CHOSIN RESERVOIR - Saga of Epic Heroism

VFW Magazine ^ | Unknown | B. Gordon Wheeler

[SAMWolf]

Thanks for the Link.

[gunnyg]

Lotsa great Pics--1st Marine Division at Chosin!
CLICK-HERE!!!!!

[gunnyg]

One More
CLICK-HERE!!!!!

[SAMWolf]

Thnaks. Some great pics there.

[spunkets]

" The North Korean army would be pushed across the Yalu River. Korea would be unified under a non-Communist government in Seoul. Then everybody except a few military advisors for South Korea’s new army could go home." At first, the offensive went like clockwork."

There's a significant omission in this story. That is that the 10 Chinese Red divs. weren't supposed to be there according to some folks in DC. Officially what X corps and the 8th Army were facing was the NKPA, reports of the Red Chinese presence were dismissed as nonsence.

It was Smith and Puller in X corps that prepared for attack in all directions of movement, when on the move, that allowed the forces to defeat the enemy's plans. They didn't underestimate the enemy, that was the communists, and not limited to the NKPA.

"The first troops that hit us were wearing white camouflage uniforms..."

LOL. They were bedsheets and their insulation from the cold was heroin.

[xzins]

Hey, Spook, thanks for the ping.

I think I have a Chosin veteran in my church. He has 3 purple hearts from that war, believe it or not.

He testified at church the other night....He said, "The 3rd time I said, 'Lord, I can't take any more.'" He then went on to declare that the Lord spoke to him and said, "This'll be the last time."

He's a treasure in the church.

Z

[Semaphore Heathcliffe]

thanks Sparta

[SAMWolf]

Thanks for the bump and the pings, Sparta.

[Sparta]

Your welcome and thank you for posting this display of heroism. I just hope it's still there if we ever run into a similar situation again.

[SAMWolf]

The American soldier always seems to come through, even if the American politician doesn't.

[power2]

pgobrien said:

.....an often overlooked conflict, Korea.....1st of our "Police" actions and 1st of our defeats.....but not for lack of courage.

oh8eleven responded:

So you define Korea, the place where 54,246 American service men and women lost their lives as a "conflict?" Further, you suggest it was the "1st of our defeats."

I'd really like to know how you consider Korea a "defeat" and also what subsequent defeats you're referring to.

You're getting pissed off at the wrong guy. Our government chose to call this war a "conflict" to be politically correct, following UN policy and rules.

And although I'm not sure I would use the word "defeat", it sure as hell wasn't a victory. With the agreement of cessations of hostilities, we let an army that sucker punched us and attacked us at Chosin stay intact, and let them stay where they were to fight another day. What would you call that?

And, frankly, we are paying the price today. The end result wasn't a statement regarding our soldiers or their fighting spirit, or their tactics. It was about poor and/or cowardly decisions by the military and civilian leaders of that time. The millions of murdered people commited within the confines of the Chinese sphere attest to that; the threat we deal with today attests to that.

And how can anyone argue that the Vietnam war wasn't a defeat for our country? Again, not a defeat of our uniformed armed forces, but a defeat of the political leaders of that time (and thus the country as a whole).

The best way to prevent a repeat of past mistakes is to learn from them. To try to say the Korean War or the Vietnam Fiasco weren't "defeats" is a mistake. Americans don't enter a fight unless it is a worthy fight; therefore, to do anything less than following that fight through to victory is a mistake.

[dcwusmc]

bump

[pgobrien]

I use the word 'conflict' because Korea was the first time we didn't call it a "War". The politicians ran it, rather than the Military. We certainly did lose it. They still kill Americans with impunity at the Korean DMZ, hacking American Officers to death with no consequence....remember the Pueblo? We realy showed them on THAT one.
Viet Nam was another stirling example of a Police action that went bad. Awe inspiring pics of people being airlifted from our embassy in Saigon. You consider THAT one a victory? Maybe you meant Somalia - ask the SEALS and Rangers who won that one. It's not our Military that loses the fight it's the spineless civilian leadership. I don't write the history....I just report it.

[Lizard_King]

Frozen Chosin Bump!

The story of the Chosin Reservoir is often used to inspire candidates at OCS, and the part about the dead frozen Chinese being used to reinforce the new bridge is often left out for the sake of political correctness or something...but at least the Marines still tell it right.

[SAMWolf]

The Marines remain the least PC of the Services - God Bless em!

[Lizard_King]

That's because it is the only branch of the US military based around its culture, makes it largely invulnerable to the cultural messes that surround it. Semper Fi!

[Jen]

'Frozen Chosin' thread (pre-Foxhole). SAMWolf is going to do a thread on this for the Foxhole in the near future. Thanks for the suggestion. I look forward to your comments on it. Jen

[Jen]

Oooooops! Meant to ping 'Mystix' instead of 'Mystic'. Sorry.

'Frozen Chosin' thread (pre-Foxhole). SAMWolf is going to do a thread on this for the Foxhole in the near future. Thanks for the suggestion. I look forward to your comments on it. Jen

[Mystix]

bump

[photogirl]

wow