Korean War 'hutchies'

Bob Jagger's 'hutchie' in Korea.

Commentary about this image by Bob Jagger

Hutchies (Dig-in Huts)

‘Hutchie’ was the term we used to describe the homes we dug out and built for temporary shelter. A hutchie was to some degree the equivalent of the First World War dugout, although ours were perhaps less trench-like.

We were in hutchies more than in tents. We’d dig a few feet into the side of a bank to provide protection, and build up from there, using bags and empty ammunition boxes filled with soil. As the Korean War went on, we did not need to shift quite so much. We’d stay in one spot for a month or so and work from our hutchie base.

The word ‘hutchie’ was taken from the Japanese word for ‘house’, Uchi, which implies not simply a house, but the idea of a household.