7. Col. Robert E. Jones, USA, Ret., letter to Maj. Robert M. Coombs, Command General Staff School, Fort Leavenworth, copy supplied to author. This is an important document, for it discusses many aspects and incidents of the action east of Chosin Reservoir not found elsewhere. Maj. Wesley J. Curtis, "Operations of the First Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division, in the Chosin Reservoir Area of Korea during the Period 24 November-2 December 1950: Personal Experience of the Battalion Operations Officer" (typescript MS, 23 pp., with map sketches, copy of 1st draft provided to author by Col. Curtis, USA, Ret.; hereafter cited as Curtis, MS). Curtis wrote this MS at the US Military Academy, West Point, N.Y., between September, 1951, and Jan. 28, 1953, using notes that he made in a hospital in Japan (he was wounded at Chosin on Dec. 1, 1950). The MS is generally accurate and a valuable primary source.
8. Miller, MS. Miller provided me with a copy of this MS in July, 1954. In his letter to me of July 7, 1954, he stated that the MS "was originally written purely as a personal record-notes jotted down before the details faded away completely. Many of the dates and places and details have been coordinated with Major R. E. Jones who was the Bn Si at the time." Miller was seriously wounded at Chosin and made many of these notes while in a hospital in Japan. His MS is a contemporary document of great value and includes an awesome account of his personal ordeal. It is remarkable that he survived Chosin.
9. Curtis, MS, pp. 4-5; Capt. Edward P. Stamford, USMC, "Statement on Action East of Chosin" (typescript MS), p. i (hereafter cited as Stamford, MS). Capt. Stamford, TACP leader and forward air controller with the ist Bn, 3znd Inf., prepared this 19-page typescript at the request of the commandant, US Marine Corps. It was written and submitted to him in early February, 1951. Maj. Stamford provided me with a copy in 1979. This document is almost irreplaceable as a source of information on some aspects of the action east of Chosin. It is the only source known to me that gives details of the Marine Air Wing support for the 1st Bn., 32nd Inf., and later for Task Force Faith. A similar version of this MS is found on pp. 70-90 of a 97-page document reproduced by the Historical Division, HQ USMC, dated Mar. 16, 1951, on the development of Anglico (Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company) teams (hereafter cited as Stamford, Anglico Report). This document is based on Marine Corps extended interviews with Capt. Stamford. It has much information of value not found in his 19-page statement of early February, 1951, particularly on his own career in the Marine Corps before his attachment to 1st Bn., 32nd Inf., in Japan during the summer of 195o and in the development of Anglico.
10. Lt. Col. Don Faith was born at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, on Aug. 26, 1918, the son of Don Carlos Faith, a career Army officer who rose to the rank of brigadier general. The younger Faith wanted to attend West Point, but was turned down as a candidate because of a dental disqualification, and afterward a draft board turned him down for the same reason when he tried to enlist at the beginning of World War II. Faith won an appeal from the latter decision and enlisted on June 25, 1941. At the time, he was attending Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., for foreign-service training. After becoming Gen. Ridgway's aide, and when the 82nd Inf. Div. was converted into an airborne division, the first in the US Army, Faith took parachute and airborne training-a short jump course-which qualified him for the 82nd Airborne Div. From February, 1942, to July, 1945, Faith served as Ridgway's trusted aide in the 82nd Inf. Div., the 82nd Airborne Div., and in the XVIII Airborne Corps when Ridgway was named its first commander. In February, 1948, Faith joined General Barr's American liaison group, which was advising Generalissimo Chiang-Kai-shek in the Chinese Civil War. During his China assignment Faith developed a strong friendship with Gen. Barr, which later continued when Barr commanded the 7th Inf. Div. in Japan and Korea. Because of Faith's extensive experience as aide to Gen. Ridgway and high-level staff assignments afterward, he was given constructive credit for the Advanced Course at the Infantry School at Fort Benning and for the General Staff Course at Fort Leavenworth, which he had never attended. His experience and training were considered their equivalent.
ii. Col. Crosby P. Miller, USA, Ret., correspondence with author and review comments on "East of Chosin" MS, 1976-81; author's correspondence with Curtis, 1976-81; GHQ 7th Inf. Div., Special Order No. 195, Aug. 13, 195o, assigning both Miller and Curtis to the 32nd Inf. Regt.
12. Author's correspondence with Curtis, 1976-81, and author's extended interviews with Curtis, 1976-81; Curtis, review comments on "East of Chosin" MS, Feb. 16, 1981; comments to author in correspondence about Curtis from his fellow officers in the 1st Bn.; US Military Academy, Register of Graduates and Former Cadets, 1975 (West Point, N.Y.) p. 498, Item 13,402. Curtis was born in the Ozarks region of Arkansas on May 9, 1918. He considered his experiences with the "Wolfhound Regiment" (27th Inf., 25th Div.) in 1944-46 the most memorable and satisfying of his Army career and felt that he had served under a series of fine regimental commanders, all "field soldiers," he said. When he was sent to Japan in 195o, he hoped to be assigned to his old Wolfhound Regiment. That did not happen. He then hoped that he might be sent to I Co., 17th Inf., in which he had served as an enlisted man at the beginning of his Army career. The 17th Inf. was now a part of the 7th Inf. Div. He had no luck there either.
13. Curtis, MS, pp. 4-5; Stamford, MS, p. ,; Miller, MS, p. 2.
14. Curtis, MS, pp. 5-6.
15. Curtis, MS, p. 6; Stamford, MS, p. ,.
16. Lt. Col. James O. Mortrude, "Autobiographical Chronology of Chosin Reservoir Operation" (typescript MS; hereafter cited as Mortrude, MS). Mortrude sent this document to me with his letter, Oct. 23, 198o. The document was prepared at my request.
17. Curtis, MS, p. 6; Montross and Canzona, The Chosin Campaign, pp. i45-47. Montross was a professional writer who had been associated with the Marine Corps for many years. Canzona was a combat engineer officer, 1st Marine Eng. Bn, who participated in the Chosin operations. Their work is based on exhaustive use of official Marine Corps records, together with extensive interviews with Marine participants and their written affidavits of recollections and experiences. It is the official Marine Corps history of the operation and is generally a reliable one for the Marine units involved. It is less satisfactory, however, for Army units and needs to be extensively supplemented and enlarged to cover that topic adequately. The most important Army units were the elements of the 7th Inf. Div. that fought on the east side of the reservoir and those which subsequently participated in the defense of Hagaru-ri and in the Marine withdrawal to the coast. See also X Corps, War Diary, November, 195o, pp. 27-28.
18. Mortrude, MS, pp. 1-2.
19. Lt. Col. James O. Mortrude, Retirement Form DD-z14, Mar. Y, 1974, effective date; Roster, C Co., 32nd Inf., October, 195o; clipping from a Seattle newspaper, name and date missing, but apparently dating from February, 1951; statements to author by Majors Curtis and Miller and Capt. Bigger.
20. Col. James G. Campbell, USA, Ret., cassette-taped account of his experiences east of Chosin Reservoir as a platoon leader, prepared at my request (hereafter cited as Campbell, tape). Campbell taped this account on Nov. 29-30, 1980. The tape is in my possession. Resume of Campbell's military service, 1949-50, in Campbell, letter to author, Dec. 13, 1980. Also, author's correspondence with Maj. Curtis and Capt. Bigger and author's interviews with Curtis, 1976 and 1981.
21. Curtis, MS, p. 3.
22. Ibid., p. 8.
23. Ibid.; Miller, MS, pp. 2-3. Both Curtis and Miller speak of Col. MacLean's arrival at their CP on the evening of Nov. 26. Curtis says that the 31st Inf. S-3 and S-i and the communications officer accompanied MacLean. But Maj. Hugh Robbins, the 31st Inf. S-1, in an account he had left, indicates that he had not yet arrived at Chosin. Rather than Robbins it was Maj. Carl G. Witte, the regimental S-2, who arrived. The communications officer that Curtis mentions must have been Lt. McNally, the 31st Inf. communications officer. Lt. Col. Berry K. Anderson was the 31st regimental S-3.
24. Curtis, MS, pp. 8-9.
25. Comments
about the former village of Hudong-ni are based on a study of the original black-and-white map, 1916 data, that Col. Robert E. Drake (the captain), CO, 31st Tank Co., carried in November and December, 1950, at Chosin, and on statements to the author by both Drake and Brig. Gen. William R. Lynch that, other than the schoolhouse, only house foundations were still standing at Hudongni in November, 195o.
26. Maj. Hugh W. Robbins, Breakout (n.p., n.d.), 6-page printed narrative of his experiences at Chosin Reservoir, apparently written from notes probably prepared in a hospital in Japan in December, 1950 (hereafter cited as Robbins, Breakout). Robbins was adjutant and S-i of the 31st Inf. Regt. His account is an excellent source for the early movements of the 31st Inf. to Chosin Reservoir and of Col. MacLean's activities at his Advance CP. It also covers some actions at the 1st Bn., 32nd Inf., inlet perimeter on Nov. 29, 195o. Also, Col. Carl G. Witte, USA, Ret., letter to author, Dec. 15, 1978.
27. Robbins, Breakout; 1st Marine Div. Overlay, Special Action Report, Oct. 8- Dec. 15, 1950, vol. 2 of 3, Situation Overlay, Nov. 28-29, 1950, copy in author's possession; Maj. Ivan H. Long, AUS, Ret., letter to author, Apr. 29, 1981. Long was the 31st Inf. intelligence sergeant in November, 1950, and was with Col. MacLean at Hudong-ni and at his Advance CP Maps of Korea, Changjin and Kalchonni Sheets. 1969 and 1971 data, scale 1:50,000.
28. Curtis, MS, p. 9; Drake, letter to author, Jan. to, 1977; Witte, letters to author, Nov. 16, 1978, and May 26, 198o.
29. Lt. Gen. William J. McCaffrey, USA, Ret., review comments on "East of Chosin' MS, Feb. 27, 1981.
30. Col. Ray O. Embree, USA, Ret., letter to author, Mar. 18, 1979; 1st Lt. Thomas J. Patton, A Btry., 57th FA Bn., statement, Nov. 27-Dec. 27, 1950, n.d., but made in April, 1951, copy in author's possession.
31. Maj. James R. McClymont, letter to author, May 11, 1980 (see note 32, below); Embree, letter to author, Mar. 18, 1979.
32. McClymont, letter to author, May 11, 198o (hereafter cited as McClymont, MS). This letter of 13 single-spaced typed pages is a narrative account of his experiences at Chosin, accompanied by a sketch map, no scale, of the 57th FA Bn., HQ Co., and his D Btry. (- ), 15th AAA AW, positions on the night of Nov. 27-28, 1950. In addition McClymont provided 4 pages of answers to 27 questions I asked him. McClymont's material is a major source covering events east of Chosin, Nov. 27-Dec. 2, 1950; Patton, MS, p. 1; Roster of Officers, provided by Col. Ray O. Embree, 57th FA Bn., Oct. 15, 1950. Nearly all members of the 57th FA Bn. refer to the battery commanders Hodge and Goss after Chosin as "captain." Both were listed as first lieutenants in the October roster. They may have been promoted before the Chosin action. The same situation applies to Maj. Robert J. Tolly, S-3 of the 57th FA Bn., who is sometimes referred to as lieutenant colonel. Col. Embree says that he does not recall whether Tolly was promoted just before Chosin or subsequently. Copy of 57th FA roster for officers in author's possession.
33. Lt. Col. Earle H. Jordan Jr., letter to author, Jan. 5, 1979.
34. Ibid.
35. Col. Robert E. Drake, USA, Ret., letter to author, Nov. 17,1977; Col. Robert E. Drake, "The Infantry Regiment's Tank Company," Armor 6o, no. 5 (September-October, 1951): 14-17.
36. Col. Robert E. Drake, USA, Ret., letter to author, Jan. 10, 1977, with comments and answers to questions I asked him; Drake, letter to author, June 28, 1978.
37. Brig. Gen. William R. Lynch, Jr., USA, Ret., letters to author, Dec. 19, 1976, and Jan. 21, 1977.
38. 31st Inf. Command Report, November, 1950, cited in Maj. Robert M. Coombs, "Changjin Reservoir, Korea, 1950," (thesis, Command and General Staff College, 1975), p. 31, (hereafter cited as Coombs, thesis).
Chapter 3
i. Montross and Canzona, The Chosin Campaign, pp. 147-49, 151, 158; Curtis, MS, p. 9. Nov. 26 and 27 were hectic days for the 1st Marine Div., as well as for the 7th Inf. Div., in getting its troops in place for the X Corps attack ordered for the morning of Nov. 27. In trying to accomplish its role, the 1st Marine Div. had to concentrate two of its regiments at Yudam-ni, the jump-off point, on the west side of the reservoir. On the 26th, the 3rd Bn., ist Marines, less one company, arrived at Hagaru-ri and relieved the 2nd Bn., 7th Marines, which immediately moved to Yudam-ni; the 2nd Bn., 5th Marines, moved from east of the reservoir to Yudamni the same day and evening; and the 1st and 3rd Bns., 5th Marines, moved from east of Chosin to Yudam-ni on the 27th, the 1st Bn. not completing its move until after dark.
2. Capt. Nicholas A. Canzona, USMC, interview with author, 1952.
3. 1st Lt. Martin Blumenson, "Chosin Reservoir, ist Battalion, 32nd Infantry, 24-30 Nov 1950," Aug. 20, 1951 (typescript MS, based on interview in Korea; mimeographed copy in files of Office of Chief of Military History, Washington, D.C.; hereafter cited as Blumenson, "Chosin Reservoir").
4. Miller, MS, p. 34. I believe that the battalion right flank of B Co. did not extend to the road but ended on the high ground of a spur ridge that ended short of the road. On the second day of action Lt. Col. Faith had to use most of HQ Co. as an improvised rifle company to extend the original right flank closer to the road to stop an enemy threat to envelop that flank.
Mortrude, MS, p. 2.
6. Curtis, interview with author, June 4-6, 1981, with 1:5o,ooo-scale map of area in hand. Detailed study of map of Korea, Changjin and Kalchon-ni Sheets, 1969/1971 data, scale 1:50,000. Also, study of 1952 map of same area, 1951 data, scale 1:50,000, The 1952 map has contour intervals of 20 meters; that of 1969/1971 has 40-meter contour intervals. For the most part, the 1952 map has names similar to those the troops knew from their 1950 maps, though there are some omissions and changes from the 1950 map. The 1969/1971 data map shows villages and other place-names that are much different and in some cases are not recognizable with references in the Army's official records of the 1950 action. The locations of towns and villages are generally the same, but many of the names have been changed. Hagaru-ri, for instance, has been renamed Changjin. Terrain features are little changed.
Chapter 4
i. X Corps, War Diary, Nov. 26, 1950, Periodic Intelligence Report (PIR) No. 16, p. 3; X Corps, Special Report on Chosin Reservoir, Nov. 27-Dec. 10, 1950, p. 35; Montross and Canzona, The Chosin Campaign, p. 149.
2. Far East Command (FEC), Daily Intelligence Summary, No. 3207, June 21, 1951 (captured document giving CCF order of battle); X Corps, Special Report on Chosin Reservoir (Command Report), Nov. 27-Dec. 10, 1950, Maps A and B, and Maps 1, 2, and 3; FEC, Order of Battle Information, Chinese Communist Third Field Army Korean War, Mar. 1, 1951, National Archives, Federal Records Center, Record Group 407, Box 413; FEC, Intelligence Digest 1, no. 3 (Jan. 16-31, 1953): 30-37, Record Group 407, Box 225; Montross and Canzona, The Chosin Campaign, app. G, "Enemy Order of Battle," pp. 397-98.
3. Based on the sources given in note 2 above.
4. When the 26th Army moved south to join in the Chosin battles, it apparently moved from Linchiang to Kanggje. There it turned east along the narrowgauge railroad that crossed the mountains to the Changjin River, which it reached about 3o air miles north of the Chosin Reservoir. From there it proceeded upriver (south) to the reservoir and then up its west side to Yudam-ni.
5. The sketch of the Chinese Both Div. is based on HQ FEC, USAF, G-2, "Histories of CCF Army Groups Active in Korea, Part II, Ninth Army Group," Intelligence Digest 1, no. 3 (Jan. 16-31, 1953), esp. pp. 36-37, Record Group 407, Box 225; FEC, Daily Intelligence Summary, No. 3233, "Third CCF Field Army OB 2-6," July 17, 1951, National Archives, Record Group 407, Box 491; FEC, "Initial Commitment CCF into Korea," Intelligence Digest, Aug. 16-31, 1951, Record Group 407, Box 513; Montross and Canzona, The Cbosin Campaign, pp. 397-98, app. G, "Enemy Order of Battle"; X Corps, War Diary, Nov. 1-30, 1950, pp. 23, 25.
6. GHQ FEC, USAF, G-2, "Histories of CCF Army Groups Active in Korea, Part II, Ninth Army Group," Intelligence Digest 1, no. 3 (Jan. 16-31, 1953): 32-37. This source summarizes information available on the units discussed, based on hundreds of interrogations of enemy prisoners of war from the units involved, as
well as study of many captured enemy documents.
7. X Corps, War Diary, November, 195o, pp. 19-21.
Chapter f
i. Col. Robert E. Jones, letter to author, Jan. 5, 1979; Jones, letter to Maj. Robert M. Coombs, Jan. 15, 1975, copy in author's possession, courtesy of Colonel Jones, Curtis, MS, p. io.
2. Curtis, MS, p. 10.
3. Resume of Jones's military service, copy provided by Jones; unidentified newspaper (probably Poynor, Texas, newspaper), Nov. 24, 1950, article on Jones, quoting at length an article in the Pacific Stars and Stripes, copy in author's possession; author's correspondence and interviews with Col. Wesley J. Curtis, Capt. Erwin B. Bigger, Capt. Edward P. Stamford, and Maj. Crosby P Miller, all four of whom knew Jones well at Chosin. All of them praised Jones. After Miller picked the bullet from Jones's chest, Jones put gauze and tape over the wound and took his reserve platoon up the hill. An hour later his company captured the hill. Jones did not report to a first-aid station until two days later, when the wound was already healing.
4. X Corps, War Diary, Nov. 24, 195o, Periodic Operations Report No. 59, p. 4; Blumenson, "Chosin Reservoir." Blumenson prepared this report in Korea in August, 1951. It includes information from the Morning Reports of the 1st Bn. for the period covered. Also of use on KATUSA serving with the 1st Bn., 32nd Inf., is Jones, letter to Coombs, Jan. 15, 1975, p. 3. Appleman, South to the Naktong, North to the Yalu, on the first part of the Korean War, discusses the KATUSA situation relative to the 7th Inf. Div. in some detail and gives full credit to ROK units in the war.
Most of the information concerning Capt. Stamford's training and assignments in the USMC has been taken from Historical Division, HQ USMC, "Interview with Captain Edward P Stamford, Forward Air Controller (Anglico Team), attached to 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division, USA, 16 March 1951," copy of this 97-page document in author's possession. Pages 1-7, 12-18, and 41-45 were especially useful. When Maj. Stamford visited me for a week in late September and early October, 1979, I learned much from him about the Anglico teams, the activities of a forward air controller working with ground troops, and specifically Stamford's work with the ist Bn., 32nd Inf., at Chosin. Also useful have been Stamford's review comments on "East of Chosin" MS, Apr. 7, and May 7, 1981 (see also note 6 below).
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