The company trains’ personnel (Supply and Mess) rode with their vehicles on the Japanese troop train to the Port of Sasebo, Japan, from Zama. They were loaded onto a Japanese ferryboat and took an overnight trip to the Port of Pusan, Korea. It was rumored they started out with fairly new trucks, but the trucks were switched on them while they were on the ferry. After landing they joined a Quartermaster Supply convoy up the X Corps main supply route (MSR) from Pusan to Taegu to Yongchon to Andong to Tanyang Pass. They caught up with the Company at Changnim-ri on about 6 January (although the Morning Report erroneously does not show their arrival until about 20 January).
The first order of business on 31 December was to get chow and ammunition. The Rangers of 2d Company ate in Replacement Company, which also fed the Division Band. They soon found out that ammo was in very short supply. The divisions coming in from the Hamhung evacuation had lost a lot of equipment and supplies. Whatever could not be carried out in one trip was burned or blown up so the enemy could not make use of it. The 2d Ranger Company scrounged up some ammo from the band—about enough to give each person one hundred rounds for small arms. They also received one case of twenty-four fragmentation grenades for the entire company.
The Rangers were impressed by the very cold weather. The bare landscape also drew their immediate attention: the hills were without vegetation and there was a noticeable lack of trees. The roads were so narrow that two vehicles could hardly pass each other. Beside the roads were deep drainage ditches, and bare rice paddies extended out beyond the ditches.
“Arrived early yesterday morning,” Lieutenant Allen wrote to Mary. “Assigned to the 7th Division. At present quite a ways from the fighting. Expect to be in or near the front in the next couple of days…. Weather is cold but we have clothes to withstand it. The terrain here is pretty mountainous and barren. You can travel for miles without seeing a soul, then you will hit a village. It seems as if the whole population is thrown together in small settlements. I was told that we are the only Negroes in this whole Division. I don’t know whether that is good or bad. So far we have been treated very nice.”
The company had been told in Japan that it would be assigned to the 25th Infantry Division (ID). First Lieutenant Bernard Pryor had been sent on from Japan as an advance party of one to the 25th ID and 24th Infantry Regiment on 27 December 1950. The assignment orders to the 7th ID were changed after Pryor left, and he would not catch up with 2d Ranger Company until about 6 January 1951. The next morning, when these orders were cancelled, 2d Ranger Company prepared to move north with the 7th Division, still part of the X Corps.
Hitching a Ride into Combat
[4 Jan 51] RECORD OF EVENTS SECTION
Departed Yonchon Korea 0730 hrs by Mtr Trans arrived Andong
Korea 1700 hrs distance traveled approx 90 miles {DS…4-EM/Train}
The Rangers of 2d Company were attached to the 17th Regimental Combat Team (RCT) under the command of Colonel Herbert B. Powell, one of Colonel Van Houten’s friends. On 4 January 1951, about 0700 hours, the company, with the exception of Sergeants Tucker and Parks, climbed aboard uncovered deuce-and-a-half trucks for the trip north. The division was divided into RCTs and the order of march was 17th RCT, 32d RCT, Division Arty (minus), and 31st RCT in reserve, because it had suffered the greatest losses at Chosin Reservoir. The 3d ID was shifted over to I Corps and the 2d Division and 187th ARCT (both now along defensive Line C) came under X Corps control. The 1st Marine Division reverted to 8th Army control and followed the 7th northward.
The road was in bad condition and some bridges had not been repaired, so there were bypasses near some of the larger towns. The bridge at Andong was out and there was some delay in getting through the bypass. The truck ride was long, cold, and miserable, but some heat was gathered from the packed-in bodies. A BAR gunner (BAR stood for Browning Automatic Rifle or, more frequently, Bad-Ass Ranger) and weapon were placed over each vehicle cab top in the ready position. Sergeant Tank Clarke was a BAR operator assigned to ride in Lieutenant Allen’s jeep, along with SFC William Lanier, Communications Sergeant. According to Clarke, “The one thing most of the men will remember is the convoy north and all the refugee columns moving south, crowding the road, getting in the way, so that our vehicles could hardly move.”
The distance covered was difficult and long because most of the route, which was rugged and in need of repair, had been designated one-way, with MPs posted to enforce the rules. Only at certain designated areas could convoys coming south to the supply depots pass by. At night, all units buttoned up because of guerrilla activity. Everything that moved beyond the outpost lines was in the free-fire zone.
As the convoy passed through the “S” curve of Tanyang Pass, Corporal Paulding noticed some American dead and a burned-out tank just off the road. One body was by the tank turret and another was beside the road. “When we got up to the schoolhouse, there were some dead near the latrine or a building in the back,” Sergeant Estell recalled. “They were hanging up, head down, by their heels. First Platoon Sergeant James Freeman was getting us ready for the battlefield by having us view them.”
PART II
War had taken a heavy toll on Korea by the time the 2d Ranger Company arrived on the peninsula at the end of December 1950. Fighting had been going on there since North Korean forces first crossed the 38th parallel on 25 June 1950. The South Koreans, completely unprepared for the assault, were initially routed. Seoul, the South Korean capital, fell on the third day of the attack, as the South Korean Army retreated across the Han River. Meanwhile, the United Nations took action. The Security Council condemned the North Korean attack and called on member nations to send military aid to the South Korean Republic. The United States responded by sending advisors and what land, sea, and air forces it had immediately available, but it too had not been prepared for the North Korean attack. The majority of the regiments on occupation duty in Japan were poorly trained and vastly under-strength. The 7th Infantry Division was sent to Korea about forty percent strength, and utilized South Korean citizens drafted by President Syngman Rhee, who was living in exile in Japan with about one million Korean citizens. In a letter to General Douglas MacArthur dated 14 July 1950, Rhee granted him “command authority over all land, sea, and air forces of the Republic of Korea during the period of the continuation of the present state of hostilities.”12 These forces helped slow the North Korean advance and establish a defensive perimeter around the city of Pusan, at the southernmost tip of the peninsula.
The war turned decisively in favor of South Korea and the United Nations on 15 September, when the X Corps, under the direction of General Douglas MacArthur, successfully landed at Inchon. This landing placed a large American force on the Korean peninsula behind the main North Korean army fighting around Pusan, forcing the North Koreans to retreat. Once the Americans and South Koreans had battered the enemy back across the 38th parallel by the end of September 1950, the decision was made to use the momentum of success to invade the North and reunite the Koreas.
Accordingly, UN forces continued the attack across the 38th parallel, and by 25 October had pushed the North Korean army as far north as the Yalu River at the Chinese border. It looked like the war would be over before the 2d Ranger Company completed its training at Fort Benning during the last week of November 1950.
It was then that the war took a grave turn for the free world when Chinese soldiers poured across the border to engage UN forces and aid the North Koreans in their fight. At this point the 2d Rangers were nearing completion of their training at Fort Benning. The assault forced UN and US troops to retreat steadily south, and by the time the 2d Rangers arrived in Japan the troops in support of South Korea had fallen back to the Pusan Perimeter. When the Rangers arrived in Korea, the combined Chinese and North Korean army continued pushing Americans, South Koreans, and other allied forces southward on the peninsula.
Chapter 4
First Combat Action, Outside Tanyang Pass, 7 January 1951
“I have one criticism of Negro Troops who fought under my command in the Korean War. They didn’t send me enough of them.”
—General Douglas MacArthur13
“Americans are a different breed of cats from others, they have a sense of responsibility, pride, integrity, ability, that the Negro does not possess.”
—General Edward M. Almond14
When the 2d Ranger Company arrived in Korea, the CCF Intervention, which began on 3 November 1950, was in its third month. The company’s first assignment was to protect an important rail line running through central Korea at Tanyang Pass. This rail line allowed essential supplies to travel to the UN forces (specifically, IX Corps units) fighting farther north. Those units were battling to halt the Communist Chinese forces that were attempting to push UN forces off the peninsula and bring South Korea under complete Communist domination.
Before the trip to Tanyang Pass, 2d Ranger Company made some personnel promotions. Private Joseph L. Bruce, Jr., was promoted to Private First Class, and seven enlisted men—Thomas M. Burse, Norman H. Collins, Curtis Courts, Lester L. Garland, Walter S. “Ironhead” Gray, Ellsworth Harris, and Lawrence “Poochie” Williams—who were still listed as Ranger recruits, were promoted to Private (E-2). These were the first promotions made under combat conditions. The CO could promote men up to Private First Class. Most of 2d Ranger Company’s promotions were made on 7th Division special orders. Although the company failed to take full advantage of the liberal promotion policy allowing troops to get promoted after thirty days of satisfactory action in a TO&E slot, promotions still worked out rather well, except for a few men who were already at the top of their TO&E positions.
Combat Action at Tanyang Pass
At 0730 hours 5 January, the Company boarded trucks and moved north to Changnim-ni. The unit arrived about 1000 hours after traveling a distance of forty miles. The unit was assigned a perimeter around the 17th Regimental Aid Station and just north of Tanyang Pass. At this time the Army was so short of doctors that the two surgeons assigned to the 17th Regimental Aid Station were Navy doctors on detached service from a Navy cruiser off the east coast of Korea. The Rangers’ mission was to provide protection for the aid station, provide security on the northern flank of the MP outpost, and hunt down guerillas in the area who could raid the MSR. The company immediately took up position and platoon-sized patrols were sent out within a one-half to one-mile radius. The rules were no movement outside the perimeter, and no vehicle travel after dark except for strict, pre-authorized travel with specific route and time designations.
On the night of 6 January, 2d Ranger Company was in position in a small village known as Changnim-ri, just south of Tanyang Pass. At this time the company was assigned the mission of guarding the northern end of Tanyang Pass, which was a choke point on the MSR to the central front and the X Corps. When the Rangers arrived there, they were immediately sent out on patrols into the surrounding hills. Captain Allen and Lieutenant Queen reported to the 17th CP for a briefing. Their jeep, driven by Corporal Lester Garland, also carried Sergeant Lanier, Communications Chief, who radioed back to the aid station and the company. Nonetheless, when returning after dark, they were fired upon by the northernmost outpost. Luckily no one was hit, and everyone learned a lesson about movement in the combat zone and the importance of clear communication with outpost personnel.
Sergeant Herman “Cat Eyes” Jackson, 3d Squad Leader of 1st Platoon (under the command of 1st Lieutenant Bernard “Eyes” Pryor and Sergeant First Class James E. “Cigarette” Freeman) was assigned an outpost position with half of his squad. Jackson and his men had come in from patrolling the mountains and were very tired from the climb. The Rangers always made a point of patrolling from the highest point, so that if attacked they would have the tactical advantage of being on the highest ground. This location not only gave them a better view, but also provided a clear field of fire.
The sun was going down when Jackson’s squad was ordered to defend the tunnel road. The tunnel was directly above the medical aid station and led north to the town of Tanyang. Jackson’s squad was to protect the area at night. In addition to Jackson, the squad included James Carroll; Corporal Virgil J. Collins, Assistant Squad Leader; Sergeant David “Tank” Clarke, BAR man; Sergeant Curtis Courts, radio telephone operator; and Corporal Richard H. Glover, rifleman. The men moved into position and remained until about 2100 hours, when they moved back and joined the other half of the squad. The enemy had pinpointed their location. From this fallback position, they still had the tunnel in sight, and in fact could see through the tunnel.
Jackson sat at the head of the squad, his legs crossed and a rifle in his lap. He remained in that position for three hours until about 2400. In the early hours of 7 January, the 2d Ranger Company experienced its first contact with the enemy since arriving in Korea on 30 December 1950. The enemy was closing in to infiltrate the Tanyang area, block the pass, and disrupt the flow of supplies to the front. Glover, in position just a few feet from Jackson, spotted a Korean soldier crawling beside Jackson under the protection of the ditch that ran along the road. Glover lifted his rifle and fired, hitting the enemy at least twice.
A scattering of shots were fired. “Tank” Clarke threw a white phosphorous (WP) grenade. If he had thrown a fragmentation grenade, it would have hit some of the squad members in the ditch. The WP ignited the roofs of nearby shacks, lighting up the whole area. Glover and Courts leaped over the bank and joined the rest of the squad. There were now four men on the other side of the bank; Jackson was the last man to make the leap. Once on the safer side of the bank, Jackson counted his men and found everyone present. All around them, however, the crust of the frozen snow and ice was cracking with the sound of people running on its surface. Every Ranger in the squad knew the noise wasn’t 2d Ranger Company moving; it was the enemy closing in on their position.
Jackson spread out his squad to form a line about ten yards long. When they were in proper position, enemy could be heard running toward their front and both flanks—the enemy was everywhere. Jackson’s squad opened up, spraying the area with heavy fire. By now, it was between 0300 and 0400 hours. The heavy defensive fire held back the probing enemy infantry.
Sergeant Jesse “Babe” Anderson brought half a squad into the area to relieve Jackson. Once off the line, Jackson looked for the place where Glover had shot the enemy. They found blood and evidence that the enemy had dragged their wounded man away. Jackson and his men followed the red trail to the village, where Jackson interrogated an old Korean man, pointing to the blood on the snow that had led them to him. The Korean made a motion, shaking his arms like he was a chicken. Jackson knew this was a damn lie. All that blood in the snow could not have come from killing a chicken. The old man and his family were hiding the guerrilla! This guerrilla had gotten so close that if Jackson had stood up he could have touched the enemy soldier in the center of his back. That’s how close the enemy was able to get to this squad of Rangers. In fact, when Anderson relieved Jackson’s squad, he found two live enemy grenades lying nearby in the snow. Had it not been for Glover’s vigilance and marksmanship, the whole squad might have been wiped out.
Sergeant First Class Isaac E. Baker’s outpost was positioned near the road close to the old schoolhouse building. The only man with Baker was Sergeant Edward Posey, armed with a BAR. At the squad CP three other men were concealed in a large crater hole. About 0500 hours, one of the men noticed a light in a hut north of the outpost. The few locals remaining in the village had been warned about lights and movement at night, so Baker issued a warning and fired a shot into the hut to extinguish the light. Under the cover of darkness, Communist guerrillas had sneaked into the town to attempt a move along the ditch beside the road toward the Ranger positions. Now, they simply attacked the Company position, mainly from the north, where they had infiltrated between the Artillery and 17th CPs farther north along the road. Their fire was returned by the 2d Platoon, which was occupying that sector.
Bake
r and Posey left the squad CP and started moving forward down the road to reinforce the squad’s position. They were promptly met by a number of enemy infantry pouring out of the village. Posey encountered two enemy, who opened fire on him and on Baker. Posey aimed his BAR, killed his first two enemy soldiers, and continued to the squad position on the road in front of the village. What Posey was unaware of was that Baker had been fatally wounded. He would only learn of Baker’s death after the firefight ended. Baker died at daylight, just before a helicopter could fly to a mobile Army surgical hospital (MASH). Unfortunately, during these early days of the helicopter, its flight ceiling and weight capacity were very limited, especially in cold weather. Captain Allen and Lieutenant Queen, meanwhile, ran from the Company CP to that sector to assess the unfolding situation. First Sergeant Lawrence D. West was told to notify Regiment that Baker was dead, which he did with an SCR-300 radio. As the men learned the hard way, death came quickly in Korea.
The unit also learned the need for constant security at Outpost 3. This outpost was on a small knob, about 150 yards to the west and in the rear of the 17th RCT Aid Station. Sergeant First Class William Hargrove, as Assistant Squad Leader of the 3d Squad, 2d Platoon (Lieutenant Vincent Wilburn and Master Sergeant “Dude” Walker commanding), was stationed at the outpost, facing west. Sergeant Hargrove had with him Privates First Class (PFCs) Julius Victor, Wheeler Small, Jr., Craig “Lil Man” Paulding, and George Thomas. They had one LMG, two BARs, one M–1, and one carbine. Each Ranger also carried a .45 caliber pistol, and several grenades were at their position.
The mission for this group was to: (1) guard the rear approach down the railroad tracks, (2) guard the tunnel entrance, and (3) guard the trail over the hill into the village of Tanyang. Outpost reports were required every thirty minutes and were made by calling into the Company CP via power telephone land line. Some of the telephone lines were laid to each outpost on a common party line, so that most of the outposts could listen to, and talk with, each other. At this time Wilburn was on duty in the CP, receiving the reports.
Edward L. Posey Page 6