuated to a hospital, narrowly escaping death when his transport plane lost its landing gear on takeoff. In his memoirs, An Everlasting Watch, Steppe notes that American troops are still “on watch” in the Korean peninsula, his war’s resolution still incomplete.
We honor you, Paul Steppe.
