"There are not enough Chinamen in the world to stop a fully armed Marine regiment from going where ever they want to go" (Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller, military-quotes.com/chesty-puller). The men of Fox Company 2nd Battalion 7th Marine Regiment 1st Marine Division claimed their place in history 1950 during the Korean War. For their heroic actions that day on a small hill overlooking a narrow road many lives were saved. They have been immortalized in the stories that are passed down from one generation of Marine to the other. This is their story.
The Korean War began when the North Koreans invaded South Korea across the 38th parallel on June 25, 1950. The North Korean forces fought their way to Pusan at the southern edge of the Korean peninsula. With the North Koreans controlling most of the peninsula, General Douglas MacArthur landed an amphibious assault at Inchon on September 15, 1950 and wrested control of South Korea from North Korean forces. After MacArthur’s forces marched to the northern border of Korea, China entered the war. After a major Chinese attack and a major American counter attack, the front of the war had a new stage, the Chosin Reservoir (Henretta, Edwards & Self 768).
The Chosin Reservoir was a manmade lake where American forces set up defensive positions waiting for the Chinese. The Americans occupied three main villages around the reservoir: Yudam-ni to the west, Hagaru-ri to the south and Hudong- ni to the east. Late in the evening November 27th the Chinese launched surprise attacks from the west and north that successfully cut off the Americans at the Chosin reservoir from their UN allies further south. By November 28 Chinese forces had completely surrounded the Americans. To gain control of the road that lin...
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... United States. They are still honored and toasted at every Mess Night and Marine Corps Ball along with all of their fallen comrades who came before and will come after. These men are revered as gods and the battle fields where they fought and died are sacred grounds in the eyes of Marines. All the men who were at the Chosen Reservoir remember the bitter cold and fighting and are always remembered as the Frozen Chosin.
Works Cited
Drury, Bob and Calvin, Tom. The Last Stand of Fox Company. 1st ed. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 2009.
Edward, Rebecca and Henretta, James and Self, Robert. America A Concise History. 5th ed. Boston: Bedford/ St. Martin’s, 2012.
http://www.homeofheroes.com/brotherhood/chosin2.html
http://www.military-quotes.com/chesty-puller.htm
http://www.veteranshour.com/korea.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Chosin_Reservoir
“For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as Commanding Officer of Company C, First Battalion, First Marines, First Marine Division, during the action against enemy Japanese forces on Peleliu Island, Palau Group, on 19-20 September, 1944. Subjected to point- blank cannon fire which caused heavy casualties and badly disorganized his company while assaulting a steep coral hill, Captain Pope rallied his men and gallantly led them to the summit in the face of machine-gun, mortar, and sniper fire. Forced by wide-spread hostile attack to deploy the remnants of his company thinly in order to hold the ground won, and with his machine-guns out of action and insufficient water and ammunition, he remained on the exposed hill with twelve men and one wounded officer, determined to hold through the night. Attacked continuously with grenades, machine-guns, and rifles from three sides and twice subjected to suicidal charges during the night, he and his valiant men fiercely beat back or destroyed the enemy, resorting to hand- to-hand combat as the supply of ammunition dwindled and still maintaining his lines with his eight remaining riflemen when daylight brought more deadly fire and he was ordered to withdraw. His valiant leadership against devastating odds while protecting the units below from heavy Japanese attack reflects the highest credit upon Captain Pope and the United States Naval Service.”
This paper will examine how a unwavering adversary and difficult terrain combined to negate the effects of American technology. The Battle of Hamburger Hill was a battle of the Vietnam War which was fought by the United States and South Vietnam against North Vietnamese Forces from May 10–20, 1969. The battle took place on Ap Bia Mountain in the rugged, jungle-shrouded mountains along the Laotian border of South Vietnam. Ap Bia Mountain anchors the northwest corner of South Viet Nam's A Shau Valley. The valley has been a major infiltration route for Communist Forces from the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos to the coastal cities of Northern I Corps since1966. Ap Bia Mountain dominates the northern valley, towering some 937 meters. Official histories of the engagement refer to it as Hill 937. The American Soldiers who fought there dubbed it "Hamburger Hill", suggesting that those who fought on the hill were "chewed up like a hamburger" (E-History, 2012).
Lieutenant Colonel Moore led his unit, the 1st Battalion, 7th U.S. Cavalry to South Vietnam, and led them in the famous Battle of Ia Drang. Surrounded by enemy soldiers, and with no clear landing zone that would allow them to leave, Moore managed to persevere against the overwhelming odds and complete his objective. Moore's dictum that "there is always one more thing you can do to increase your odds of success" and the courage of his entire command are given credit with the outstanding outcome (Galloway). Despite the fact that Moore's outstanding leadership and tactical prowess led to more than a 4-to-1 ratio between North Vietnamese casualties and U.S. casualties in their first major engagement of the war. Many consider this early battle a small preview of the U.S. tactics later in the Vietnam Conflict.
"The American Civil War: The Overland Campaign - The Battle of Cold Harbor - Regrets and Casualties." The American Civil War: The Overland Campaign - The Battle of Cold Harbor - Regrets and Casualties. http://www.brotherswar.com/Cold_Harbor-2.htm (accessed March 21, 2014).
...ade it difficult to access the beach and also targets of opportunity for the airstrikes from the fighters and bombers of the Japanese. Many things were learned about operating in an island jungle environment. Neither side was prepared to deal with the numerous tropical diseases’ that were running rampant on both sides. The medical supplies that the marines were using and the availability of medicine was inefficient and led to numerous deaths that could have been prevented had there been adequate medicine and treatments available.
“For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty for service as a machine gunner with Company I on Operation ALLEN BROOK. Company I was approaching a dry river bed with a heavily wooded tree line that borders the hamlet of Lee Nam, when they suddenly came under intense mortar, rocket propelled grenades, automatic weapon and small arms fire from a large, well concealed enemy force which halted the company’s advance and wounded several marines. Realizing that key points of resistance had to be eliminated to allow the units to advance and casualties to be evacuated. Pfc. Burke, without hesitation, seized his machine gun and launched a series of 1-man assaults against the fortified emplacements. As he aggressively maneuvered to the edge of the steep river bank, he delivered accurate suppressive fire upon several enemy bunkers, which enabled his comrades to advance and move the wounded marines to positions of relative safety. As he continued his combative actions, he located an opposing automatic weapons emplacement and poured intense fire into the position, killing 3 North Vietnamese soldiers as they attempted to flee. Pfc. Burke then fearlessly moved from one position to another, quelling the hostile fire until his weapon malfunctioned. Obtaining a casualty’s rifle and hand grenades, he advanced further into the midst of the enemy fire in an assault against another pocket of resistance killing 2 more of the enemy. Observing that a fellow marine had cleared his malfunctioning machine gun he grasped his weapon and moved into a dangerously exposed area and saturated the hostile tree line until he fell mortally wounded.
Tindall, George, and David Shi. America: A Narrative History. Ed. 9, Vol. 1. New York: WW. Norton & Company, 2013. 185,193. Print.
By the summer of 1950 after the successful landing at Inchon by the US X Corps which led to the destruction of the North Korean Army, the Korean War seemed to be in the final phases of completion. United Nations (UN) forces spearheaded by the US Eighth army and X Corps were advancing northward with the goal of completely reuniting North and South Korea. The Taebaek Mountains which are an extremely rugged north –south oriented mountain range divide Korea. The UN forces split in to two groups during their advance with the Eighth Army advancing along the west coast and the US X Corps moving north along the east coast. On 19 October 1950 after repeated warnings to the United Nations Massive amounts of Chinese Forces crossed the border into North Korea.[2] After several minor skirmishes with X Corps, the Chinese Peoples Volunteer Army (PVA) decisively engaged the US X Corps in the vicinity of Chosin Reservoir.
The Battle of Kamdesh was fought in Afghanistan during the Afghan War. It is an occurrence in the ongoing NATO campaign of the Operation Enduring Freedom since the year 2001. It was one of the bloodiest battles the USA forces engaged in during this campaign against the Taliban insurgents. The Taliban insurgents, assisted by local Nuristan militias, attacked Kamdesh, which is an American combat outpost, located deep in the Nuristan tribal Areas. They carried out a well-coordinated attack on the outpost, leading to a breach and an overrun of the post. This paper, seeks to analyze why, when, how, and what were the resulting impact of the battle.
Lieutenant General Lewis B. “Chesty” Puller, through dedication to his mission and the welfare of his marines, was a visionary leader even by today’s standards. In his youth, Chesty attempted to join World War I before he had reached the required age. He attended Virginia Military Institute, but dropped out after one year to satisfy his urge to experience combat. He enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps as a private and remained enlisted for only a year before his commissioning as a lieutenant. Unfortunately, the war ended before he was able to experience combat. When a force reduction ensued after the end of the war, Lt Puller was sent to the reserves and given the ...
By the summer of 1950 after the successful landing at Inchon by the US X Corps which led to the destruction of the North Korean Army the Korean War seemed to be in the final phases of completion. United Nations (UN) forces spearheaded by the US Eighth army and X Corps were advancing northward with the goal of completely reuniting North and South Korea. The Taebaek Mountains which are an extremely rugged north –south oriented mountain range divide Korea. The UN forces split in to two groups during their advance with the Eighth Army advancing along the west coast and the US X Corps moving north along the east coast. On 19 October 1950 after repeated warnings to the United Nations Massive amounts of Chinese Forces crossed the border into North Korea. After several minor skirmishes with X Corps, the Chinese Peoples Volunteer Army (PVA) decisevly engaged the US X Corps in the vicinity of Chosin Resevoir.
Chosin Reservoir is a man-made lake located in the northeast of the Korean peninsula. The battle was fought over some of the roughest terrain d...
American ground troops go into battle against Northern Korean forces at Osan. The Americans suffer 150 casualties in the battle and fail to halt the North Koreans' southward advance.
Divine, Robert A. America past and Present. 10th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education/Longman, 2013. 245. Print.
Exemplary performance has always attracted accolades and numerous prices; this gives morale and vigor for everyone to achieve their best. In the disciplined forces, particularly the marine, the service members always receive a major reward that elevates them in rank; this is the medal. This rewards them for their bravery and contribution in the missions they are involved in. Indeed, they contribute a lot to the peace and security of the world at large and they truly deserve these medals for recognition (Tucker, 2011). This has been a practice for the U.S. Marine to issue Corps medals since the Civil War to present day. Among the Corps Medal categories include American Defense Medal-WWII, Armed Forces Civilian Service Medal, Bronze Star Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary medal, Humanitarian Service Medal, and Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal among others. Since the Civil War there have been over 120 U.S. Marine Corps Medals. This paper identifies Lieutenant General Lewis Burwell “Chesty” Puller and describes why he has been one of the most decorated marines in the history of the U.S.