[SAMWolf]

The following are exclusively the writings of the men of the 31st RCT. Stating details of the battle or their own opinion about the battle at the Chosin Reservoir.

-Since the ARMY RECORDS of the fight at Chosin were stamped "Secret " for 40 yrs, there was much confusion about awards. Back then Washington and politicians didn't want info out on our lack of winter gear, support, bad corps, HQ plans, and most of all, our losses (heads would roll).ER

-Only from RECORDS OBTAINED FROM THE CHINESE did we find that our 2 short handed 1/2 ROK infantry battlions (+ part of an artillery bn & part of an AAA company) outfought the 80 & 81 CCF divisions that were reinforced by other CCF units brought over from the Fusen Reservoir area, for 5 nights and 4 days. After Chosin these CCF divisions were not able to go into combat because we had chewed them up. ER

-I am what's left of 3PLT/K/31ST. Robertson and Francious are the only Chosin men living who saw me in combat. My buddy was Forest Polling. Others in the Platoon I remember are Johnson, Rodriguez, Seaborn, Chavez, King, Margan, Cox, Conforti, Kelly.

-31st I Co
-MEDINA was a medic that was wounded at the big road block but was still treating the wounded (he got a silver star).FS

-LEWIS SHANNON was in a group of 5 or 6 who led me and a large group of wounded from the road block where Col Faith was killed to Hagaru-ri. FS

-Spent most of my time with MAJOR STORMS. Major Storms and I left Chosin in the withdrawal together, and we got separated after a couple miles. Didn't know he was dead until I read the book. DM

-I didn't know that LTC FAITH had moved his unit into ours until after I read East of Chosin. DM

-I saw LTC REILLY lst while he was propped up against one of the buildings after he was wounded, and I was stringing a telephone wire from the switchboard to the Command Post, and he looked up at me and kept his eyes on me while I was doing it. He looked so helpless and that was upsetting to me, I wondered who was running the show. DM

-LTC REILLY was wounded in the legs with MG fire, shrapnel from grenades thrown in the window (3 BN CP), put out of action when a concussion grenade exploded against his forehead. 28 Nov refused to leave his men while they were engaged with ChiCom. Gen Barr had to fly in with an observation plane and order him to let the men put him on. Now deceased, he was one very brave man and we were lucky to have him as BN CO. ER

-31ST I CO TONY MEDINO was killed in a fox hole with me, GORDON LEE, the mail clerk and DOMINICK CATALDO were also in the same hole. GORDON LEE was wounded and made it home, I never saw TONY MEDINO or DOMINICK CATALDO again. ROBERT STAFFORD and TONY MEDINO, left behind or possibly on a truck that did not make it out.MM 31st

-CAPTAIN MARR, I COMPANY commanding officer, my self and TOM J. MORRIS (POW), who was firing a machine gun from the hip. We three were the last men coming out of the chosin reservoir from the 31st RCT. MM 31st

-I remember a statement that Walter Winchell made in 1951. I think was the same chaplain that made the statement about the 7th DIV, he was court marshalled for FALSE STATEMENTS HE MADE AGAINST THE 31st RCT. MM 31st

-When I got bck to the Marine base, a tank commander told us you are lucky we did not open fire on you people. (I had been wounded 2 times and had frozen feet.) I told the Sgt that the war was where we were and why they did not help us get out. The MARINES DID NOT KNOW we were in front of them. MM 31st

-One thing that no one ever points out - if the 7thID men at Chosin had not stayed and held as long as they did the Marines may not have gotten out of that area. More men from the 7TH ID WERE LOST BECAUSE THEY HELD rather than withdrawing to Hagaru sooner as they should of done. Further note that they should have taken to the ice on the reservoir and many more may have gotten out easier. After the withdrawing convoy broke up most of the men that came out went out via the ice. But what may have been is rather late. JN, 57th FA

-No one mentions the fact that there was a FULL MOON. The moon was so bright you could only move when the moon went behind the clouds, or else the Chinese would fire at you. You had to be perfectly still. If you moved, chances are you got hit or killed. WS 31st, I Co

-...Add the snow ending and a FULL MOON to light the area for your final withdrawal, that advantage not so much in your favor but the enemy that controls the night and a final and fatal road block against you. Your lack of adequate ammunition to defend yourself, not alone to aid the column of hundreds of wounded placed in trucks. RV, 57th FA

-In South Korea we had been told about the NORTH KOREANS INFILTRATING OUR LINES wearing American uniforms obtained from captured or killed American soldiers. Just having these ROK's in our area and our uniforms mase us jittery. In the Task Force MacLean Faith area at Chosin it was highly confused situation. In the consolidated perimeter we were forced to defend, all the battalions were mixed together. RV, 57th FA

-One of the safeguards we observed in Korea-as in all wars-was the assigned daily USE OF PASSWORDS, those picked at random and designed to make it difficult for the Koreans or Chinese to pronounce. Examples would be Helter-reply-Skelter; Abraham-reply-Lincoln; Cairo-reply-Egypt, etc. So problems other army divisions had would be multiplied one-third for our division, plus that reality, that we could be more easily infiltrated by North Koreans dressed in acquired army uniforms, by no means a reassuring situation. RV, 57th FA
-INCHON-Here the 7th Division was doing what the Marine command would not do later at Chosin, split two regiments by miles, one heading north, the other heading south, the regiment unable to secure its own flanks. AlmOnd was indeed spreading us thin. RV, 57th FA

-Then I was able to tell them of the very brave men I was priviliged to serve with in Korea; of the CCF EXECUTING THE WOUNDED when NOT ONE pleaded for mercy or showed the CCF and fear. ER, 31st K Co

-But some (ROK's) were valuable without question, as one with our small group after the break-up of the Task Force Faith at Hudong-ni, on the early morning hours of December 2, 1950, many men would die this night. The Korean taking shelter in a hut with some of us survivors went out for assistance and brought back an elderly North Korean couple, they brought us some food and broth-dog soup-the woman making a sling for my injured arm, and provided information of the Chinese in the area, with some of that information the South Korean could point the way around the enemy strongholds onto the ice of the Chosin Reservoir. RV, 57th FA

-Of the 'ICE MARINES' who went up to 11 miles into enemy areas on and around the reservoir ice rescueing 350 severly wounded and bringing them back. ER, 31st K Co

-Of LT COL OLIN BEALE AND PFC RALPH MILTON picking me off the ice (under enemy fire but not a flinch) and giving me a jeep ride to a hospital plane. ER, 31st K Co

-The only problem was reloading with COLD numb hands. Changjin Journal 10/29/00 HB

-CONDITION OF 3BN 31ST TROOPS. (Before Chosin) They had just covered a 140 mile, 2 day, non- stop march through high mountains on PM of 27SEP. The last 11 miles Hagaru-ri to the "Inlet" troops froze in the open back of marine 6X trucks, then climbed the ridge to dig in at dusk. That night the exhausted men at the inlet were 'greeted' by the CCF. ER, 31st K Co

-HOW CHINESE ATTACKED, American positions, came running in mass, spread only a few yards apart, yelling and screaming, "GI surrender," making noise with bugles and whistles, and continued to come, running over their own dead and wounded until they were killed. LS, 31st I Co

-I Company was caught in an ambush when it was moving in pursuit of the enemy at such speed that it could not put out flank guards. LS, 31st I Co

[SAMWolf]

Thanksgiving Proclamations

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THANKSGIVING DAY 1863

By the President of the United States : a Proclamation

...In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign states to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere, except in the theater of military conflict, while that theater has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union...

...I do therefore invite my fellow-citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN

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THANKSGIVING DAY 1898

By the President of the United States : a Proclamation

...The skies have been for a time darkened by the cloud of war, but as we were compelled to take up the sword in the cause of humanity we are permitted to rejoice that the conflict has been of brief duration and the losses we have had to mourn, though grievous and important, have been so few, considering the great results accomplished, as to inspire us with gratitude and praise to the Lord of Hosts...

WILLIAM McKINLEY

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THANKSGIVING 1917

By the President of the United States : a Proclamation

It has long been the honored custom of our people to turn in the fruitful autumn of the year in praise and thanksgiving to Almighty God for His many blessings and mercies to us as a nation. That custom we can follow now even in the midst of the tragedy of a world shaken by war and immeasurable disaster, in the midst of sorrow and great peril, because even amidst the darkness that has gathered about us we can see the great blessings God has bestowed upon us, blessings that are better than mere peace of mind and prosperity of enterprise.

WOODROW WILSON

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THANKSGIVING DAY, 1943

By the President of the United States : a Proclamation

God’s help to us has been great in this year of march towards world-wide liberty. In brotherhood with warriors of other United Nations our gallant men have won victories, have freed our homes from fear, have made tyranny tremble, and have laid the foundation for freedom of life in a world which will be free. Our forges and hearths and mills have wrought well; and our weapons have not failed. Our farmers, Victory gardeners, and crop volunteers have gathered and stored a heavy harvest in the barns and bins and cellars. Our total food production for the year is the greatest in the annals of our country...

FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT

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THANKSGIVING DAY, 1953

By the President of the United States : a Proclamation

As a Nation much blessed, we feel impelled at harvest time to follow the tradition handed down by our Pilgrim fathers of pausing from our labors for one day to render thanks to Almighty God for His bounties. Now that the year is drawing to a close, once again it is fitting that we incline our thoughts to His mercies and offer to Him our special prayers of gratitude... Especially are we grateful this year for the truce in battle-weary Korea, which gives to anxious men and women throughout the world the hope that there may now be an enduring peace.

DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER

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THANKSGIVING DAY, 1967

By the President of the United States : a Proclamation

...Over the years, we have made Thanksgiving a unique national occasion. Thanking God for His goodness, we thank Him as well for the promise and achievement of America. Our reasons for gratitude are almost without number.... Much as we are grateful for these material and spiritual blessings, we are conscious, in this year, of special sorrows and disappointments. We are engaged in a painful conflict in Asia, which was not of our choosing, and in which we are involved in fidelity to a sacred promise to help a nation which has been the victim of aggression. We are proud of the spirit of our men who are risking their lives on Asian soil. We pray that their sacrifice will be redeemed in an honorable peace and the restoration of a land long torn by war...

LYNDON B. JOHNSON

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THANKSGIVING DAY, 1991

By the President of the United States : a Proclamation

...As we continue the Thanksgiving tradition, a tradition cherished by every generation of Americans, we reflect in a special way on the blessings of the past year. When this Nation and its coalition partners took up arms in a last-resort effort to repel aggression in the Persian Gulf, we were spared the terrible consequences of a long and protracted struggle. Indeed, the millions of people who prayed for a quick end to the fighting saw those prayers answered with a swiftness and certainty that exceeded all expectations. During the past year, we have also witnessed the demise of communism and welcomed millions of courageous people into the community of free nations.

GEORGE BUSH

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THANKSGIVING DAY, 2003

By the President of the United States : a Proclamation

....America is a land of abundance, prosperity, and hope. We must never take for granted the things that make our country great: a firm foundation of freedom, justice, and equality; a belief in democracy and the rule of law; and our fundamental rights to gather, speak, and worship freely.

These liberties do not come without cost. Throughout history, many have sacrificed to preserve our freedoms and to defend peace around the world. Today, the brave men and women of our military continue this noble tradition. These heroes and their loved ones have the gratitude of our Nation.

GEORGE W. BUSH

[snippy_about_it]

FALL IN to the FReeper Foxhole!



Good Thursday Morning Everyone



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[snippy_about_it]

Happy Thanksgiving SAM !

[snippy_about_it]

This Thanksgiving, after reading this account of these many lives lost and wounded and such confusion on the battlefield (this was their Thanksgiving), I am reminded to be thankful for these men. Because of them and others I sit here warm and peaceful at home.

Thank you SAM for bringing this important story of sacrifice to the Foxhole on this day.

[U S Army EOD]

When I commanded the 8th Ord Det (EOD) in 1968/69, two of my men were Korean War veterans. Frank Griffith was in the 187th AB Brigade and Duane Hegstead was in the 31st RCT. Until reading this, I had no concept on how bad it really was for the 31st.

I was only 23 years old when I made captain and was in a unit full of senior NCO's, some old enough to be my father. All of these people were career/professional soldiers and I had a lot of respect for them. My unit covered the DMZ in Korea and when things really started heating up over there in 68 and 69 we thought we were going to be in for it.

Growing up, and I was still doing that at the time, I was always impressed by some of the war stories from some of the older soldiers. You always have the questions, such as I have been asked myself by another generation, such as, "Gee Sarge, did you every kill any one in the war".

Sgt Hegstead kind of sat me down and told me, "Well sonny this is the way it was". He had been a machine gunner when the Chinese came across. He said to him it looked like somebody had kicked over an ant hill there were so many of them coming toward his position. As far as killing anybody, he thought he may have gotten as many as 200 to 300 in only one day. He said the body pile would be so high in front of his gun that between the charges, they would have to run out in front of the guns to drag the pile down so they would have a clear field of fire for the next charge.

As my eyes got bigger and bigger, I could see Sgt Griffith watching me with a big grin on his face. Sgt Hegstead told me he weighed approximatey 170 pounds when he first went into Korea but lost down to about 140 and was never able to that date gain the weight back. Until reading this, I had no idea how bad it really was.

Later on, when the EC121 was shot down, it really looked like we were going to get into it. The American units all deployed to the phase lines. There were bus load and train load after bus load and train load of South Korean troops headed north. But what scared the hell out of me was meeting the bus load and train load after bus load and train load of children headed south. Man we knew we were in for it.

It was mass confusion, the 2nd ID had to tow about half of their tanks out to the phase lines because they wouldn't run. I found out I didn't have a war plan anywhere. I called my boss at the 83rd Ord Bn and asked him what we were supposed to do. He told me to initiate my war plan, I explained to him we didn't have one nor could I find where we were covered by anybody elses.

He said he would call me back. About an hour later he called and said, "Captain you are just going to have to do the best you can, if you can make it down here once it starts try to, maybe we can figure it out then". My reply was, "Yes sir, I'll come up with something".---Gulp to myself.

Then the phone rang and they needed us to come up to the DMZ. We figured maybe this wasn't to bad since they had to know what the hell was going on right up there. When we got there, we were met by a bunch of very scared young men in the infrantry units wanting to know if we knew what was going on. We knew more than they did, which was nothing.

All the guys in my unit that had been talking tough, but now all the bad ass talk were silent. I think Griff and Hegstead were secretly laughing at us. Actually they weren't being very secret about it.

[U S Army EOD]

Walter Wentchal once made a statement about the retreat in Korea concerning the 2ID that has always stuck with me. It goes kind of like this, "If you have a brother, son, or husband in Korea, write him everyday, but if you have a brother, son, or husband in the Second Infrantry Division, PRAY FOR HIM". I think that pretty much sums it up on how desperate things were.

[Iris7]

This is the best telling I know of the 31st RCT action at the Chosin. I have talked old soldier talk with Chosin men, marines, and it was very hard. The cold weather was very cold indeed, 40 degrees below zero Fahrenheit with winds gusting over thirty miles per hour. There was no shelter of any sort.

To keep the Chinese away from the wounded - only the seriously wounded rode in the trucks available, fuel was very short - and to keep the Chinese from building heavily dug in roadblocks on the only road to the Sea (going cross country would have meant abandoning the wounded), while being outnumbered many times by very brave Chinese intent on killing them all, was the job at hand. The hill tops had to be held to keep the Chinese from mortaring the retreat. The large Chinese manuever elements attempting to cut off the retreat had to be broken up. It took suicidal determination to get the job done. Good sleeping bags and enough ammunition (close, though), and good air strikes helped.

Talked with an old Gunny who got the Cross there over drinks once, he told me over and over again about cowardly officers who would not do their duty. So he did it for them. He felt more than half screwed to death, too. Well, that is a common feeling. Seeing your duty and doing it properly is beyond so many so much of the time even when they aren't likely to be killed. It gets worse when something really has to be done, and "there is no likelyhood of survival," as Commander Evans put it when he ordered the escorts of Taffy 3 to attack a Japanese battle group with, as I remember, four battleships and eight cruisers and numerous destroyers. Evans had two destroyers and two destroyer escorts. Evans was killed. Posthumous Medal of Honor. Look up "the battle off Samar", during the Leyte Gulf battle. Sam and Snippy have written that one up well here in the Foxhole.