Sometimes we take the term "Veteran" a little too lightly. Please pass this on as a tribute to all veterans.
From
Breakout from the Chosin Reservoir
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The Brotherhood of Soldiers At War
Breakout From The
Frozen Chosin
As it became apparent that the soldiers and Marines at the Chosin were
facing an enemy that had surrounded them and outnumbered them more than
10 to 1, and in the face of similar opposing forces facing the 8th Army
in the west, the drive to the Yalu halted and a withdrawal was finally
ordered. Hagaru-ri would do its best to hold while the 5th and 7th
Marines withdrew from Yudam-ni, then they would continue together with
the forces from Hagaru-ri on the 12 mile stretch of the MSR to Koto-ri.
>From there the combined forces would move on to evacuation ships waiting
in the Sea of Japan at Hungnam.
Back home the news media began referring to the withdrawal as a
"RETREAT", something no Marine, much less any survivor of the battle at
the Chosin Reservoir would ever utter. A retreating force usually
withdraws in panic, soldiers running in all directions without order,
seeking to save themselves. That didn't happen at the Chosin. Instead
of running from the enemy, soldiers and Marines had repeatedly fought
their way INTO the trap, with full knowledge of what lay ahead. On Fox
Hill Bill Barber had placed his company in the middle of the opposing
force, simply because he knew how critical it was to keep the MSR
opened. In the east the column from Task Force Faith was fighting its
way back towards the embattled soldiers at Hagaru-ri. From Koto-ri,
Task Force Drysdale had jumped "from the frying pan into the fire".
Rather than withdrawing to Hungnam, the Marines in Captain Sitter's
company had literally fought their way into the surrounded camp at
Hagaru-ri. Before the Marines could fight their way out, they had to
FIGHT THEIR WAY IN...to link up with their surrounded comrades.
At Hagaru-ri General O.P. Smith quickly pointed out that the Marines
weren't retreating, they were simply:
"Attacking in a Different Direction"
Lieutenant Colonel Raymond G. Davis assembled his 800 men for a
dangerous trip. It wasn't a withdrawal, they were going to fight their
way into the middle of the mountains where the CCF forces waited in
their hidden sanctuary. High above Toktong Pass, Bill Barber and the
remnants of his valiant Marines were cut off, surrounded, and taking new
casualties nightly. If there was going to be a withdrawal, no one,
including Bill Barber, would be left behind.
Even as Captain Sitter's tired Marines were bedding down after their
12-hour battle to reach Hagaru-ri, Davis' Marines were preparing for a
cold night in the North Korean mountains. No one knew if Barber could
hold out one more night, but Davis would do his best to break through to
pick up whatever "pieces" remained of Fox Company.
Meanwhile Task Force Faith continued to move slowly towards relief,
facing constant enemy roadblocks and attacking fire. When Lieutenant
Colonel Faith ordered the withdrawal at 2:00 A.M., the ragged column had
begun to assemble for the trek to safety. What remained of Task Force
Faith was held together only by sheer "guts" and the valiant leadership
of the commander for whom the force was named.
With daylight on the morning of November 30th, it seemed that every
Marine was either trapped and surrounded, or fighting his way into that
trap to rescue his brothers. At Hagaru-ri the exhausted Captain Sitter
was awakened with new orders. "Take EAST HILL!"
After a 12-hour fight the day before that had almost cut the company in
half, it was a formidable order. But Sitter knew that somewhere out
there on East Hill, surrounded and fighting for survival, was Major
Reginald Myers. He rousted his exhausted Marines from their sleeping
bags and moved out with the dawn. Somewhere around noon his force found
what remained of Myer's rag-tag force and linked up with them. Then,
under the direction of Myers and Sitter, the soldiers and Marines
continued their assault on the enemy.
By nightfall, Sitter believed he could control enough of East Hill to
keep the Chinese from mounting a successful attack on Hagaru-ri. His
Marines dug in for the night, prepared to hold out against whatever the
enemy threw at them. They were the last line of defense for Hagaru-ri,
already stretched thin and surviving only on "grit and determination".
The enemy came, not just in force, but in waves. The continuous
attacks through the night quickly depleted the dug-in Marines
ammunition. Sitter sent an element down the hill for more, then
continued to fight through the night. Wounded repeatedly, Sitter was
determined to preserve what remained of Company G, and keep control of
East Hill as well. It was an impossible task, but somehow, he got it
done. Daylight found his valiant force had done the unthinkable. It
was the morning of December 1st, and Sitter would hold out for four more
days before being relieved. When he finally prepared to leave
Hagaru-ri, only 96 men remained to move out to safety with him.
Amazingly, Barber too, had survived a fourth straight night of
attacks at Fox Hill. Davis continued to lead his rescue force through
the mountains, engaging the enemy throughout the day. By nightfall he
was close, but not close enough. Barber would have to hang on for one
more night.
After fighting through the night, Task Force Faith was almost
decimated. The battle didn't end with the dawning of daylight that
first day in December. Roadblocks met the column at every turn. From
the mountains on either side of the battered soldiers, Chinese Communist
Forces fired indiscriminate death on Task Force Faith. It was
especially dangerous for the wounded, laying unprotected in the few
remaining vehicles and unable move to cover when a new volley of lead
rained in. At one roadblock Faith called for air support. Errant
napalm fell on some of the American soldiers creating panic and death.
As the column struggled for any sanctuary, Faith was wounded, and died
that night. In full-scale panic his force disintegrated and ran into
the mountains. Over the following days some stragglers managed to find
their way to Hagaru-ri...in all, perhaps 500 of them. Five out of every
six men in Task Force Faith was either killed or captured. Those
captured were never heard from again.
Late in the afternoon on 1 December 1950, because enemy aggressors
at Yudam-ni surrounded his company, they Marines were ordered to move
toward Hagaru-ri. By the time they reached Hill 1520 (Hill number shows
elevation in meters), three miles southeast of Yudam-ni, it was very
dark and the temperature averaged a minus 40 degrees. The companies
relocated a few times, and then back to a knoll between two rugged
mile-high mountains where grenades, machine guns and rifle fire
bombarded them. Staff Sergeant William Windrich led a rifle squad of
twelve men to meet the enemy head on, armed with a M-2 carbine. Seven
of his men were wounded or killed before they reached the forward
position they were to defend.
Windrich was also wounded in the head by a bursting grenade. As
blood gushed down his shoulder and back he moved his remaining men into
a tight fire group. Then he ran to the company command post, drafting
a small group of volunteers, and led them to evacuate the dying and
wounded. Assuming command of what was left of a platoon, Windrich once
more took up defensive positions. Now shot in both legs, he kept
fighting, always refusing medical attention. For a long time he crawled
in the snow, back and forth between his men shouting words of
encouragement, deploying his forces and helping to throw back the
attackers.
Only after the communist had been beaten off on the morning of
December 2 did Staff Sergeant Windrich collapse and die due to the
bitter cold, excessive loss of blood and severe pain. In the end two
officers and eighteen enlisted men lived, to stagger down the mountain
to be with the rest of the column headed toward Hagaru-ri. Windrich was
not there! They could not take his body down the treacherous mountain
terrain.*
From a distance Lieutenant Colonel Davis could hear the sounds of
battle throughout the night of December 1st and into the morning of the
second. He hoped and prayed that Barber could hold out one more night,
sure that if his own force could survive the constant attacks of the
enemy, they would reach Barber with daylight. Somehow Barber did
survive that fifth night, and shortly before noon on December 2nd he
welcomed Davis and his Marines to Fox Hill. From its heights the two
could look down on the MSR as 8,000 men from the 5th and 7th Marines
moved from Yudam-ni to Hagaru-ri. It had been a costly effort, the
mission to secure the Toktong Pass, but as those Marines struggled down
the road to safety, Barber knew it had been worth it.
Despite the presence of Barber and Davis on Toktong Pass, the
movement to Hagaru-ri was not easy. For the entire 14 mile mountainous
route, the Marines had to fight for every inch of progress. The Chinese
weren't content to see the First Marine Division leaving, they wanted to
wipe them out to-a-man. Dressed in the uniforms of friendly forces,
one CCF force attacked near a position held by Sergeant James E. Johnson
of Company J, 3d Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division. Johnson
rallied his men to resist the opposing force, then placed himself in a
position to provide covering fire for his men. It was obvious that he
had stationed himself in a no-man's land from which there could be no
rescue. Still he fired on the enemy as the Marines withdrew, buying
them precious time before his own time ran out. With his own life he
purchased "tomorrow" for many Marines.
On Tuesday, December 5th the first units from Hagaru-ri began the
dangerous 12-mile journey to Koto-ri. Every step was a battle but the
survivors of the Chosin Reservoir fought their way out of the frozen
lake none would be sorry to leave behind. Back at Hagaru-ri, a mass
grave held the remains of far too many comrades who hadn't "reasoned
why", but simply gone where they were told, did what duty demanded, and
ultimately given everything they had.
By mid-day on December 7th, that last men from Hagaru-ri arrived, nearly
25,000 frozen, starving, wounded, battle-weary Marines and their
supporting elements from what was left of the Army's 7th Infantry
Division. Over the following days the dangerous withdrawal continued
along the 53-mile distance from Koto-ri to the port at Hungnam.
In a final, desperate attempt to crush the First Marine Division, the
CCF destroyed a vital bridge over a 1500 foot gorge between Koto-ri and
Chinhung-ni ten miles away. In one of the engineering marvels of modern
warfare, the US Air Force dropped eight spans of M2 pre-fabricated
bridge. The two-ton, bulky structures were erected and on December 9th
the first soldiers crossed the bridge to safety, followed by thousands
more. On December 11th the last American troops arrived in Hungnam for
evacuation.
Despite their best efforts, the Chinese forces had failed to crush the
indomitable First Marine Division. They came out unashamed, bringing
their equipment, their wounded, and most of their dead. They would live
to fight another day, and continue the gallant legacy of the United
States Marine Corps. At the Chosin Reservoir, they established their
own legacy...not one of retreat...but one of surviving against
incredible odds through leadership, teamwork, and the highest degree of
brotherhood.
(12 people earned the medal of honor in that engagement, here is the
citation for Capt Barber)
"The President of the United States
in the name of The Congress
takes pleasure in presenting the
Medal of Honor to
BARBER, WILLIAM E.
Rank and organization: Captain U.S. Marine Corps, commanding
officer, Company F, 2d Battalion 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division
(Rein.). Place and date: Chosin Reservoir area, Korea, 28 November to 2
December 1950. Entered service at: West Liberty, Ky. Born: 30 November
1919, Dehart, Ky.
Citation:
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life
above and beyond the call of duty as commanding officer of Company F in
action against enemy aggressor forces. Assigned to defend a 3-mile
mountain pass along the division's main supply line and commanding the
only route of approach in the march from Yudam-ni to Hagaru-ri, Capt.
Barber took position with his battle-weary troops and, before nightfall,
had dug in and set up a defense along the frozen, snow-covered hillside.
When a force of estimated regimental strength savagely attacked during
the night, inflicting heavy casualties and finally surrounding his
position following a bitterly fought 7-hour conflict, Capt. Barber,
after repulsing the enemy gave assurance that he could hold if supplied
by airdrops and requested permission to stand fast when orders were
received by radio to fight his way back to a relieving force after 2
reinforcing units had been driven back under fierce resistance in their
attempts to reach the isolated troops. Aware that leaving the position
would sever contact with the 8,000 marines trapped at Yudam-ni and
jeopardize their chances of joining the 3,000 more awaiting their
arrival in Hagaru-ri for the continued drive to the sea, he chose to
risk loss of his command rather than sacrifice more men if the enemy
seized control and forced a renewed battle to regain the position, or
abandon his many wounded who were unable to walk. Although severely
wounded in the leg in the early morning of the 29th, Capt. Barber
continued to maintain personal control, often moving up and down the
lines on a stretcher to direct the defense and consistently encouraging
and inspiring his men to supreme efforts despite the staggering
opposition. Waging desperate battle throughout 5 days and 6 nights of
repeated onslaughts launched by the fanatical aggressors, he and his
heroic command accounted for approximately 1,000 enemy dead in this epic
stand in bitter subzero weather, and when the company was relieved only
82 of his original 220 men were able to walk away from the position so
valiantly defended against insuperable odds. His profound faith and
courage, great personal valor, and unwavering fortitude were decisive
factors in the successful withdrawal of the division from the deathtrap
in the Chosin Reservoir sector and reflect the highest credit upon Capt.
Barber, his intrepid officers and men, and the U.S. Naval Service."
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140 Marines died to save 8,000, most of the others were wounded. Think
about this example when you hear about veterans "sacrificing for their
country".
Sam
