25. 7th Inf. Div. Command Report, Chosin Reservoir, Nov. 27-Dec. 12, 1950, P. 7.
26. 1st Marine Div., G-3 Journal, Nov. 30, 1950, Message No. 37, 1900 hours.
27. Lynch, letter to author, July 30, 1980, p. 5-
28. Lynch, letters to author, Dec. 19, 1976, and Mar. 14, 1978.
29. Gen. William J. McCaffrey, interview with author, Feb. 4,1976. McCaffrey said, "Barr ordered the withdrawal." Technically, Barr could not order the withdrawal, but he could have asked Gen. Oliver Smith to do so.
30. Col. Thomas L. Ridge, USMC, Ret., letter to author, Mar. 27, 1977.
31- May, letter to author, n.d., received Aug. 22, 1981.
32. Sfc. Carroll D. Price, HQ Btry., 57th FA Bn., Statement, Apr. 18, 1951.
33. Sgt. Stephen F. Lewis, C Co., 1st Bn., 32nd Inf., Statement, Apr. 15, 1951.
Chapter 23
i. These paragraphs are based largely on Col. Robert E. Jones, USA, Ret., review comments on "East of Chosin" MS, Mar. 2, 1981, pp. 5-6.
2. Ibid., p. 7.
3. Maj. Gen. Field Harris, USMC, CG, ist Marine Air Wing, Fleet Marine Force, letter to Brig. Gen. Henry I. Hodes, Jan. 23, 1951, copy in author's possession.
4. May, letters to author, n.d., received Aug. 22, 1981, pp. 9-10, and letter to author, n.d., received July 24, 1981, p. 2.
Jones, review comments on "East of Chosin" MS, Mar. 2, ig81, pp. 5-8.
6. Col. James G. Campbell, USA, Ret., review comments on "East of Chosin" MS, Apr. 9, 1981, p. 2.
Aside from official records, little exists in print on the subject of Chosin. The unit command reports and other records of the US Army units that participated in the action east of Chosin are contained in Record Group 407, in the National Archives, Federal Records Center, Federal Building No. 1, 4205 Suitland Road, Suitland, Maryland 20409. This record group includes all the unit records of the Army pertaining to the Korean War.
For the units that fought east of Chosin, the circumstances that led to the tragedy are not documented in records or command reports. There are no records on deposit in the National Archives for the ist Battalion, 32nd Infantry; the 3rd Battalion, 31st Infantry; or the 57th Field Artillery Battalion, for the Chosin Reservoir action in November, 1950. I found none when I worked in the records there in 1974-75. Several years later a request to the National Archives for a search of these records yielded the reply that the search had turned up no such records. Probably none were ever prepared. All the units involved were part of the 7th Infantry Division.
The 7th Division record files had two documents relating to Chosin. One was a "Special Report on Chosin Reservoir," undated, but signed by Maj. Gen. Claude B. Ferenbaugh, who assumed command of the division on January 26, i95i. This report had been prepared by unknown persons some months after the events related and was fragmentary and unreliable. The second document in the division files was a 7th Division Action Report for the month, but nearly barren of information concerning those of its units that were east of Chosin. Included and attached to this document, however, were a number of statements or affidavits written by participants in the Chosin operation a few days after their escape to the Marine perimeter at Hagaru-ri. The most important of these was a four-page, single-spaced typed report by Maj. Robert E. Jones, the S-i of the ist Battalion, 32nd Infantry, addressed to Maj. William R. Lynch, Jr., G-3 Section, 7th Infantry Division, who was at Hagaru-ri at that time. It is a general outline of the action at Chosin Reservoir as known by Major Jones. Another item attached to the 7th Division report was a one-page report by Capt. Robert E. Drake of the 31st Tank Company in the action; other documents were brief affidavits by Capt. Robert J. Kitz, commander of K Company, 3rd Battalion, 31st Infantry, and by Sgt. Richard S. Luna of the 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry, telling of their experiences and knowledge of the Chosin action.
There are in the records no rosters of personnel in the units involved at Chosin, and for that reason it has been impossible to provide the full name of many individuals mentioned in the narrative, or to provide a complete table of the personnel making up the regimental and battalion staffs. When an individual's full name was available from other sources, I used it when the individual was mentioned in the text.
The records of the X Corps are complete and do provide a catalog of orders and instructions issued affecting the deployment of the forces at Chosin Reservoir but had few details of events there. Of special value concerning Maj. Gen. Edward M. Almond, the X Corps Commander, is his daily diary, maintained by one or the other of his aides who was with him each day. This diary was made a part of the X Corps Command Report, but the entire diary kept by General Almond throughout his participation in the Korean War is on file in his personal papers deposited in the US Army Historical Research Center at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania. A copy is deposited with the 1st Marine Division records, and by permission of General Almond, I have a copy of his typed diary.
The records of the ist Marine Division are complete, and the G-3 Journal and Message file has important information concerning some aspects of the Army action east of the reservoir, of the arrival of survivors at its Hagaru-ri perimeter, and of Lt. Col. Olin Beall's role in rescuing more than Soo Army survivors from the reservoir and its shore in the vicinity of Hudong-ni. This material has been made available to me through the Historical Branch of the US Marine Corps.
Lt. Col. George G. Borum, inspector general of the Army's X Corps, "Report of Investigation of Chaplain (C) Lt. Commander Otto Sporrer's Charges against the 31st Infantry," consisting of statements made and testimony taken in Korea in April-May, 1951, became available to me and provided considerable material concerning the action east of Chosin. Most of it came from survivors of the 3rd Battalion, 31st Infantry and the 57th Field Artillery Battalion, who were on active duty with those units at the time of the investigation.
Another body of material that must be considered primary, contemporary sources were the manuscripts written by four prominent participants of the action. Majors Crosby P. Miller, Wesley J. Curtis, Hugh W. Robbins, and Capt. Edward P. Stamford describe in these manuscripts their experiences in the Chosin action. In nearly all cases these manuscripts were based on notes written while the wounded men were hospitalized in Japan in the weeks immediately following the action in Korea.
Nine months after the operation, ist Lt. Martin Blumenson of the 3rd Historical Detachment in Korea conducted a series of interviews with some surviving members of the 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry. He prepared a report entitled, "Chosin Reservoir, 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry, 24-3o November 1950," dated August 20, 1951. A copy of that report is on file with the US Army History Center, Washington, D.C. It contains much that is factual, but it also has some hearsay evidence that is not factual and must be used with discretion.
Published works that contain information and partial treatment of the action east of Chosin are the following few:
Geer, Andrew. The New Breed.. The Story of the U.S. Marines in Korea, New York: Harper and Brothers, 1954.
Gugeler, Capt. Russell A. Combat Actions in Korea, Washington, D.C.: The Association of the U.S. Army, 1954. Chapter 7, "Chosin Reservoir," pp. 62-87, is a partial account of the action east of Chosin, based on Martin Blumenson's MS, and supplemented by his own limited interviews. It contains some errors but is the only account previously in print. It centers primarily on the 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry's part in the operation.
Military Situation in the Far East: Hearings before the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Senate, Eighty-Second Congress, First Session, to Conduct an Inquiry into the Military Situation in the Far East and the Facts Surrounding the Relief of General of the Army Douglas MacArthur from His Assignments in that Area (in 5 vols.). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1951.
Montross, Lynn, and Nicholas A. Canzona, The Chosin Campaign, vol. 3 in The US. Marine Operations in Korea, 1950-1953 (4 vols.). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1957. This volume is t
he official Marine Corps history of the Chosin Reservoir campaign. It is an excellent account of the Marines in the campaign but leaves much to be desired concerning the Army's participation in the same campaign. One recognizes that it was never intended to be an account of the Army participation in any detail.
It is not feasible to list all the hundreds of letters and the several lengthy interviews with Army participants of the Chosin Reservoir campaign that make up the main body of source material used in this book. They are all listed in the notes documenting this work. It was a tedious and major task to locate the majority of these participants, who over a period of years contributed in varying degrees to the writing of this book. Without their help it would not have been possible to put the story together. Collectively they constitute the main source for the book. I used only the recollections of their personal experiences and direct knowledge of events; I avoided the use of any hearsay evidence. I compared all evidence with that of other bearing on the same point and evaluated it as objectively as possible. I am aware that the story is not entirely complete but believe that the main events have been salvaged for a credible account.
East of Chosin was composed into type on a Compugraphic phototypesetter in eleven point Janson with two points of spacing between the lines. Janson was also selected for display. The book was designed by Larry Hirst, composed by Metricomp, Inc., and bound by John H. Dekker & Sons. The paper on which this book is printed bears acid-free characteristics for an effective life of at least three hundred years.
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