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In
Review
"Shedding Light On Idaho’s Military History" |
| 1st Quarter | 2001 |
KOREAN
CONFLICT 50th ANNIVERSARY
|
|
In
Review
"Shedding Light On Idaho’s Military History" |
| 1st Quarter | 2001 |
KOREAN
CONFLICT 50th ANNIVERSARY
This edition is the second in a series commemorating the Korean Conflict.
1951 
Jan. 1-15 -
Third Phase Communist Chineese Forces (CCF) Offensive: 500,000 enemy troops
push U.N. forces 50 miles south of the 38th Parallel and recapture Seoul.
Feb.
1 - Battle of the Twin Tunnels.
The 23rd Infantry Regiment (2nd Infantry Division), French Battalion and 347th
Field Artillery Battalion confront several CCF regiments, killing at least
1,300 Chinese.
Feb.
13-15 - Battle of Chipyong-ni. First mass assault by CCF: 18,000 troops. CCF offensive
contained by 23rd Regiment (2nd Infantry Div.), French Battalion, 1st Ranger
Company, 37th Field Artillery Battalion, and Battery B of the 82nd
Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion.
Feb. 16, 1951 - Beginning of Siege of
Wonsan. Task Force 95 (U.N. Blockade and Escort Force) blockades Wonsan
Harbor. An unprecedented 861-day naval operation-it is the longest effective
siege of a port in U.S. Navy history.
March
7 -April 4 - Operation RIPPER. Drives the Communists back to the 38th Parallel
and retakes Seoul. Seven U.S. divisions participate (U.S. Army's 1st Cavalry
Division, 2nd, 3rd, 7th, 24th, and 25th Infantry Divisions, and the 1st Marine
Division.).
March
23 - Operation TOMAHAWK. One hundred twenty C-119s and C-46s drop 3,437
paratroopers of the 187th Regimental Combat Team near Munsan-ni in second
largest airborne operation of the war.
April
12 - War's first major aerial duel. More
than 40 MiG-15s attack a B-29 formation, shooting down
two bombers. Eleven of the MiGs are destroyed, seven by B-29 gunners.
April
22-29 - CCF First Spring Offensive. Largest single battle of the War. CCF
launch their Spring Offensive with 250,000 men in 27 divisions. Includes 5
U.S. Army divisions (2nd, 3rd, 7th, 24th, 25th)
May
17-22 - CCF Second Spring Offensive. Includes 4 U.S. divisions (U.S. Army's
2nd, 3rd and 25th Infantry Divisions, and the 1st Marine Division).
May
20 - Sept. 20 - Operation STRANGLE. Massive all-out air interdiction campaign
20 is carried out by FEAF, TF 77 and the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing (MAW).
June
10-16 - Battle for the Punchbowl (vicinity Hwach'on Reservoir). The 1st Marine
Division encounters heavy North Korean resistance, but succeeds in taking its
objective.
Aug.
18 - Sept. 5 - Battle of Bloody Ridge (Hill 983). The 15th Field Artillery
Battalion sets a record by firing 14,425
rounds in 24 hours.
Sept.
13 - Oct 15 - Battle of Heartbreak Ridge (Hill 931). The 2nd Infantry Div.
seizes Heartbreak Ridge.
Sept.
21 - Operation SUMMIT. A company of 228 Marines is lifted by 12 Sikorsky S-55s
in the first helicopter deployment of a combat unit.
Nov.
30 - In a rare air battle with Communist bombers, 31 Sabres knock down 8 Tu-2
bombers, 3 La-9 propeller-driven fighters, and 1 MiG-15.
Korean War truce talks began July 10, 1951. Although talks start slowly, on Nov. 27, 1951, both sides agreed on the 38th Parallel as the line of demarcation.
The
following is condensed from "The History of the Idaho National
Guard".
On
August 5, 1950, the 116th Engineer Combat Battalion (ECB) received
notification of its activation and reported for duty on August 15. Initially, the battalion
(Bn) consisted of 200 enlisted men and 34 officers from southeastern
Idaho. The Headquarters and
Service Company (HSC) originated in Idaho Falls, Company (Co) A in Rigby, Co B
in St. Anthony, and Co C in Ashton.
After
a star spangled banner send of on September 3, which included a flyover by the
Idaho Air National Guard and a performance by the 25th Army Band,
they boarded a Union Pacific train bound for Fort Belvoir Virginia arriving on
the 6th of September.
After
basic training, the Bn entered an advanced engineer course at A. P. Hill
Military Reservation where they built roads, repaired blown bridges, and
constructed and operated an aerial tramway. In addition, the Bn learned to
repair and maintain supply routes while also transporting casualties.
Organized as a combat support unit, the 116th received machine gun,
mortar and hand-to-hand combat training, bayonet drills, technical schooling,
and further physical conditioning.
The
unit left Fort Belvoir on January 30, 1951 and via California and Japan,
arrived in Korea in the late evening of February 28, 1951.
They
promptly went to work. Co A
partially finished a warehouse in the engineer storage area, while Co C
completed a warehouse in Pusan and improved Pusan’s deteriorating streets.
Co B built two quonnset huts while maintaining a forty-mile section of the
“Red Ball Highway,” which led northeast out of Pusan.
Shortly
after arrival in Pusan, the Eighth Army launched “Operation Ripper,”
intending to push the North Korean troops back above the 38th
parallel. There was a need for
combat support units at the front. In
March, the 116th learned they were headed to the front.
Upon their arrival, they set up a base camp about twelve miles north of
Chech'on.
Their
first assignment included maintaining over fifty miles of road and
constructing two bridges as well as establishing and operating water supply
points for combat troops and their vehicles.
Each company also housed, fed, and supervised up to five hundred South
Korean civilians at one time, employing them as laborers.
On
April 6 the Bn moved to Hoengsong where it joined the X Corps on the front
lines. In doing so, the 116th
became the first National Guard unit to be stationed in the X Corps combat
zone. From its position at
Hoengsong, the Bn maintained the main supply route from Wonju to Hoengsong.
Co's B and C started constructing four bridges and rebuilding eleven miles of
main supply road between the two deserted towns. Co A refurbished the
partially destroyed Wonju River bridge.
The Wonju Bridge
HSC
operated three water supply stations in this area. On an average twenty-hour day, each water point supplied over
100,000 gallons of water to troops. They
also maintained ten miles of road between Wonju and Chech’on.
Monsoon-type
weather dominated the Korean spring and summer of 1951.
On an average day, it rained ten to twelve inches, which turned roads
into rivers of mud and made movement difficult for supply vehicles, tanks, and
artillery. Despite the weather, the 116th continued repairing roads, bridges,
and waterways on the east central front, providing combat support for Army,
Marine, and other UN forces. The road was the main supply route into northern Korea; it
had to be serviced twenty-four hours a day.
Between
April 6 and May 23, X Corps command increased the Bn’s responsibility to
include forty miles of road north and east of Hoengsong.
At one point the Bn had twelve different bridges under construction,
which were all fifty-ton. The Bn also reconstructed sixty miles of the Wonju-Hoengsong
“highway”, widening it to a full twenty-two feet, which allowed two-way
travel.
“Our
mission was front line support, we had to build the passes through the
mountains to provide supply routes.”
Lt. Ghormley. Throughout the spring and
Break
Time during road building
On
May 23 X Corps command ordered the Bn to turn over its Hoengsong
responsibilities to Army engineer troops and shift forward to support a
counteroffensive.
Throughout
the spring UN troops continued to push farther north. In late May the Bn crossed the 38th parallel into North Korea
and built an encampment eight miles south of
"Bloody
Ridge Blvd, Travel the scenic route thru the courtesy of…116th
Engr C Bn"
Korea’s
rainy season continued to challenge the Bn's engineering proficiency.
Heavy machinery, supply trucks, and artillery traffic required that
roads be adequately drained. This
meant troops frequently worked day and night, maintaining three eight-hour
shifts. Enemy troops occasionally
penetrated behind the Bn’s position and forced evacuation.
In
June the Bn received a commendation for its road construction performance from
Lt. Gen. Almond, X Corps Army commander.
Throughout the following months the Idahoans continued their road
maintenance duties. X Corps Cmd
also directed them to improve all roads and to build fifteen more bridges in
the Soyang River area. The X
Corps required the roads to be twenty-two feet wide, gravel surfaces, and
capable of sustaining two-way traffic. In
June the 116th gained working control of the Republic of Korea’s 105th
Engineer Combat Bn, joining the 116th in construction duties.
Battalion
command moved to Taehungni in early July. The 116th continued building roads
and bridges where none had previously existed. In six days Co C constructed a
three-span, 198-foot, pile-bent bridge across the Hangshan River.
The bridge was needed to ensure uninterrupted travel to the front
during the rainy season.
After
their move farther north, their assignments involved maintaining the lateral
road from Yanggu and the Hwachon Reservoir to the Soyang River and improving
the Inje Lateral between Hang’ye and Inje. They also worked on the ten new
miles leading directly to “Bloody Ridge” and the western portion of the
“Punchbowl”.
In
addition, the Bn was assigned maintenance control of the road between Oyupo
and Inje, vital to X Corps 'supply needs. The Bn turned the unusable road into
a two-way gravel-surfaced byway and then advanced to the front.
At the time, about 170 Idahoans of the original 234 remained as members of the 116th. Some had returned home earlier under the dependency law, while others transferred to other units. By mid-summer, the 116th had constructed more than 150 miles of roads through areas considered impassable and erected twenty-one bridges, totaling more than 1,000 feet in length.
Throughout
the summer and fall offensive of 1951, the Bn tried to stay ahead of the
Allied artillery, demolishing roadblocks and clearing thousands of tons of
earth. Enemy mine fields
repeatedly halted the Bn until demolition crews could clear the area.
By
October 1951 the soldiers often worked around-the-clock to keep roads in
shape, even in blackout areas (without lights.) The winter cold and summer
rains also had an adverse effect on maintenance operations. “The
mountainous terrain, heavy earthwork, and large amounts of solid rock caused
extraordinary wear and breakage of equipment,” Sgt. William C. Mackert
recalled. Mechanics and other maintenance personnel often worked long hours to
keep machinery in working order. Throughout the fall and winter the Bn stayed
in the Masan-ni area.
The
Bn’s major job during the fall and winter of 1951 was the reconstruction of
the PunchBowl Lateral. The Idahoans dynamited a road out of the rocky
mountainside and also constructed a complete Korean Military Advisory Group (KMAG)
training camp including a water distribution and purification system,
electrical facilities, and occupational quarters.
The
116th built artillery emplacements, cleared mine fields, placed barbed wire,
and constructed an aerial tramway. “It was a source of satisfaction for
all of us to know that we were building permanent, all-weather roads.
We knew these would be a benefit to the civilian population long after
we left” Lt. Eldon Hinckley. The
Bn also provided troops to operate and transport supplies and ammunition via
the tramway to the front.
The
116th continued operations in the east-central front, but soon they learned
they would be going home. In late January the first group arrived in Seattle
aboard the Navy transport Marine Lynx. A second group on the General
William Black reached San Francisco during the first week of February.
Others returned throughout the spring; still others served in the X Corps
sector throughout the winter and spring of 1952.
On
January 5, 1953 the Defense Department established the 116th Engineer
Battalion (NGUS) in Idaho, enabling Idaho veterans to rejoin the National
Guard. On January 20, 1955 the 116th was officially released from
active duty at Pusan, Korea.
For
its role in Korea, the 116th ECB received the U.S. Distinguished Unit Citation
and two Korean Presidential Unit Citations.
On August 11, 1954 the 116th learned they were entitled to
the following battle participation credits:
First
UN Counteroffensive
February
28 to April 21, 1951
CCF
Spring Offensive
UN
Summer-Fall Offensive
Second
Korean Winter
Korea
Summer-Fall 1952
Third
Korean Winter
December
1, 1952 to April 30, 1953
The histories of the 4 Idaho National Guard units
activated during the Korean Conflict are in the book, The History of the
Idaho National Guard which is available at the Museum Gift Shop.
PRESIDENT’S
MESSAGE
NEW MEMBERS
Special
Welcome to:
O
Garry Carroll
O Larry Carroll
O Richard Rosenberry
OLois E. Van Slyke
O Don
L. Beck
EXECUTIVE
DIRECTOR
I'd like to remind everybody that there's always
something new going on at the Museum. If
you haven't stopped by in a while, I'd like to invite you to come by for a cup
of coffee and tour. We've added a
new divider in the WWII Gowen Field area, which gave us space for a "WWII
admin office" complete with Wendy the WAC!
Fred Anderson has been busy organizing our many
patches, and he's built an exhibit representing the ground force units that
fought in Korea, Viet Nam and the Persian Gulf. Unfortunately we are short a few. The ones we need are listed in our Most Wanted section.
Please check your attics, footlockers, etc., to see if you can
help us out.
And here's
another chance to help! Our
regular volunteer staff is so busy that we need help greeting our visitors on
Mondays and Tuesdays. If you
have any time available at the beginning of the week give us a call.
You can reach Kurt at 422-4202 or Bob at 422-4841.
We will sign you up and set up a time for some orientation training.
A great way to help the Society and meet new and
interesting people. Hope to see
you soon.
-
Bob
Benbough
UPDATE
IN MEMORIAM
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|
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Richard 'Dick'
King |
Robert 'Bob' Cassell |
January
was a very difficult month for the IMHS.
We lost 2 valuable members whose efforts made a significant impact in
the Museums day-to-day operations.
Dick
King, a WWII veteran, joined the Society in
December 1998 and quickly became a valuable member and volunteer.
He (and his wife Fran) often volunteered in the Museum Archives as well
as at other projects the IMHS was involved in.
Dick was a judge at the last two Idaho History Days and was
instrumental in selecting the winner of the 2000 Idaho Military History
category.
Bob
Cassell
joined the Society in November 1996. He
too was a WWII veteran who also served in Viet Nam. He often volunteered at the Museum, organized and set up the
library, and was elected to the Society's Board of Directors in 1999.
Bob was never to busy to lend a hand where ever and when ever needed.
Many friends and co-workers
have made donations to the Society's Endowment Fund in Bob Cassell's name.
A total of $588.00 has been added to our endowment
through these donations. Bob & Dick both left
quite a legacy and we are proud to be able to help carry on that tradition.
We also regret to inform you that Mr. Chester
Graham also passed away in February.
On
behalf of the Board, Members and Volunteers, our deepest sympathy and
condolences are extended to the families of Dick, Bob, and Chester.
They will truly be missed
- The Board
UPCOMING EVENTS
April
20, Idaho History Day. (At BSU) The
Theme for 2001 is Frontiers In History.
As part of our Educational Outreach Program, the IMHS is a
co-sponsor. If you are interested
in helping judge the Idaho Military History Category, give us a call.
IDAHO FILE INTO HISTORY
Rank and Organization: Major, 3d
Battalion, 1st Marines, 1st Marine Division (Rein)
Service:
U.S. Marine Corps
Birthday:
26 November 1919
Place
of Birth: Boise,
Idaho
Entered
Service at: Boise,
Idaho
Served
as:
Battalion Executive Officer
Battle
or Place of Action: near
Hagaru-ri, Korea
Date
of Action: 29 November 1950
Citation:
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above
and beyond the call of duty as executive officer of the 3d Battalion, in
action against enemy aggressor forces. Assuming
command of a composite unit of Army and Marine service and headquarters
elements totaling approximately 250 men, during a critical stage in the vital
defense of the strategically important military base at Hagaru-ri, Maj. Myers
immediately initiated a determined and aggressive counterattack against a
well-entrenched and cleverly concealed enemy force numbering an estimated
4,000. Severely handicapped by a
lack of trained personnel and experienced leaders in his valiant efforts to
regain maximum ground prior to daylight, he persisted in constantly exposing
himself to intense, accurate, and sustained hostile fire in order to direct
and supervise the employment of his men and to encourage and spur them on in
pressing the attack. Inexorably
moving forward up the steep, snow-covered slope with his depleted group in the
face of apparently insurmountable odds, he con-currently directed artillery
and mortar fire with superb skill and although losing 170 of his men during 14
hours of raging combat in subzero temperature, continued to reorganize his
unit and spearhead the attack which resulted in 600 enemy killed and 500
wounded. By his exceptional and
valorous leadership throughout, Maj. Myers contributed directly to the success
of his unit in restoring the perimeter. His
resolute spirit of self-sacrifice and unfaltering devotion to duty enhance and
sustain the highest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service. End Citation
It
is now November, 1950, 5 months almost to the day since North
Korea invaded South Korea, initiating the Korean War. We, the United States with occupation forces out of Japan,
were almost too late as our occupation forces went to the rescue eventually
striking back and driving the North Koreans out of the South and up to the
Yalu River, North Korea's border with China.
That is where a Boise native and Major in the Marine Corps earned his
place in history.
Myers was an Idaho native having been born and raised
in Boise. He graduated from East
High in Salt Lake City, Utah and received a Mechanical Engineering Degree from
the University of Idaho in 1941. In
Jan 41, he was commissioned a 2LT in the US Army and in July 41, was assigned
to the Army Air Corps. In Sep 41,
he resigned his Army commission and accepted a regular commission in the USMC
as a 2LT. After graduating from
Officer Basic in Philadelphia PA, he was assigned to the Pacific where he
served aboard the USS New Orleans and as the Reg't S-4 of the 5th
Marines on Okinawa and in China.
Fast Forward to Korea, November 1950.
Briefly, here is the situation. As
the UN forces pushed the North Koreans back over the 38th Parallel
and up to the Yalu River, they went around a geological barrier that split the
front, the Chosin Reservoir. The
Fifth and Seventh Marines went up the west side while the Eighth Army's 32nd
Infantry Division went up the east side.
There was nothing particularly unusual about that except that is when
some 200,000 Chinese, including the China's 4th Field Army jumped
the Yalu and entered the fight, swarms of Chinese.
The Marines on the west and the Army on the east were
forced back toward the southern tip of the Chosin.
This tip is where everything came together in controlling an orderly
withdrawal to the south.
There were two critical points here:
the abandoned town of Hagaru-ri and East Hill with its commanding
position. These two points had to
be held if Marines from the west and Army from the east were to get through
this choke point and proceed south. This
entire action took place with snow, temperature well below zero and vicious
winds out of Siberia. That and
untold swarms of Chineese coming in on the flanks even to the south of
Hagaru-ri.
All of the troops were heavily committed when Maj
Myers, then Exec Officer, 3rd Bn, 1st Marines, 1st
Marine Div, was ordered to take back East Hill in order to safe guard the
passage of Marine and Army troops coming south along each side of the
reservoir.
"We arrived in Hagaur-Ri, North Korea, on my
birthday, Sunday, November 26, 1950. What
a birthday!! The ground was so frozen that it was necessary to use dynamite to
cut through the top layer of the ground. After all of the troops had settled in, we sent out our South
Korean agents to reconnoiter the area and report what they found.
They reported that at 7pm on the next day, Monday
evening, that the Chinese troops would attack.
Where did the Chinese come from? We
had no idea that Chinese troops were even in the area.
They weren’t supposed to even be there.
The 5th and 7th Marines were in defensive positions on the Yalu River
holding that. We found out later
that the Chinese had managed to work their way around our regimental defense
positions.
Chosin
Reservoir, East Hill,
28
Nov 50 (Hagaru-ri, Korea)1
They attacked at 9pm instead of 7pm.
We lost East Hill but I was ordered to retake the hill, a critical
position that governed the only road exit from Hagaru-ri.
The Army unit with its 200 soldiers that had defended
the crest of East Hill had been attacked and had fallen back to the bottom of
the hill. I had no Marine Rifle
Company or unit of any type in my area. So
as I walked toward East Hill, I formed my own combat element from support
Marines, such as cooks, truck drivers, maintenance personnel and
administrative personnel, recruiting Marines along the way.
I ended up with about 50 hard charging Marines that were raring to go
and anxious to get into the fight, and the 200 soldiers at the bottom of East
Hill - 250 overall.
We dug in for the night. The next morning a Chinese machine gunner started laying
grazing fire across the top of our Hill.
This continued all day but we refused to leave our positions on top of
East Hill. Of course, the Chinese
were well dug in too.
Commemorative
'Dog Tag' issued as part of 50th Anniversary of Korean Conflict.2
We called in Marine air to drop bombs and napalm.
We called in artillery. We
lobbed grenades into their positions. We
assaulted them time and time again to assure that they did not retake the top
of the hill. Little by little, my
force dwindled due to casualties. But
we were stubborn and would not leave the top of the hill.
We set up a reverse slope defensive position just below the crest of
the hill, repulsing any Chinese attempts to retake the hilltop.
We remained in this reverse slope position until we
were relieved by a reinforced Marine rifle company. I was proud of my Marines.
They proved that a Marine, whether a truck driver, a cook, a clerk or
whatever, was foremost a fighting combat rifleman. I was proud and honored to be with them."
Hagaru-ri and the road net was kept open for the
Marine and Army units coming out of the north.
For this action in Korea, on October 29, 1951, at the
White House, with his wife, children, sister, uncle, parents and in-laws
looking proudly on, President Truman awarded him the Medal of Honor.
MAJ
Myers, Pres Truman, fellow MOH recipient Carl Sitter3
Following his tour in Korea, Col Myers was assigned
to Marine Corps Schools in Quantico VA and rose to be the Executive Office of
The Basic School.
From there he became an
Inspector/Instructor of the Marine Corps Reserve Unit in Wash D.C.
until March 1958 when he was transferred to London England where he
served as Assistant Naval Attache for three years.
His next assignment was the Pentagon for two years followed by a
13-month tour with Marine Forces on Okinawa and
assignment
as a student in the Industrial College of the Armed Forces in Wash D.C.
Upon graduation, Col Myers
attended George Washington Univ where he obtained a Masters in Business Admin.
He was then assigned to HQ Marine Corps as the Executive Officer of the
G-1 Division where he served until
his
retirement from active service in June 1967 with the rank of Colonel and 26
years of service.
After retirement, he established and managed the
Annandale Marine and Sports Center in Virginia. He sold the company in 1993 and retired.
He and his wife, Margaret, now live in Jupiter, Florida.
They have a son and a daughter, and five grandchildren.
Reginald
R. Myers medal is one of the 9 Medals of Honor accredited to Idaho.
Editors
Note: A very special thank you to
Mr. Myers for granting us an interview.
1http://rt66.com/~korteng/SmallArms/kwphotos.htm
2
http://Korea50.army.mil
3 Pueblo
Chieftan, Sept 17, 2000
KOREA TODAY
Courtesy of our own
roving reporter, Rachel Smythe, a current photo from Korea.
Nakdong
River Memorial, built to commemorate the Pusan perimeter defense of 1950.
This
statute is part of the Memorial
MOST WANTED
Patches!
Korea: I
Corps, IX Corps, and 5th RCT.
Vietnam:
196th
Inf BDE, 198th Inf BDE,
Persian
Gulf: 1st
Marine Div, 1st Armd Div,
Marines
(WWII):
4th
Base Defense Air Wing, 13th Defense Bn, Hq Pacific Air Wing, 2nd
Marine Air Wing, 4th Marine
Air Wing.
Please check your attics, footlockers, etc., to see if you can help us out.
