The Frozen Chosin.
I had the honor of meeting one of the survivors. He was sent to the area within 10 days of arriving in Korea, it was his first deployment.
My recollection is they essentially had to fight their way down a 50 mile gravel road, surrounded by Chinese troops the entire way.
They left no one behind!
1. It wasn’t just American troops. The Brits were there, too.
2. Where do you get the notion they were untrained?
3. The UN forces at Chosin were also supported by one of the greatest concentrations of air power during the Korean War, per Wiki.
Bttt.
5.56mm
I and an older man were filling out forms in a doctors office years ago. I made some joke about lying about my age. He said “I lied about my age to join the Marines. I turned eighteen at Chosin Reservoir.” I said something like “Damn. What was that like?” He said “Well, there wasn’t any cake.” Then he changed the subject.
My father-in-law was there and carried shrapnel in his back until the day he died.
He told me more about what happened there than he ever told his daughter or his son.
My wife was astonished that he opened up to me as he had never wanted to talk about the war.
Unimaginable cold and millions of Chinese troops pouring across the border. Constant mortar and artillery fire.
It’s a war that’s been forgotten, but what these men did should never be forgotten.
I recommend reading up on Chosin for those who haven’t.
It’s literally incredible. If I didn’t know better I’d say it was fiction. Some of the most incessant, savage and heroic fighting, under the most impossible and painful conditions, ever.
Ever.
FIL was at Chosin. RIP
Well said.
Good bless the survivors and those who have passed on.
the more i learn about korea,the less i like macarthur. his disregard for real intelligence, and his insistence in his own infallibility led to the deaths of far too many troops
I worked with a retired Sgt. Major who was a Gy. Sgt. in the 1st Division
in that battle.
The Chinese and Russians were frantic to drive the Americans away
from the Fusen, Chosin and the other reservoir (forgot the name) as they
were built as electricity sources by a Japanese tycoon in the 1920s
and the power was later being used in the separators for the Japanese
atom bomb project. The Reds took over the uranium processing
equipment from the Japs and were determined not to lose anything.
They threw EIGHT Chinese divisions against the 1st Marine Division.
BTW, when the Japs set off their own test bomb in the Sea of Japan
shortly after Nagasaki that was another prompt for Stalin declare war
on Japan.
.....Chosin isn’t the real name of the place. U.S. military leaders got that from old maps drawn by the Japanese......
A long time ago I use to collect antique world globes, Since globes are not dated one has to look at the countries of that time period to figure out the dates. Korea is one of those countries I would look at, If Korea was labeled or named Chosin then the globe was showing the occupation of Korea by the Japanese, which would make the globe about the same time as WWII or before it. Actually at the moment on the top of my head I do not know when the Japanese invaded Korea, and the map companies starting labeling the country Chosin but I would probably guess around the mid 20's to late 20's,
This article makes me so sad. My uncle was there. This will be the first reunion he will miss. He has been put in an assisted living facility and his Alzheimer’s makes it impossible for him to be there. We tried to figure it out, but couldn’t.
He also lied about his age to enter the Marines. He wanted to play basketball and they had traveling squads. While up in Alaska, playing, he was told that he would be shipping out for Korea in 2 days. No boot camp, no training of any kind. He learned to shoot a rifle on the ship’s passage. He used to tell amazing tales to his children and nieces and nephews, their children and their children.
Good news in that we do still have him but for how long is not for us to know.
While an entirely fictional account, The Vicar of Christ, by Walter F. Murry, https://www.amazon.com/Vicar-Christ-Walter-F-Murphy/dp/1610272846 gives an excellent description of the battle.
Very intriguing book!
Bump for later. Thanks
I’m glad I don’t learn my history from FreeRepublic posts. For a good history about the Korean War try David Douglas Duncan’s photo history entitled “This Is War.” Many classic photos!