Recollections of ‘53’s Forgotten Battles

Written by Richard K. Kolb and Timothy K. Dyhouse
June/July 1995

Reprinted on The Korean War Educator
with permission from VFW Magazine.
 

BATTLE OF PORK CHOP HILL APRIL 16-18

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.

SIEGE OF OUTPOST HARRY JUNE 10-18

Participating in the defense were the 15th Inf. Regt. And 10th Engineers (Co. B), 3rd Infantry Division; 5th Regimental Combat Team; and Companies P and N, 1st Bn., Greek Expeditionary Force. The 64th Tank Bn., 39th, 58th and 92nd Field Artillery battalions provided support.

Last elements of the attacking 74th CCF Division were driven out of the outpost’s trenches at 0402 on the 18th. Sgt. Ola F. Mize, Co. K, 15th Inf., earned the Medal of Honor. Three elements of the 5th RCT received a Distinguished Unit Citation.

During the Chinese offensive against the Republic of Korea (ROK) troops in mid-June, U.S. forces along a 13,000-yard front sustained 174 KIA and 824 WIA. Only 12 of the 40 Americans originally on Outpost Harry survived.

When I reached the top of Outpost Harry, the battle was fierce. After we were unloaded, we gathered up the wounded, loaded them on the personnel carrier and went down the hill and back to the Main Line of Resistance. We continued this operation for the next several days.

- S/Sgt. David "Blackie" Kiska, Tank Co., 15th Inf. Regt.

 The scene on the top of Harry was unreal. The smoke, dust, searchlights, parachute flares and flare grenades combined to create a surreal effect difficult to describe. The commo trenches on Harry, were in places, half-filled with bodies—mostly all Chinese.

- Sgt. E. Douglas Jones, L Co., 3rd Bn, 15th Inf. Regt.

The machine gun we had jammed, so I went down the trench and found a Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) by a dead GI. When the BAR magazine ran out of ammo we got rounds from a box of machine gun ammo. The BAR was kept busy until daylight and never malfunctioned.

- Platoon Sgt. Herman B. Fuller, Jr., 3rd Plt., B Co., 15th Inf. Regt.

The Chinese walked through their own artillery. We could see them out there near the wire—falling right on top of each other. It just wasn’t human. I guess they wanted (Outpost) Harry. But they didn’t get it. They told us to hold it. We did.

- Pvt. William E. McLennan, 3rd Bn., 15th Inf. Regt.

It’s hard to believe that I survived the worst nightmare of my life, and I couldn’t have if it had not been for men like Capt. Markley, Lt. Richards (who never made it home) and the forward observer, who wouldn’t let me quit until we got off that damn hill.

- 2nd Lt. Sam Buck, Forward Observer, 39th FA Bn.

Attached to K Co., 15th Inf. Regt.

This was a terrible experience to go through and many things happened that still are hard to comprehend. For many years, I could see the suffering and the dead in my dreams.

- Sgt. Wayne Carlson, medic, 1st Bn. Aid Station, 15th Inf. Regt.

BATTLE OF THE KUMSONG RIVER SALIENT, JULY 13-20

During this last Communist offensive of the war, CCF launched a six-division attack partly directed at the U.S. IX Corps (3rd, 40th and 45th divisions). The 187th RCT was attached to the 2nd Inf. Div. to reinforce the line. Elements of the 1st Marine Div. defended the Nevada Complex—hills Reno, Vegas and Carson.

In the intense fighting, no North Korean units participated. South Korean forces successfully counterattacked and advanced to the south bank of the Kumsong River. Chinese casualties ranged up to 28,000. U.S.: 182 killed in action and 718 wounded in action.

On July 19, Cpl. Gilbert G. Collier of F Co., 2nd Bn., 223rd Inf. Regt., 40th Inf. Div., earned the Army’s last Medal of Honor—posthumously—of the war in the "Punchbowl" area in the X Corps area.

On July 13, the 96th F.A. was ordered to move immediately to IX U.S. Corps in the Kumsong Bulge. A huge enemy buildup had been spotted in the Kumsong area and a drive was expected at any moment.

The battalion was assigned the mission of general support of IX Corps, reinforcing the lines of the Capitol ROK Division artillery. The battalion was placed under operational control of the 955th Field Artillery Battalion and was to receive counter-battery missions from that organization.

During the night of July 13-14, this battalion was subjected to fairly heavy artillery fire, which disrupted communication to adjacent units and higher HQ. On July 22, the enemy drive having been crushed, the 96th was ordered back to its position in the 1st Marine Div. sector, U.S. I Corps. The battalion fired in support of the Marines until the truce was signed on July 27, 1953.

- Pvt. Donald Erickson, 96th F.A. Bn.

Without warning from our intelligence sources, an enemy attack occurred far to the right of Papasan (Hill). It was in the vicinity of Christmas Hill, I believe.

On our way (to reconnoiter a new artillery position) what we saw was disheartening. The Korean troops who had replaced the 3rd Inf. Div. were retreating. The U.S. 3rd Inf. Div. was rushed back to stem the tide. The men were silent and glum.

All the while, we were firing. Firing like hell. This lasted several days. We recovered what we lost initially, and the war reverted to a stalemated patrol action in no man’s land.

- 2nd Lt. Henry J. Sobieski, Forward Observer, B Bty., 213th F.A. Bn.

On July 14, King Co. was called to relieve a unit on a finger, which was called "Victor Outpost." This finger was in front of what would become the DMZ. At midnight on July 15, we were hit by approximately 1,500 Chinese. Our .50 caliber machine gun was called upon for fire power, but our ammo belt was hit by a short round from our own artillery. The ruptured shell blew up the gun.

All we had was a .45 caliber pistol and about three dozen rounds. Luckily, the Chinese never got to the top of the finger. On July 15, I helped carry wounded and dead off the hill. We were relieved by another company late that afternoon. Our head count for the whole company was 43 alive and 80 wounded or dead.

- Sgt. Dana Gruetzmacher, 4th Plt., K Co., 180th Inf. Regt., 45th Inf. Div.

We were overrun twice. First, at Christmas Hill and again in Kumsong. We saw the 555th (Triple Nickel) Artillery Battalion after we were both overrun in Kumsong.

The 461st was personally awarded the Distinguished Unit Citation by Gen. Maxwell D. Taylo for its participation in the Kumsong battles after the war ended. The usual tour of duty in Korea for an infantry soldier was approximately 13 months. In the 461st (and the 2nd Chemical Mortar Bn.) the tour was 8 ½ months due to never leaving the front line.

- Cpl. Gary Shiffman, 461st Inf. (Heavy Mortars) Bn.

The 461st was a one-of-a-kind outfit.

I had a platoon from C Co., and a section (two tanks) from A Co. (Capt. George C. Patton, commanding). The attack on Hill 812 took place at dawn on July 18. I do recall once having calculated our losses at 28 men.

The fighting from dawn until mid-afternoon on July 18 was the hottest of my 10 months in class A zones. There were several instances where we caught enemy troops in the open and brought 90mm fire on them. In one instance, from my tank, we claimed 10 or 11 men who jumped into a trench.

- 1st Lt. Nimrod T. Frazer, C Co., 140th Tank Bn., 40th Div.

TRAGEDY OF THE "TRIPLE NICKEL," JULY 14

While providing direct support for the ROK Capitol Division during the Kumsong battle, the 555th Field Artillery Battalion occupied Outposts 51 and 52. A, B, C and Headquarters batteries were overrun by two CCF battalions on the night of the 13th.

Battalion strength stood at about 720 men in July. According to the after action report, 69 men were listed as missing in action for the month. Other accounts place the number of dead at up to 300. The battalion lost 13 howitzers.

We were attacked at approximately 9 p.m. on Monday, July 13, with counter-artillery barrages all night. Small arms fire started at about 3 or 4 a.m. the next day. I was in C Battery. We left our position at about 5 a.m., going south into hills behind our position.

I was captured at about 6 a.m. when we opened fire on Chinese to help some other personnel from our battery. We looked to the south of us and Chinese were dug in above. There were eight of us captured together, of which five of the eight were wounded from our own fire.

At about 10 a.m. we started our march north, which lasted for four weeks. Walking through our position, you could see American dead spread about the area. We had a total of 40 captured and as close as we could tell, 25 killed plus wounded from Battery C alone.

- Pfc. Dennis L. Pavlik, C Battery

That night was so foggy you could not see 10 feet in front of your face. We were pounded for about an hour by Chinese artillery. Then, after the ROKs broke, we were hit all of a sudden. White phosphorous shells lit up the sky like the 4th of July: a shell took one man’s head clean off. The Chinese come whooping and hollering with bugles blaring.

A half dozen of us, led by ROKs, made it out. It took six hours to make it back to one of our groups. All told, my battery had less than 30 men get out, the best I can determine. I escaped physically unscathed. For a 21-year-old private first class, it was an unforgettable experience. I have never forgotten.

- Pfc. Glen C. Myers, C Battery

The 64th Tank Battalion was involved in the attempted recapture or destruction of the towed artillery of Triple Nickel (555th F.A. Bn). About 4 a.m. on July 14, the 64th was rushed from a behind-the-lines location up to the penetrated area.

Able Co. provided ‘security’ for a high level staff conference located just back from the newly formed containment line. The battalion executive officer (XO) asked for one person per tank platoon of Able Co. to ‘volunteer’ to accompany him in an effort to make a reconnaissance to the rice paddies where Charlie Co. of the 64th had lost its tanks.

I gave the XO our newest replacement, who had arrived to our platoon two days before. An hour and a half later the M-34 (full-track personnel carrier) came limping back with the XO badly wounded in the legs and my newest replacement with wounds severe enough for him to be evacuated to Japan for treatment.

The enemy had ambushed the M-34 with at least one .51-caliber anti-tank rifle (Buffalo Rifle) and shot a hole low into the side of it. For his stupidity, the XO got the Silver Star.

- 2nd Lt. David F. Hanson, Plt. Leader, A Co., 64th Tank Bn.

The 1st Capitol ROK troops forgot to put out trench guards during daylight hours and were caught sleeping. They were beaten badly. It seems that the Triple Nickel had torn down their guns after a night of firing and were in the process of cleaning them.

Men came running through the firing area, with the Chinks in full charge. The (men of the) Nickel were barely able to assemble their guns and had to bore sight the Chinese troops.

Only one truck, one (artillery) gun and a handful of Nickelers were lucky to get out. The rest were either killed or captured. Five guns, vehicles and 9,000 rounds of HE ammo were in the hands of the gooks.

The 15th Inf. Regt. Arrived in this area on July 14 and repelled an estimated division-size assault. Into our area came 91mm mortars, 4.2-inch mortars, 105mm and 155mm field artillery pieces. Over 100 weapons backed up our regiment.

The smoke was so heavy it strangled us, and burnt powder left a bad taste in our mouths. After the cease-fire, the gooks loaded their trucks with artillery shells and carried them, and our guns, outside of what would become the DMZ. It was hard to watch, knowing how many guys were killed or wounded from the 555th.

- Pfc. Irv Tremblay, F Co., 15th Inf. Regt.

FINAL FIREFIGHTS JULY 25-27

Though a cease-fire had been agreed to, CCF units all along the Main Line of Resistance (MLR) launched small-scale attacks right up to the time the truce took effect. Americans died to the end. Korea’s last Medal of Honor went, posthumously, to S/Sgt. Ambrosio Guillen of F Co., 2nd Bn., 7th Marines for gallantry in the Nevada Complex on July 25.

There is a long story to be told about the battle of Boulder City and Hill 111. It was an all-out attack by CCF (Communist Chinese Forces). Artillery and mortar fire was estimated at between 128 and 132 incoming rounds every 90 seconds. This went on for two nights straight. Our battalion could have held roll call on the hospital ship in Inchon because only a few of us were left on the line.

We were in the process of relieving the 3rd Bn., 7th Marines when we were hit. When morning came we were the only company left up there. We lost two companies the first night, G Co. and I Co.

- Cpl. Joseph C. Martin, H Co., 3rd Bn, 1st Marine Regt., 1st Marine Div.

Daylight hours of the 25th, 26th and 27th were very limited as far as any action. From dusk to dawn was another story. The enemy probed only in darkness. The night hours became a virtual artillery war, incoming would start as soon as darkness fell. Our outgoing shells were our own mortars with 105s and 155s from the 11th Marines (artillery regiment).

The firing stopped at 2200 hours. It was a very eerie feeling. The sudden quiet, then the chatter and jubilation. Morning came on July 28. We were given three days to police up the lines and bulldoze the trench line and bunkers. We worked during the day caring for our dead, then removing ammo and weapons.

- Pfc. Bob Cormier, machine gunner, E Co., 2nd Bn, 1st Reg.

1st Marine Division

If you can call eating a can of C-rations celebrating, boy, we were really celebrating (the cease-fire).

He was a replacement—a man killed on the front line in the last day’s fighting. We had just got him that day—July 27.

They sniped at some of our people, but there wasn’t much shooting.

We had a lot of noncoms out there. We just could not take a chance on some of those kids who had just come off Westview (front post near Old Baldy). If "Joe" (the Chinese) had come up to them they might have just up and popped ‘em. Too many of them lost their buddies on Westview the week before.

- Lt. Robert E. Chisolm, L Co., 31st Inf., 7th Inf. Div.

The last patrol we ran was a contact patrol, platoon strength. We found an enemy soldier hiding in a deserted bunker. We directed him to the rear. Everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief. Contact patrols were scary. Unfortunately, when we got back to a Greek aid station the prisoner had died.

We got word that the armistice was signed and that we were going to move on line again to relieve a ROK unit. That day mortars fired as much of their ammo as they could so they would not have to carry it to the rear. We relieved them on line after dark, and at 10 p.m. it grew silent.

- S/Sgt. Curley B. Knepp, Squad Leader, 2nd Plt., A Co., 15th Inf. Regt.

3rd Inf. Div.; near the Kansas and Wyoming Lines

The whole area was like a continuous 4th of July fireworks show; there were rounds coming in about every couple of minutes. Our mortars and 75s were going off about as fast.

- Pfc. Eual Thompson, Machine Gunner, H Co., 15th Inf. Regt., 3rd Div.

West of Outpost Harry

A North Korean shell was fired at our position about 3 p.m. This was after the armistice was signed on July 27. My unit fired one shell back at them. So I have heard that we fired the last shot in the Korean War.

- S/Sgt. Johnnie McCormick, 1st Cook, Btry C., 160th F.A. Bn.,

45th Inf. Div., Yang-Gu Valley

During the day on the 27th, there was sporadic fire. After sunset and darkness began to set in, all hell broke loose. Tracers were flying and bouncing all over, and the unmistakable blasts of artillery and tank fire were there. It was like the fireworks at the 4th of July. There were no more explosions (after midnight), but an occasional rifle or pistol round went off until 1 or 2 a.m. In the morning (July 28) it was strangely quiet.

- 2nd Lt. Henry J. Sobieski, Btry. B, 213th F.A. Bn.

Observation Post in Kumwha

We engaged in a firefight the last night of the war. I don’t remember the hill we were on, but I lost my assistant gunner (I was 1st gunner on the .30 caliber machine gun) who was killed on the last night. I had left my position to get some ammo and on returning I saw him on a litter. His name was Pvt. Woods from New Jersey (city unknown).

- Augustus Young, I Co., 31st Inf. Regt., 7th Inf. Div.

I was on Hill 755 on the night of the cease-fire. Fire along the line picked up during the late afternoon. After the cease-fire, the North Koreans massed on the slopes in front of us and chanted. It was a moonlit night.

- 1st Lt. Nimrod T. Frazer, C Co., 140th Tank Bn., 40th Div.

LAST KILLED IN ACTION OF THE KOREAN WAR

Sgt. Harold R. Cross, Jr., 3rd Plt., K Co., 3rd Bn., 5th Regimental Combat Team, was killed in a mortar blast at 8:40 p.m. just minutes before the cease-fire took effect at 10 p.m. on July 27. He was from Detroit, Mich.

I was only 75 yards from him when he was killed on July 27. His funeral back home in Michigan paid him great honor.

- Pfc. Kenneth W. Witmer, 4th Plt., K Co.

LAST U.S. DEAD OF THE KOREAN WAR

Cpl. Jon N. Freeman, Pfc. Milo F. Clifton, Pvt. Ralph R. Dunn, Pvt. Raymond L. Kemp, Jr., and Pvt. Burlin V. Kellis of Companies B and C, 23rd Inf. Regt., 2nd Inf. Div., were all killed in an accidental ammunition explosion near Ansan on July 28. The bodies of Clifton and Dunn were never recovered.

I was among the seriously injured and was evacuated to the 44th MASH Unit for emergency aid. Not until 1989 was I able to confirm these deaths.

- Pvt. Charles Herch, Jr., C co., 23rd Inf. Regt.

HOMECOMING

Korean War veterans, unlike their WWII predecessors, received few grand welcome homes. The following two vets had distinctly different experiences.

After passing through the Suez, we debarked the Turks in Izmur, Turkey, to a heroes’ welcome. At Piraeus, Greece, fire boats turned out, church bells rang and factory whistles sounded. GIs were as warmly treated as the returning Greeks. It helped me even more because the Greeks wore the famous 3rd Inf. Div. patch. Then we dropped off the Belgians at leghorn, Italy, without fanfare.

 When we arrived in New York harbor in October 1953, the only reception was a toot from the Staten Island ferry wanting us to get out of the way.

- Sgt. E. Douglas Jones, L Co., 3rd BN., 15th Inf. Regt., 3rd Inf. Div.

In April of 1954, approximately 3,000 of us brought the division colors home. The ship docked in New York. We paraded down Fifth Avenue with ticker tape and marching bands. Schlitz Brewery of Brooklyn threw a party for us all that was something to remember.

I realize we were the exception. Most Korean War vets rotated home on an individual basis, making it difficult for the country to demonstrate their appreciation. But when given the chance, I feel the folks back home came through with flying colors.

- Sgt. 1st Class Merle Sieler, Btry. B, 160th F.A., 45th Inf. Div

New York, April 1954

A FINAL TALLY

By the end of the war, 1,587,040 U.S. military personnel had served on the Korean peninsula. U.S. ground troop strength peaked at 302,483. American battle casualties totaled 33,629 killed in action; 103,284 wounded in action; and 7,140 prisoners of war.

Static warfare during the last half of the war took a heavy toll in casualties; Marine infantry and Army units, after mid-1951, suffered 12,300 KIA (36.5%) and 50,900 WIA (49%).