The FReeper Foxhole Revisits -The Battles for Pork Chop Hill - 1953 - March 13th, 2004

http://13thengineerbn.homestead.com/files/bridgetoporkchopII.htm ^ | Capt. James A. Brettell C.O. Company A 13th Engineer (C) Bn

[snippy_about_it]

..........

One of the last skirmishes was the battle for Pork Chop Hill between July 6 and 10, 1953. Officially Hill 255 (from its elevation in yards), it was dubbed Pork Chop Hill because of its geographic shape. One of a series of outposted hills along the "Iron Triangle" in the western sector of the line of contact, it had long been contested by the enemy. Earlier, in November 1952, the U.S. 2nd Infantry Division's Thailand Battalion had come under heavy Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) attack there, but the assault was beaten back.

On March 1, 1953, then defended by the 7th Infantry Division's 31st Infantry Regiment, Pork Chop Hill came under an 8,000-round CCF artillery barrage. Then on March 23, the CCF 67th Division, under cover of an intense mortar and artillery barrage, made a ground attack on Pork Chop Hill. After some initial gains they were beaten back, only to resume the attack on April 16. Once again they were beaten back by counterattacks from the 31st Infantry, reinforced by a battalion from the 7th Infantry Division's 17th Infantry Regiment. But it was artillery that made the difference, as the 7th Infantry Division massed the guns of nine artillery battalions and fired 77,349 rounds in support of the two-day battle.



On July 6, 1953, the CCF made yet another attempt to capture Pork Chop Hill. This time they gained a foothold on a portion of the crest. After repeated attempts to dislodge them were repulsed, General Maxwell D. Taylor, the Eighth U.S. Army commander, ordered the hill to be abandoned on July 11, 1953. Two weeks later, with the signing of the armistice agreement at Panmunjom on July 27, the hill became part of the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea.

Ever the politician, General Taylor had made his decision based on his perception of American public and political reactions to the high numbers of U.S. casualties. During the month of July 1953 alone, the United States and its allies along the line of contact, including Pork Chop Hill, had suffered 29,629 casualties both from enemy ground attacks and a record 375,565-round CCF artillery barrage. Chinese and North Korean casualties were estimated at 72,112, most from allied airstrikes and a 2-million-round artillery barrage.

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Today's Educational Sources and suggestions for further reading:

http://13thengineerbn.homestead.com/files/bridgetoporkchopII.htm

[snippy_about_it]

BATTLE OF PORK CHOP HILL
APRIL 16-18

The following is a snapshot of the war’s final battles as told by the actual participants. All of the accounts you are about to read were submitted by VFW members who were actually there. Most are identified by rank and unit at the time.

Fighting for “The Chop” in April involved Companies E, F, K and L, 31st Inf. Regt. And Companies A, E, F and G of the 17th Inf. Regt., 7th Infantry Division. By 6 p.m. on the 18th, the Chinese were driven from the hill. The 45-hour battle on Hill 255 claimed a heavy toll in U.S. lives and wounded.

Our mission was to construct field fortifications on the hill and to dig out the collapsed trench system. Pork Chop was a reinforced platoon forward position. It was not meant to harbor a company of infantry, much less a battalion of infantry plus support units. The hill was literally covered with parts of bodies. During the course of the battle we were relieved as engineers and reverted to infantry. In fact, just about every unit in the 7th Inf. Div. was reassigned as infantry.

- Master Sgt. Richard J. Astrup, A Co., 13th Engineer Bn., 17th Inf. Regt.

The battle for Pork Chop Hill on April 16-18 was supposedly a turning point of the war and speeded up the negotiations at Panmunjon. At exactly 2300 hours, the green flare went up, the artillery and mortar rounds started coming in and the bugles started to blare. We fired until we ran out of ammo or the barrels of our weapons melted.

The Chinks overran our positions, and we got into hand-to-hand combat in the trenches. There were so many enemy that our own artillery, including the 280mm cannons, were zeroed in to fire V.T. fire on our own position. The 17th Regt. was able to retake the hill. It suffered tremendous casualties. We actually witnessed some of our men being dragged off the hill as prisoners, but could do nothing to stop it.

- Sgt. 1st Class Jeri Wooddell, 1st Plt., E Co., 31st Inf. Regt.

I do remember Cpl. Hatfield was the first killed (in the April battle). He died while I was treating his wounds. He asked me not to leave him. There were several wounded. I don’t remember how many.

Also a patrol (I believe from Love Co.) was on its way out in front of Pork Chop Hill when it was hit by Chinese forces. I do not know the number of men in the patrol, but I remember retrieving three bodies from this patrol the day after the battle.

- Sgt. Samuel K. Maxwell, medic, 1st Plt., K Co., 31st Inf. Regt.

From July 6-10, the hill was again the scene of fierce fighting. Cos. A and G, 17th Inf. Regt., held Pork Chop against successive Chinese attacks. L Co., 32nd Inf. Regt. Relieved them near the end. On the 11th, the 7th Division was ordered off the hill. Lt. Richard T. Shea of A Co. earned a Medal of Honor, posthumously.

The dead bodies of enemy troops were stacked two and three deep in the trenches. It was hot and dry and the stench was almost unbearable. It was a very dark night; not near enough flares, heavy action, good buddies killed, our first aid station mistakenly attacked by our own troops. I received numerous grenade wounds but lived to tell about it. All in all, a day and night I will never forget.

- Cpl. Curtis Gullickson, I Co., 32nd Inf. Regt.

Pfc. White manned a .30 cal. Machine gun all night, was wounded and later died. Pfc. Adam, our company clerk, was killed in a CP (command post) bunker.

- Cpl. R.J. Rodriguez, K Co., 32nd Inf. Regt.

We sustained approximately 50% casualties during this encounter.

- 1st Lt. Raymond C. Allmendinger, I Co., 17th Inf. Regt.

I was one of the 21 survivors who came off the hill.

- Sgt. Addison Lance, medic, 1st Bn., 17th Inf. Regt.

When we were ordered to evacuate, there were a total of 11 men to walk off the hill. These were the ones that were not killed or wounded. That was out of 160 men from King Co., and eight combat engineers. So, you see, if Jesus goes with you, you can go anywhere.

- Pfc. Mark R. Lay, A Co., 13th Combat Engineers
Attached to the 17th Inf. Regt.

Love Co., 32nd Inf., was the last company to leave Pork Chop Hill. We were pulled off on the 10th or 11th. The hill was bombarded for days and nobody ended up holding the hill. Love Co. had no one killed and only a few wounded.

- Paul E. Cassidy, 1st Plt., L Co., 32nd Inf. Regt.

King Company made a counter-attack on Pork Chop Hill. There were so many casualties, seemingly all at once, that I cannot remember how many. There are parts of this that I have no memory of at all.

- Sgt. Samuel K. Maxwell, medic, 1st Plt., K Co., 31st Inf. Regt.

[snippy_about_it]

'“War in Korea lasted three full years, from June 25, 1950 through July 27, 1953. Yet the last half of the war, especially 1953, is virtually ignored in all the histories of the Korean War.'

-- VFW Magazine.

[snippy_about_it]

Saturday's at the Foxhole ~ The Foxhole Revisits...

The Foxhole will be updating some of our earlier threads with new graphics and some new content for our Saturday threads in this, our second year of the Foxhole. We lost many of our graphic links and this is our way of restoring them along with revising the thread content where needed with new and additional information not available in the original threads.

A Link to the Original Thread;

The FReeper Foxhole Remembers The Battles for Pork Chop Hill - 1953 - Jan. 13th, 2003

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[snippy_about_it]

FALL IN to the FReeper Foxhole!



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[snippy_about_it]

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Tribute to a Generation - The memorial will be dedicated on Saturday, May 29, 2004.

Thanks to CholeraJoe for providing this link.

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Thanks to quietolong for providing this link.

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Iraq Homecoming Tips

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The FReeper Foxhole. America's History. America's Soul

Click on Hagar for
"The FReeper Foxhole Compiled List of Daily Threads"

[Aeronaut]

Good morning Snippy.

NAF DT-4 (1922)

[E.G.C.]

Good morning Snippy and everyone at the Freeper Fxohole.

Good luck to OSU in the Big 12 Semifinal game at dallas today. Better luck next time OU.

[snippy_about_it]

Good morning Aeronaut.

[snippy_about_it]

Good morning EGC.

[The Mayor]

Lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest! —John 4:35

Witnessing for Christ is never out of season.

[Valin]

On This Day In History


Birthdates which occurred on March 13:
1615 Innocent XII [Antonio Pignatelli] Pope (1691-1700)
1696 Louis F A D Duke de Richelieu French marshal
1733 Joseph Priestly England, clergyman/scientist (discovered oxygen)
1741 Jozef II arch duke of Austria/Roman Catholic German emperor (1765-90)
1764 Charles Earl Grey (Whig), British Prime Minister (1830-34)
1770 Daniel Lambert England, giant (weighed 739 lbs (334 kg) at death)
1798 Abigail Powers Fillmore 1st lady-Millard Fillmore (1850-53)
1818 Albion Parris Howe Brevet Major General (Union Army), died in 1897
1820 Louis Herbert Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1901
1855 Percival "Percy" Lowell US astronomer (predicted discovery of Pluto)
1886 John "Home Run" Baker hall of famer (hit 2 homeruns in 1911 world series)
1901 Paul Fix Dobbs Ferry NY, actor (Rifleman)
1908 Walter Annenberg Milwaukee WI, publisher (Triangle-TV Guide)
1910 Sammy Kaye Lakewood OH, orchestra leader (Sammy Kaye Show)
1911 L[aFayette] Ron Hubbard sci-fi writer/Scientologist (Dianetics)
1913 William J Casey headed CIA during Iran-contra scandal (1981-87)
1921 Allan Jaffee comic strip cartoonist/illustrator (MAD Magazine)
1931 Rosalind Elias Lowell MA, mezzo-soprano (Grimgerde-Die Walkuere)
1933 Mike Stoller composer (Lieber & Stoller-Hound Dog, Charlie Brown)
1939 Neil Sedaka Brooklyn NY, singer/songwriter (Breaking Up is Hard to Do)
1950 William H Macy Miami FL, actor (Homicide, Water Engine)
1955 Olga Rukavishnikova USSR, pentathlete (Olympics-silver-1980)
1958 Rick A Lazio (Representative-Republican-NY)
1971 Curtis Conway NFL wide receiver/kick returner (Chicago Bears)
1971 Tracy Wells actress (Heather-Mr Belvedere)

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Deaths which occurred on March 13:
1202 Mieszko III the Elder, grand duke of Poland (1173-77, 1200-02), dies
1516 Vladislav II Jagiello king of Bohemia (1490-1516), dies at 60
1569 Louis Condé French prince/co-leader of Hugenot, dies in battle
1619 Richard Burbage English actor (Shakespeare), dies
1879 Adolf Anderssen German world champion chess (1851..66), dies at 60
1881 Alexander II Tsar of Russia, assassinated at 62
1901 Benjamin Harrison 23rd President (1889-1893), dies in Indianapolis at 67
1906 Susan B[rownell] Anthony American suffragist, dies at 85
1938 Clarence S Darrow Scopes Monkey Trial attorney, dies in Chicago at 80
1946 Thomas Frederick Dunhill composer, dies at 69
1964 Kitty Genovese stabbed to death in Queens; 40 neighbors looked on
1975 Ali Sastroamidjojo Indonesian attorney/minister/premier, dies at 71
1991 Jimmy McPartland US, jazz cornetist, dies
1993 Ralph Smith Fults US gangster (Bonnie & Clyde gang), dies at 82
1995 Abdul Ali Mazari Afghan shite leader, shot to death
1995 Leo Kaplan lawyer (ASCAP), dies at 89

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Reported: MISSING in ACTION
1966 DAVIS GENE E.---EVANSVILLE IN.
1966 DUVALL DEAN A.---MONTICELLO IN.
1966 HENNINGER HOWARD W.---HANFORD CA.
1966 MORGAN EDWIN E.---SALISBURY NC.
1966 OLSON GERALD E.---WINTER HAVEN FL.
1966 PASEKOFF ROBERT E.---PITTSBURGH PA.
1966 PAULEY MARSHALL I.---MILTON WV.
1966 PARKER UDON---PHENIX CITY AL.
1967 HARRIS PAUL WINIFORD---CHILLICOTHE OH.
1967 TERWILLIGER VIRGIL BYRON---MC CLURE OH.
1968 BYRNE JOSEPH HENRY---EVANSTON IL.
1968 COLLINS GUY FLETCHER---MIAMI FL.
1968 EVANS CLEVELAND JR.---HOT SPRINGS AR.
1968 HEITMAN STEVEN W.---INDIANAPOLIS IN.
1968 WATSON JIMMY L.---LUCAMO NC.
1968 WESTBROOK DONALD E.---SHERMAN TX.
1971 CREED BARTON S.---PEEKSKILL NY.
[MAY HAVE BEEN CAPTURED]

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

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On this day...
0483 St Felix III begins his reign as Catholic Pope
0607 12th recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet
1519 Cortez lands in México
1569 Battle of Jarnac, Count of Anjou defeats Huguenots
1591 Battle at Tondibi: Moroccans army under Judar beats sultan Askia Ishaq II of Songhai
1639 Cambridge College renamed Harvard for clergyman John Harvard
1656 Jews are denied the right to build a synagogue in New Amsterdam
1677 Massachusetts gains title to Maine for $6,000
1735 1st US Moravian bishop, David Nitschmann, consecrated in Germany
1852 Uncle Sam cartoon figure made its debut in the New York Lantern weekly
1861 Jefferson Davis signs bill authorizing use of slaves as soldiers
1868 Senate begins President Andrew Johnson impeachment trial
1869 Arkansas legislature passes anti-Klan law
1884 Siege of Khartoum Sudan begins
1884 US adopts Standard Time
1887 Chester Greenwood of Maine patents earmuffs
1894 J L Johnstone of England invents horse racing starting gate
1904 Bronze statue of Christ on Argentine-Chilian border dedicated
1913 Kansas legislature approves censorship of motion pictures
1918 1st NHL Championship: Montréal Canadiens beat Toronto Arenas, outscoring them 10-7 in a 2 game set
1921 Mongolia (formerly Outer Mongolia) declares independence from China
1923 Lee de Forest demonstrates his sound-on-film moving pictures (New York NY)
1925 Tennessee makes it unlawful to teach evolution
1928 450 die in St Franciso Valley Dam burst (California)
1930 Clyde Tombaugh announces discovery of Pluto at Lowell Observatory
1933 Josef Göbbels becomes German minister of Information & Propaganda
1935 Driving tests introduced in Great Britain(Graded on the curve)
1943 Failed assassin attempt on Hitler during Smolensk-Rastenburg flight
1947 19th Academy Awards: "Best Years of Our Lives", Frederic March, Olivia de Havilland win
1950 General Motors reports net earnings of $656,434,232 (record)
1954 Braves' Bobby Thomson breaks his ankle, he is replaced by Hank Aaron
1954 Viet Minh General Giap opens assault on That Bien Phu
1961 Elizabeth Gurley Finn (70) becomes president of US Communist Party
1961 Floyd Patterson KOs Ingemar Johansson in 6 to retain heavyweight boxing title
1961 JFK sets up the Alliance for Progress
1961 Pablo Picasso (79) marries his model Jacqueline Rocque (37)
1963 2 Russian reconnaissance flights over Alaska
1965 Jeff Beck replaces Eric Clapton of the Yardbirds
1969 Apollo 9 returns to Earth
1970 Digital Equipment Corp introduces PDP-11 minicomputer
1970 San Francisco city employees begin 4-day strike
1971 Live at Fillmore East recorded
1979 Gairy dictatorship in Grenada overthrown by New Jewel Movement
1981 Attempt on Pope John Paul II by Mehemet Ali Agca
1987 John Gotti is acquitted of racketeering
1992 Martina Navratilova & Judy Nelson settle their galamony suit
1995 Istanbul police shoot dead 16 Alawitische demonstrators

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

Cuba : Attack on the Presidential Palace
Liberia : Decoration Day
US : Good Samaritan Involvement Day
Memphis TN : Cotton Carnival (held for 5 days) (Tuesday)
New Mexico : Arbor Day (Friday)
US : Aardvark Week Ends
USA] Federal Employees Recognition Week Ends
Gardening, Nature and Ecology Books Month

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Religious Observances
Christian : Commemoration of St Ansovinus

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Religious History
1687 Father Eusebio Kino, 42, an Italian-born Jesuit in the service of Spain, began missionary labors in the American Southwest. In all, Kino established 25 Indian missions in the area now divided between northern Mexico and Arizona.
1804 Birth of James W. Alexander, American Presbyterian clergyman and hymn writer. It was Alexander who, in 1830, rendered the English text of Paul Gerhardt's immortal German hymn, "O Sacred Head, Now Wounded."
1868 Birth of Charles E. Cowman, American missionary pioneer. In 1901 he sailed to Japan with his wife Lettie (who later authored "Streams in the Desert"), where in 1910 they founded the Oriental Missionary Society.
1904 "The Christ of the Andes", a bronze statue of Christ located on the Argentina-Chile border, was formally dedicated.
1925 Tennessee Governor Austin Peay signed legislation prohibiting the teaching of evolution within the state's public school system. (A celebrated violation of this law led to the famous July Scopes Monkey Trial.)

Source: William D. Blake. ALMANAC OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1987.

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Thought for the day :
"He who has imagination without learning has wings but no feet."

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Word of the day...
snorfing (snôrf'ing)
1. (n.) The little game waitresses love to play of waiting until your mouth is full before sneaking up and asking, "Is everything okay?"

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New State Slogans...
Indiana: 2 Billion Years Tidal Wave Free

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Amazing fact #377...
Of all the words in the English language, the word "set" has the most definitions.

[snippy_about_it]

Good morning Mayor.

[snippy_about_it]

1764 Charles Earl Grey (Whig), British Prime Minister (1830-34)

Good tea. ;-)

Howick: Earl Grey Tea

Earl Grey of Howick Hall, near Craster, was one of Britain’s most popular Prime Ministers. His 1832 Reform Act completely changed the democratic system in Britain to the system we have today of parliamentary constituencies of (roughly) equal size and a one man, one vote electoral system.

As Prime Minister, he also once sent a diplomatic mission to China and by chance the envoy saved the life of a Chinese Madarin. In gratitude, the Mandarin sent the Earl a delightfully scented tea, with its recipe. The special ingredient with which it was flavoured was oil of Bergamot. Earl Grey was delighted and in future always asked his tea merchant – the Tyneside company, Twinings, for that blend. His drawing room soon became famous for its tea and in due course the family gave permission for the blend to be sold to the public.

Today, Earl Grey is the world’s most popular blend and is sold in more than 90 countries.

[SAMWolf]

Good Morning Snippy.

Pork Chop Hill is a prtty good movie.

[SAMWolf]

Morning Aeronaut.

Any idea what that "extra extended" piece of canvas is atop the wing tips?

[SAMWolf]

Morning E.G.C.

[snippy_about_it]

It's getting to the point where I think I'm going to have to lock myself in a room and watch movies non-stop for three weeks just to see half of the ones you all always mention in the Foxhole.

[Professional Engineer]

Howdy ma'am

[Samwise]

In retrospect' it is difficult to understand why the Chinese didn't fire at us or attempt to capture us from their positions on "Old Baldy."

Perhaps it just wasn't his their day to die. What an incredible story.