The FReeper Foxhole Remembers The Chosin Reservoir, Korea (Nov-Dec,1950)

Faith’s Breakout

After four nights and five days of mounting casualties with no relief or rescue in sight, Faith decided the 31st RCT would fight its way out. He radioed Smith at Hagaru-ri and asked for support. MacArthur and Barr also had talked to Smith about sending a team to rescue the 31st RCT (which had become known as Task Force Faith). But Smith’s situation was not much better. Under constant enemy attack, he had everyone — including cooks and engineers — on the line holding the perimeter. Diverting support to the east would probably spell the loss of Hagaru-ri, which in turn would mean the end of the 5th and 7th Marines. Faith was on his own.

Faith’s plan was to move out as soon as air support was available Dec. 1. Clouds kept the unit in place until around 1 p.m., leaving less than four hours of daylight. The breakout moved quickly at first, then came under heavy fire and hit enemy roadblocks. Young officers pulled even younger soldiers together to continue the fight. NCOs like Cpl. George Pryor (the units were so jumbled up, the men thought he was a captain) rallied soldiers looking for leaders. It was the only way they would get out alive.

Command and control were lost, and Task Force Faith was fighting its way out in small pieces. Lending to the confusion, communication was by voice only — Stamford had the only working radio, and his was feverishly calling for air strikes and support. Ammo was low. Pilots tried to resupply the column, but some air drops drifted over to the enemy. Bullets rained down on the column. Soldiers took cover and returned fire as best they could, but they were surrounded. Stamford continued to call in air strikes, with the enemy so close that some Americans were hit by napalm.

After about 4 miles, the column halted. The lead drivers were dead. Faith lay in a jeep dying, and his task force died with him. Organization broke down, and it was every man for himself. The enemy continued to close and kept firing. Officers and soldiers grabbed what wounded they could and fought their way out of what had become a death trap. Some played dead and escaped later. Those who did not get out were killed or captured.

Many who made it out headed across the frozen, unprotected Chosin Reservoir. Over the next several days, hundreds walked, crawled, or were dragged across the ice to the Marines’ perimeter 4 1/2 miles away at Hagaru-ri. A group of Marine volunteers and a Navy hospital corpsman led by Marine 1st Motor Transport Battalion Commander Lt. Col. Olin Beall spent several days out on the ice; they brought in about 320 soldiers in two days.

Some members of Task Force Faith made it to Hagaru-ri on their own. One survivor, 1st Lt. John Gray, remembers a vigilant and suspicious Marine at the perimeter asking him for the password. After days of combat on the other side of the reservoir, who knew? The sergeant then asked Gray the location of several cities such as Dubuque, Des Moines, and Sioux City. Luckily, Gray knew his geography, and he and his men were welcomed into the perimeter.

A total of about 1,050 of 31st RCT’s 2,500 had survived. About 385 were considered able-bodied and fought at Hagaru-ri and all the way to the sea. Barr, devastated by the loss of his men, was relieved of command shortly after Chosin. Many Army veterans believe that if the 31st RCT had not held and engaged two Chinese divisions for nearly five days, those fresh enemy units could have been deployed against the Marines at Hagaru-ri — potentially disastrous for the 1st Marine Division. This is disputed by Marines.

Attack in Another Direction

Meanwhile, Smith had heard about MacArthur’s order to withdraw on Nov. 30 and reportedly huffed, “It took them two days to decide this.” He ordered his 5th and 7th Marines to pull back to Hagaru-ri. This would not be easy: They were still surrounded at Yudam-ni, and the MSR was interrupted and full of enemy soldiers.

A reporter with Smith in Hagaru-ri labeled the Marine operation a retreat. Smith patiently explained that because they were surrounded and there was no rear, “retreat” was inaccurate: They would have to fight their way out. People back home read, “Retreat, hell, we’re just attacking in another direction.” Though not in Smith’s style, this was the perfect description of the Marines’ problem and their solution, and he never denied the quote.

The reporters also wanted time with the legendary Puller, who obliged with a highly quotable assessment of the situation: “We’ve been looking for the enemy for several days now. We finally found them. We’re surrounded. That simplifies our problem of finding these people and killing them.”

Back at Yudam-ni, Murray and Litzenburg decided to move by road during the day. Daylight gave them the advantage of air and artillery support. During the days and nights of battle, Barber and his company were alone (except for the enemy) at Toktong Pass. For the movement south, the pass had to be held, and Marine Lt. Col. Raymond G. Davis’ 1st Battalion, 7th Marines was going to relieve Barber and secure it.

Davis and his men were the first unit out of Yudam-ni. They traveled over the rough, steep terrain in dark, bitter cold — something the Chinese would not expect — and made it undetected by the enemy. Davis found that Barber and his men had held for five days despite relentless attacks. Casualties were high: Of 200 men, 26 had been killed, 89 wounded, and three were missing. Air drops of ammo proved invaluable.

Once Davis’ men secured Toktong Pass, the 5th and 7th fought their way to Hagaru-ri. It took them 79 hours to travel 14 miles carrying the wounded and most of their equipment, but on Dec. 3, they entered the Hagaru-ri perimeter. Prisoner-of-war (POW) interrogations — extremely reliable at this point in the war — indicated at least seven CCF divisions near Hagaru-ri. The Chinese knew its strategic location was key to Marine Corps success breaking out.

Once in Hagaru-ri, the 5th, 7th, and other units rested, regrouped, and prepared for their next move, south to Koto-ri. Air Force C-46s and C-47s and other U.N. aircraft began evacuation of about 4,300 wounded and frostbite victims. Smith gave the dead priority, which again outraged Almond, though Smith was adamant that fallen Marines held a special place and would be flown out first. About 140 were flown to Japan, while more than 500 replacement combat Marines were flown in.

Koto-ri, Fuchilin, Hungnam

On Dec. 6, the men at Hagaru-ri began their 9-mile, 38-hour fight to Koto-ri. Despite CCF control of the road and many roadblocks, the lead units moved through and kept the road open for Hagaru-ri’s rear guard. About 10,000 men and 1,000 vehicles reached the relative safety of Koto-ri. Once within the Koto-ri perimeter, most of the 1st Marine Division again was reunited. More wounded were evacuated from the Koto-ri airstrip, and X Corps prepared for the 43-mile fight to the sea.

Chinese pows revealed that Fuchilin Pass would be the site of a major enemy attack. A CCF division lay in wait, three other CCF divisions were in the area, and another two were held in reserve. Lt. Col. Donald M. Schmuck’s 1st Battalion, 1st Marines holding Chinhung-ni was rested and ready to go. On the snowy night of Dec. 8, they surprised the Chinese.

Fuchilin Pass was the enemy’s last major offensive during the Chosin campaign. The CCF had overextended its supply lines, and its soldiers were suffering from the cold and lack of food. The enemy would continue to launch minor assaults, but they were minimal compared to the force with which the CCF struck at the reservoir.

Smith and his men reached Hungnam on Dec. 11, and by Dec. 15, Navy ships transported them south. Smith’s insight and careful, deliberate style made him the ideal commanding general for Chosin. He was fortunate to have talented, experienced leadership from Puller, Murray, Litzenburg, Davis, and others. While his men fought together like a machine, it was his uncommon understanding of the situation — and a certain amount of luck — that ensured the story of Chosin Reservoir would become part of American military lore.

In the mountainous terrain of North Korea during sub-zero winter conditions, along and in the hills surrounding a primitive road barely wide enough for a single modern vehicle to pass, the battle of Chosin Reservoir took place. It has been termed by historians as the most savage battle in modern warfare.

Chosin Reservoir campaign began on November 27 at Yudam-ni with Chinese Communist action against the 5th and 7th Marine Regiments on the west side of the reservoir. On the 28th, the battle commenced throughout the 1st Marine Division sector.

Approximately 20,000 allied troops (about 17,000 of them men of the 1st Marine Division) were attacked by 120,000 CCF whose orders were to annihilate the allies "to the last man."

This fierce, bloody battle, unparalleled in modern history, resulted in 15,000 allied casualties. 2,500 were killed in action, 5,000 were wounded in action, and 7,500 suffered severe frostbite and cold injuries. The enemy forces endured crippling losses. 40,000 were dead, and thousands more were down with wounds and frostbite.

The 1st Marine Division and attached units fought their way back into action a month later, while seven of the ten CCF divisions never entered combat again during the Korean War.

Please visit the Bob-West Site. It's an excellent site covering the Korean War and has exceptional photos available.

Additional Sources:

www.bob-west.com
www.army.mil
www.chosin.com
www.vfw.org
www.chosinreservoir.com

'We’ve been looking for the enemy for several days now. We finally found them. We’re surrounded. That simplifies our problem of finding these people and killing them.'

-- Col. Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller

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On This Day In History

Birthdates which occurred on April 07:
1506 St Francis Xavier Jesuit missionary to India, Malaya, & Japan
1770 William Wordsworth England, poet laureate (The Prelude)
1775 Francis C Lowell founded 1st raw cotton-to-cloth textile mill
1780 William Ellery Channing US, Unitarian clergyman
1786 William Rufus DeVane King (D) 13th VP (1853)
1859 Walter Camp Ct, father of American football (Yale)
1860 W K Kellogg a real corn flake
1869 David Grandison Fairchild US, botanist/explorer, brought plants to US
1872 William Monroe Trotter famous African
1889 Gabriela Mistral Chilean poet (Desolaci¢n, Tenderness) (Nobel 1945)
1896 Benny Leonard lightweight boxing champ (1917-25)
1897 Walter Winchell Harlem NYC, newscaster/columnist (Untouchables)
19-- Elaine Mille actress (Marilyn-Northern Exposure)
19-- Morris Johnson Jr drag race car driver
19-- Shane rocker (Electric Angels-I Believe, Whiplash)
1900 Tebbs Lloyd Johnson England, 50K walker (Olympic-bronze-1952)
1908 Percy Faith conductor (Summer Place)
1915 Billie Holiday [Eleanora Fagan], Balt, singer (Aint Nobodys Business)
1915 Henry Kuttner American writer (Startling Worlds of Henry Kuttner)
1917 R.G. Armstrong Birmingham Ala, actor (T.H.E. Cat)
1918 Peanuts Hucko Syracuse NY, dixieland clarinetist (Lawrence Welk Show)
1918 Ronald Howard Norwood England, actor (Naked Edge, Africa-Texas Style)
1919 Edoardo Mangiarotti Italy, ‚p‚e (Olympic-gold-1952)
1919 Ralph Flanagan Loraine Ohio, orch leader (Let's Dance)
1920 Ravi Shankar Benares India, sitar player (Sounds of India)
1924 Nick Perito Denver Colo, orch leader (Don Knotts Show, Big Show)
1928 Alan J Pakula director (All the President's Men, Klute)
1928 James Garner Norman Okla, actor (Rockford Files, Bret Maverick)
1930 Andrew Sachs actor (Manuel-Fawlty Towers)
1931 Daniel Ellsberg Pentagon whistleblower, patriot
1931 Donald Barthelme Phila Pa, writer (Snow White, Sadness)
1933 Wayne Rogers Birmingham Ala, actor (M*A*S*H, House Calls, Chiefs)
1934 Ian Richards Edinburgh Scotland, actor (Montgomery-Ike)
1935 Hodding Carter III press secretary (Jimmy Carter)
1938 Edmund (Jerry) Brown Jr (Gov-D-Cal), Linda Ronstadt's boyfriend
1938 Freddie Hubbard Indianapolis, jazz trumpeter (Art Blakey)
1938 Yvonne Lime Glendale Calif, actress (Father Knows Best, Dobie Gillis)
1939 David Frost Tenderdon England, TV host (That Was the Week That Was)
1939 Donald L Holmquest Dallas Texas, astronaut
1939 Francis Ford Coppola film maker (Godfather, Apocalypse Now)
1943 Mick Abrahams rock guitarist (Jethro Tull-Thick as a Brick)
1943 Roberta Shore Monterrey Park, Calif, actress/singer (Virginian)
1943 Spencer Dryden rocker (Jefferson Airplane-Go Ask Alice)
1946 Bill Kreutzmann drummer (Grateful Dead-Touch of Grey)
1949 John Oates guitarist/vocalist (Hall & Oates-Rich Girl)
1950 Janis Ian [Janis Fink], NYC, folk singer (Society's Child, At 17)
1952 Bruce Gary drummer (Knack-My Sharona)
1953 Everard Endt US, yachting (Olympic-gold-1952)
1954 Tony Dorsett NFL running back (Dallas Cowboys)
1958 Alexandra Neil Boston, actress (Rose-Guiding Light)
1958 Tony Aire rocker (Adventures-Sea of Love)
1960 Simon Climie rock vocalist/keyboardist (Climie Fisher-Love Changes)
1966 Teri Ann Linn Honolulu Hawaii, actress (Kristen-Bold & Beautiful)

Deaths which occurred on April 07:
30 Jesus crucified by Roman troops in Jerusalem (scholars' estimate)
1614 El Greco Spanish painter, dies (birth date unknown)
1891 PT Barnum circus showman (Barnum & Bailey), dies at 80
1934 William Monroe Trotter dies at 62 in Boston
1961 Marian Jordan radio comedienne (Fibber McGee & Molly), dies at 62
1968 Jim Clark of Scotland, former world driving champ, dies in race car
1972 "Crazy" Joe Gallo mobster, killed at his 43rd birthday party
1976 Mary Margaret McBride TV hostess (Mary Margaret McBride), dies at 76
1982 Brenda Benet actress, commits suicide by gun at 36
1983 Gavin Gordon television actor, dies at 82
1984 Samuel C Engel screenwriter, dies of heart failure at 79

Reported: MISSING in ACTION

1965 BAKER ARTHUR D. SAN ANTONIO TX.
LAST SEEN ON DIVE THRU THIN CLOUDS

1965 LEWIS JAMES W. MARSHALL TX.
LAST SEEN ON DIVE THRU THIN CLOUDS

1965 ROARK WILLIAM MARSHALL BELLEVUE NE.
REMAINS NOT RETURNED AS REPORTED 03/77 BODY RECOVERED??USG REPORTS REMAINS ID 3/77

1966 BARNETT ROBERT RUSSELL GLADEWATER TX.

1966 WALKER THOMAS TAYLOR TOLEDO OR.

1968 MC MURRAY FRED H. JR. CHARLESTON SC.

1972 CARLSON ALBERT E. SAN LORENZO CA.
02/12/73 RELEASED BY PRG ALIVE IN 98

1972 LULL HOWARD B. JR. DALLAS TX.
EVADED TO XT7297 WHERE KILLED

1972 POTTS LARRY F. SMYRNA .DE
"CAPTURED, DIED IN QUANG BIHN"

1972 SMITH MARK A. LIMA OH.
02/12/73 RELEASED BY PRG ALIVE AND WELL 98

1972 SCHOTT RICHARD S. ST CROIX VI.
KILLED IN BUNKER AT XU731081

1972 WALKER BRUCE C. PUEBLO CO.
"EVADED 11 DAYS, NVA APPROACHING"

1972 WALLINGFORD KENNETH HOUSTON TX.
02/12/73 RELEASED BY PRG ALIVE AND WELL 98

POW / MIA Data & Bios supplied by the P.O.W. NETWORK. Skidmore, MO. USA.

On this day...
30 Scholars' reckon Jesus crucified by Roman troops in Jerusalem
1652 Dutch establish settlement at Cape Town, S Africa
1712 Slave revolt (NYC)
1788 1st settlement in Ohio, at Marietta
1798 Territory of Mississippi organized
1831 Dom Pedro abdicates to son, Dom Pedro II crowned emperor of Brazil
1862 Grant defeats Confederates at Battle of Shiloh, Tenn
1862 H P Tuttle discovers asteroid #73 Klytia
1862 Island #10 falls after long siege, Battle of Shiloh
1880 V Knorre discovers asteroid #215 Oenone
1888 Start of Sherlock Holmes adventure "Yellow Face" (BG)
1891 Nebraska introduces the 8 hour work day
1922 Naval Reserve #3, "Teapot Dome," leased to Harry F Sinclair
1926 Forest fire burns 900 acres & kills 2 (San Luis Obispo Calif)
1927 Using phone lines TV is sent from Wash DC to NYC
1928 44-yr old NY Ranger GM Lester Patrick replaces his injured goaltender
in a Stanley Cup game, & beats Montreal Maroons 2-1
1931 Seals Stadium opens in SF
1933 Prohibition ends, Utah becomes 38th state to ratify 21st Amendment
1933 University Bridge, Seattle opens for traffic
1939 Italy annexes Albania
1940 Jimmy Demeret beats Lloyd Mangrum for the Masters
1943 NFL adopts free substitution rule
1946 Part of East Prussia incorporated into Russian SFSR
1948 Rogers & Hammerstein's "South Pacific" opens on Broadway
1948 World Health Organization established by UN
1949 "South Pacific" opens at Majestic Theater (for 1925 performances)
1951 American Bowling Congress begins 1st masters tournament
1951 Ben Hogan wins Masters golf tournament
1953 1st west-to-east jet transatlantic nonstop flight
1953 Dag Hammarskj”ld of Sweden elected 2nd UN general-secretary
1953 J A Bruwer discovers asteroid #1660 Wood
1953 K Reinmuth discovers asteroids 2214 Carol, 2278, 2652 Yabuuti & 2806
1956 Philadelphia beats Fort Wayne, 4 games to 1, for the NBA championship
1956 Spain relinquishes her protectorate in Morocco
1959 Radar 1st bounced off sun, Stanford Calif
1963 Jack Nicklaus wins 1st Masters golf tournament
1963 Yugoslavia proclaimed a Socialistic republic
1966 US recovers lost H-bomb from Mediterranean floor (whoops!)
1967 Progressive Rock radio begins-KMPX-FM, San Francisco
1970 J A Bruwer discovers asteroid #1794 Finsen
1977 Consumer Product Safety Comn bans "TRIS" flame-retardant
1978 Pres Carter defers production of the neutron bomb
1979 Henri La Mothe dives 28' into 12 3/8" of water
1979 Houston Astro Ken Forsch no-hits Atlanta Braves, 6-0
1979 Islander's Mike Bossy scores 4 goals against Flyers
1980 Jimmy Carter breaks relations with Iran during hostage crisis
1981 Willem Klein mentally extracts 13th root of a 100-digit # in 29 sec
1982 Penguins 1-Isles 8-Preliminary-Isles hold 1-0 lead
1983 Caps 4-Isles 2-Patrick Div Semifinals-series tied 1-1
1983 STS-6 specialist Story Musgrave & Don Peterson 1st STS spacewalk
1983 WIBC Championship Tournament in Las Vegas, attracts 75,480
women bowlers for 83-day event
1984 Detroit Tiger Jack Morris no-hits Chicago White Sox, 4-0
1985 1st live telecast of Easter Parade
1987 Al Campanis, Dodger executive for more than 40 years, resigns,
after making racial remarks on "Nightline"
1988 Devils 3-2 over Isles, 1st round tied 1-1
1989 NY Supreme Court takes America's Cup away from SD Yacht Club for
1989 Soviet sub sinks in Norweign Sea, with about a dozen deaths
using a catamaran against NZ. Appeals court eventually overrules
1990 Farm Aid IV concert
1990 John Poindexter (Natl Sec Advisor) found guilty on Iran-Contra scandal
1990 Michael Milken pleads innocent to security law violations
1990 NY Rangers beat NY Islanders 5-2, Rangers lead 2-0 in preliminary
Fire kills 110 on a ferry in Norway, in an unrelated event, 30 die
in a ferry flip over in Burma
1991 George Washington Bridge raises toll from $3.00 to $4.00
1991 Wrestlemania VII scheduled in LA, actually performed 03/24

Holidays
Note: Some Holidays are only applicable on a given "day of the week"

China : Ching Ming - families gather at graves of ancestors
Yugoslavia : Republic Day (1963)
Haiti : World Health Day (1948)
Switzerland : Glarius Festival (1388) - - - - - ( Thursday )
Mass : Student Government Day - - - - - ( Friday )

Religious Observances
Orthodox : Annunciation of Mary (3/25 OS)
RC : Mem of St John Baptist de la Salle, priest, patron of teachers

Religious History
1541 Spanish founder of the Jesuits Francis Xavier, 35, and three friends set sail from Lisbon, Portugal for Goa. They became the first Roman Catholic missionaries to travel to India.
1628 Jonas Michaelius, 51, arrived in New Amsterdam (New York City), the first minister of the Dutch Reformed Church to come to America.
1884 Birth of C. H. Dodd, English clergyman and Bible scholar. Dodd became the most influential British New Testament scholar of the mid-20th century, and penned over a dozen books, including "The Parables of the Kingdom" (1934).
1953 Swedish statesman Dag Hammarskjld, 47, was elected Secretary General of the United Nations. Hammarskjld endeared himself to Christians, after his death in 1961, through the 1964 publication of his spiritual journal, "Markings."
1968 In a letter penned during his 83rd and final year of life, Karl Barth wrote: 'How one learns to be thankful for each day on which one can still do something.'

Thought for the day :
"Cheap things are of no value, valuable things are not cheap."

Puller had some great quotes, a real Marine's Marine.

"Our Country won't go on forever, if we stay soft as we are now. There won't be any AMERICA because some foreign soldiery will invade us and take our women and breed a hardier race!" -LT. GEN. LEWIS "CHESTY" PULLER, USMC

"Son, if they give you any shit, level the place." Orders to a company commander

1891 Nebraska introduces the 8 hour work day

I'm still waiting for the 8 hour work week.

"Son, if they give you any shit, level the place." Orders to a company commander

Now THOSE are orders that an artilleryman loves to hear.

Wish we could 'clone' a couple thousand of officers like that.
Heck, after Clinton, we need 'em. Still.

Excellent poem today, Cote. That'll bring a tear to your eye.

FALL IN to the FReeper Foxhole!

To be removed from this list, please send me a blank private reply with "REMOVE" in the subject line! Thanks! Jen

BTTT!!!!!

Present and Accounted For!

My half brother was an arty forward observer with the 7th Marines at Chosin.

Later, he called in fire from the U.S.S. Missouri.

Walt

Good Afternoon, Jen