Red Beach on board one of theLSTs. He had with him Almond'spersonal baggage and the where-withal to establish a mobile com-mand post including a van fittedout as sleeping quarters and anoffice. In transit Haig had lost twoof the general's five jeeps, sweptover the side of the LST in thetyphoon. When Haig met up withhis boss, Almond's first questionwas whether Haig had gotten hisbaggage ashore without getting itwet.

While the 5th Marines wereassaulting Red Beach, BrigadierGeneral Craig—with his brigadedissolved and now the assistant

division commander—came a-shore at Wolmi-do and, joiningTaplett's 3d Battalion, establishedan advance division commandpost. Craig had brought his brigadestaff ashore intact to function as aninterim division staff. Since hisarrival in the objective area, Craighad had no opportunity to meetwith 0. P. Smith face-to-face.

During the night, Taplett's bat-talion crossed the causeway fromWolmi-do and rejoined the mainbody of the 5th Marines onBeach. Before morning theMarine Division had all itsday's objectives. Resistancebeen scattered—of the sort

115

goes down in the situation reportas "light to moderate." Total Marinecasualties for the first day's fightingwere 20 killed, 1 died of wounds,1 missing in action, and 174

Assault Continues

At about midnight Puller andMurray received the division'sattack order for the next day.Murray was to bring the 5thMarines up on line abreast ofPuller's 1st Marines. The axis forthe advance on Seoul would bethe intertwined highway and rail-road. The Korean Marine regiment

On the morning following the landing, the Marinesmarched through Inchon itself against no resistance.Initially, the Marines enjoyed a 10 to one numerical advan-

National Archives Photo (UsMc) 127-GK-2341-A409339

tage over the mediocre defense force. North Korean resis-tance stiffened in both numbers and quality as the attackmoved inland toward Seoul.

wounded.

Red1st

firsthadthat

was initially left behind in Inchonto mop up.

The day, 16 September, wasclear and pleasant. The climatewas about the same as our north-eastern states at this time of year,warm during the day, a bit cool atnight.

Murray elected to advance incolumn of battalions, leading offwith Roise's 2d Battalion, followedby the 1st and 3d Battalions in thatorder. The 2d Battalion's advancethrough Inchon was strangelyquiet. The enemy had vanishedduring the night.

Corsairs Against T-34s

Five miles to Murray's front, sixof the vaunted Soviet-built T-34tanks, without infantry escort, wererumbling down the Seoul highwaytoward him. Near the village ofKansong-ni, eight Corsairs fromVMF-214 swept down on theadvancing tanks with rockets andnapalm. One Corsair, flown byCaptain William F. Simpson, Jr.,failed to come Out of its dive,

killing Simpson, but the tank attackwas halted. One T-34 was engulfedin flames, a second had its tracksknocked off, and a third stoodmotionless on the road. A secondflight of Corsairs came over to fin-ish off the disabled T-34s. Thepilots pulled away, thinking incor-rectly that all six tanks were dead.

On the ground, Roise's 2dBattalion, 5th Marines, made solidcontact with Sutter's 2d Battalion,1st Marines, on Hill 117. The twobattalions continued the advanceagainst nothing heavier than sniperfire. By 1100 elements of both bat-talions were just short of Kansong-ni where they could see the smokestill rising from the fires set by thebattle of T-34s and Corsairs.

Meanwhile, General Craig hadmoved his command group intoInchon itself. On the outskirts ofthe city, he found what he thoughtwould he a good location for thedivision command post including asite close by where a landing stripcould be bulldozed. He orderedhis temporary command postmoved forward.

Thirty "SCAJAP" LSTs, mannedfor the most part with Japanesecrews, had been collected for theInchon landing. Those that werecarrying troops did not beach, butsent their passengers off inamphibian tractors. After theassault waves had swept aheadthey did beach, when the tidespermitted, for general unloading.Beach conditions and the mixed

Department of Defense Photo (USA) 5C348506

Once ashore at Inchon, the Marines see Jr themselves that naval gunfire haddestroyed much of the city. Once ashore, the rule-of-thumb was that each assaultbattalion would have a cruiser or destroyer available for on-call missions.

The rubber-tired amphibious DUKW pulls a trailer about a mile outside ofInchon on the first morning after the landing. These "ducks" were used primar-ily to move guns, ammunition, and supplies for the artillery.

Department of Defense Photo (USA) 5C348502

116

quality of the Japanese crewsthrew the planned schedule forunloading completely out of bal-ance.

The landing and employment oftanks presented problems. TheMarines had just received M-26Pershings as replacements for their

M-4A3 Shermans. Few of the mem-bers of Lieutenant Colonel Harry T.Milne's 1st Tank Battalion—exceptfor Company A, which had beenwith the 5th Marines and had theM-26 at Pusan—were familiar withthe Pershing. The tankers receivedtheir instruction on the new tanks

on board ship—not the best placefor tank training.

Major Vincent J. Gottschalk'sVMO-6, the division's observationsquadron, began flying reconnais-sance missions at first light on D+1,16 September. VMO-6 possessedeight Sikorsky HO3S-1 helicopters

A curious Ma rifle passes three knocked-out T-34 tanks. Thevaunted Soviet-built tank proved no match for the array ofweapons that the Marines could bring to bear, ranging from

Department of Defense Photo (USA) 5c348504

a Corsair fighter-bomber's rockets to the 3.5-inch rocketlaunchers in the rifle and weapons companies.

were re-equipped with the Pershings literally while on theirway to the objective area.

Department of Defense Photo (USMc)

M-26 Pershing tanks emerge from the maws of beached LSTs("landing shijs, tank'9 at Inchon. Marine tankers, previ-ously equipped with the obsolescent M-4 Sherman tank,

117

Inchon harbor in the first of manyrescue operations.

practice—and advanced on abroad front, Companies G and I

118

abreast with Company H followingin reserve. Prisoners and materielwere taken, but there was almostno fighting. By noon the divisionheld the 0-3 line, a front threemiles long, secured on both flanksby water. Smith ordered Murrayand Puller to move on forward andseize the Force Beachhead Line(FBHL) which would conclude theassault phase of the amphibiousoperation.

Murray chose to advance in twoprongs. Roise with the 2d Battalionwould continue to advance withhis right flank tied to the Seoulhighway. Taplett, coming up frombehind with the 3d Battalion wasto swing wide to the left. Newton,with the 1st Battalion, would fol-low in reserve.

Roise's battalion, escorted byLieutenant Sweet's five M-26Pershing tanks, moved up the roadand at about 1330 rounded thebend into Kansong-ni. Two ofSweet's tanks crawled up a knollfrom which they could cover theadvancing riflemen. From this van-tage point the Marine tankers sawthree T-34 tanks, not dead as sup-posed, but ready for battle withhatches buttoned up and 85mmguns leveled on the bend in theroad. Sweet's tanks smacked the T-34s with 20 rounds of armor-pierc-ing shells. The T-34s went up inflames. Company D led theadvance past the three burninghulks. Nearby the Marines foundthe two tanks knocked out earlierby the Corsairs. The sixth tank hadvanished.

Company D continued foranother thousand yards and thenclimbed a high hill on the westside of the road. Company F joinedCompany D on their left. Theywere still two miles from the ForceBeachhead Line, hut it looked likea good time and place to dig in forthe night.

On Roise's left, Taplett's 3d

1)epartment of Defense Photo (UsMc) A130235

Maj Vincentj Gottschalk, commanding officer of VMO-6, prepares to take off inan OYlight observation aircraft. Among the varied missions of the squadron wasspotting and ad/usting artilleiy fire on the retreating North Koreans Jbr theground troops.

and eight OY airplanes and had In the 1st Marines' zone ofbeen with the 1st Brigade at Pusan action Puller sent Ridge's 3dwhere for the first time Marines Battalion to make a sweep ofused helicopters in combat. That Munhang Peninsula. Ridge usedday, First Lieutenant Max Nebergall amphibian tractors as personnelpulled a ditched Navy pilot Out of carriers—a bold but dangerous

For much of the advance up the axis of the Inchon-Seoulhighway, and even sometimes traveling cross-countly,

A Korean civilian eager to assist the advancing forces, shows one of the division sreconnaissance Marines a large cache of dynamite and ammunition hidden ina storage cave. It was one of several caches uncovered by Capt KennethHoughton 's Marines on the division's right flank.

Department of Defense Photo (USMC) A2821

pation—to his front. The sea wasto his left.

South of the 5th Marines,Puller's 1st Marines, having spentmost of the day pulling together itsscattered parts, did not jump off inthe new attack until about 1600.Sutter's 2d Battalion went forwardon the right of the road pastKansong-ni for a thousand yardsand then tied in with Roise's bat-talion for the night. Hawkins' 1stBattalion filled in between Sutterand Ridge. Ridge's 3d Battalionhad done more hiking than fight-ing and at the end of the day wasrelieved by the Division Recon-naissance Company, under pugna-cious Captain Kenneth J.Houghton, attached to the 1stMarines as the division's right flankelement. Ridge's Marines went intoregimental reserve. Houghton'sreconnaissance Marines engagedno enemy but found huge cachesof arms and ammunition.

Marines used amphibian tractors as personnel carriers pro- antitank mines.

Battalion advanced uneventfullyand now held high ground over-looking the FBHL. His patrolsreached the edge of Ascom City—

Department of Defense Photo (USA) 5C349015

tected along the way by M-26 tanks. The North Koreans, inturn, tried to choke off these advances with ambushes and

once the village of Taejong-ni andnow the remnants of a huge ser-vice command that had been usedby the U.S. Army during the occu-

119

0. P. Smith Opens

His Command Post

General Craig had just gottenback from his search for a site forthe division command post, whenhe learned that 0. P. Smith, accom-panied by Admiral Struble andGeneral Shepherd, had landed.Smith was satisfied with Craig'srecommended site. Craig then tookhim for a quick tour of the troopdispositions and at 1800 Smith offi-cially assumed command ashore.During the day, General Almondvisited Red Beach and the 5thMarines.

Smith was joined later thatevening by Major General Frank E.Lowe, an Army Reserve officer andPresident Truman's personalobserver, who had arrived unan-nounced. Lowe moved into thedivision command post. He andSmith got along famously. "Hisfrank and disarming manner madehim welcome throughout the divi-sion," remembered Smith.

More Enemy T-34 Tanks

The night of 16-17 Septemberwas quiet, so quiet, the official his-tory remarks, that a truck comingdown the highway from Seouldrove unimpeded through theMarine front lines, until finallystopped by a line of M-26 tanksseveral hundred yards to the rear.The tankers, the 1st Platoon,Company A, under First LieutenantWilliam D. Pomeroy, took a sur-prised NKPA officer and fourenlisted men prisoner.

Lieutenant "Hog Jaw" Smith,commander of Company D, 5thMarines, from his observation postoverlooking the highway was suf-ficiently apprehensive, however,about a sharp bend in the road tothe left front of his position to out-post it. He dispatched his 2dPlatoon with machine guns and

rocket launchers attached, allunder Second Lieutenant Lee R.Howard, for that purpose.

During the night the NorthKoreans formed up a tank-infantrycolumn—six T-34s from the 42dNKPA Mechanized Regiment andabout 200 infantry from the 18thNKPA Division in Seoul—somemiles east of Ascom City. Howardsaw the lead tank at about dawn,reported its approach to "Hog Jaw"Smith, who reported it to Roise,who could not quite believe it.

Obviously the North Koreans didnot know the Marines were wait-ing for them. Howard let the col-umn come abreast of his knoll-topposition and then opened up.Official historians Montross andCanzona say: "The Red infantrywent down under the hail of leadlike wheat under the sickle."Corporal Oley J. Douglas, stillarmed with the 2.36-inch rocketlauncher and not the new 3.5-inch,slid down the hill to get a bettershot at the tanks. At a range of 75

120

yards he killed the first T-34 anddamaged the second. The remain-ing four tanks continued to plowforward to be met by a cacophonyof 90mm fire from Pomeroy's M-26tanks at 600 yards range, 75mmrecoilless rifle fire at 500 yards, andmore rockets, some coming fromSutter's battalion on the other sideof the road. Private First ClassWalter C. Monegan, Jr., fromCompany F, 1st Marines, fired his3.5-inch rocket launcher at point-blank range. Just which weaponskilled which tanks would heargued, but the essentials were thatall six T-34s were knocked out andtheir crews killed.

MacArthur Comes Ashore

MacArthur, instantly recogniz-able in his braided cap, sunglasses,well-worn khakis, and leatherflight jacket, came grandly ashorethat same morning, 17 September.His large accompanying partyincluded Struble, Almond,

Photo by Frank Noel, Associated Press

Front-line Ma rifles found that stripping a prisoner bare took all the fight out ofhim and also eliminated the possibility of hidden weapons. Rear-echelon author-ities found the practice distasteful and ordered the Marines to desist.

just as the Marines knocked outfive tanks." Shepherd replied,"Well, Ned, we're just doing ourjob, that's all."

MacArthur climbed back into hisjeep and the star-studded partydrove on. Seven dazed NorthKorean soldiers crawled out fromthe culvert over which MacAsthur'sjeep had parked and meekly sur-rendered.

Next stop for MacArthur was the5th Marines command post.MacArthur went to award SilverStars to General Craig and ColonelMurray only to learn that his sup-ply of medals was exhausted."Make a note," he told his aide.The medals were delivered later.

MacArthur finished his tour witha visit to Green Beach at Wolmi-do, where unloading from the LSTswas progressing, and to see theoccupants of the prisoner of warstockade—671 of them underguard of the 1st Marine Division'smilitary police.

Ashore at Wolmi-do, MacArthurfound evidence, to his great satis-

At a temporary aid station at Pier No.2, designated Yellow Beach, a wound-ed Marine is given whole blood by aNavy corpsman. From this station, thewounded were evacuated to hospitalships off shore.

National Archives Photo (USA) 11 1-SC349024

Shepherd, Whitney, Wright, andFox; a bodyguard bristling withweapons; and a large number ofthe press corps. A train of jeepswas hastily assembled and theparty proceeded to the 1st MarineDivision headquarters in a dirt-floored Quonset hut where Smithjoined the party. MacArthur pre-sented him a Silver Star medal.

MacArthur and his entouragethen visited Puller at the 1stMarines' observation post.MacArthur climbed the hill. Pullerput down his binoculars and the

two great actors shook hands.MacArthur gave Puller a Silver Star.

MacArthur's cavalcade nextdrove to the site of the still-smok-ing hulls of the dreaded NorthKorean T-34 tanks that had coun-terattacked at dawn. Shepherd,looking at the still-burning T-34s,commented to Almond that theyproved that "hazookas" coulddestroy tanks.

"You damned Marines!" snort-ed Almond. "You always seem tobe in the right spot at the righttime . . . . MacArthur would arrive

121

On the morning of 17 September, Gen MacArthur, sur-rounded by subordinates, bodyguards, and photographers,made a grand and much publicized tour of the Inchonbeachhead. MacArthur is unmistakable in his crushed cap,sunglasses, and leather jacket. LtGen Lemuel C. Shepherd,

Almost obscured by the jeep's windshield, a photographerpeers through his lens at the command echelons of theInchon landing during the 17 September visit. GenMacArthur in hawk-like profile stares straight ahead.

Department of Defense Photo (USA) SC348526

Jr., on the left is in his usual khakis and carrying his trade-mark cocomacaque, or Haitian walking slick. MajGen 0. PSmith, in khaki fore-n-aft cap and canvas leggings, trudgesalong behind Shepherd.

MajGen 0. P Smith sits smiling in the middle of the rearseat, flanked on his right by MajGen Edward M. Almondand on his left by VAdm ArthurD. Struble. The unidenti,fiedMarine driver awaits instructions.

Department of Defense Photo (USA) SC348522

122

Department of Defense Photo (USA) 5C348516

FMFPac commander LtGen Lemuel C. Shepherd, 1/MI 1917, on the right, pointsout something significant to the X Corps commander, MajGen Edward M.Almond, 1/MI 1915, as they move by motor launch from the Mount McKinley tothe beach. Shepherd, although relegated to the position of observer instead ofcorps commander, held no grudge against Almond.

faction, that the enemy had begunan intensive fortification of theisland. Later he pontificated: "HadI listened to those who wanted todelay the landing until the nexthigh tides, nearly a month later,Wolmi-do would have been animpregnable fortress."

Almond, just before leaving withhis boss to return to the MountMcKinley, informed Smith thatBarr's 7th Infantry Division wouldbegin landing the next day, com-ing in on the 1st Marine Division'sright flank. Smith, returning to hiscommand post, learned that MajorGeneral James M. Gavin, USA, ofWorld War II airborne fame, hadarrived to study the Marine Corps'use of close air support.

An airstrip was set up next tothe division command post thatsame day, 17 September. After that,Gottschalk's VMO-6 flew a fullschedule of observation, evacua-tion, liaison, and reconnaissanceflights.

Marine helicopters, fragile and few in numbei were found suitable helicopters arrived and the practice became stan-useful in evacuating severely wounded Marines to hospital dard.

facilities to the rear or at sea. As the war progressed, more Photo by Frank Noel, Associated Press

123

The battle with the T-34sdelayed for an hour the jump-offfor the day's attacks. The nextphase line was 19 miles long andMurray's 5th Marines had two-thirds of it. At 0700, the KoreanMarines' 3d Battalion had passedthrough Roise's 2d Battalion toclean up the outskirts of AscomCity. Roise himself jumped off twohours later, Captain Jaskilka'sCompany E in the lead. Theadvance was to be in column andthen a left turn into Ascom City.

Company E, joined by 2dPlatoon, Company F, spent themorning in a methodical clearing

of the densely built-up area of lit-tle pockets of resistance. Roisefound that the road on the mapthat was supposed to lead to hisnext objective, four miles distant,was nonexistent on the ground.The renewed advance did not getoff until mid-afternoon.

The inexperienced 3d Battalionof the Korean Marines ran intotrouble on the other side of AscomCity. Taplett's 3d Battalion, 5thMarines, in regimental reserve,moved in to help and efficientlyknocked Out the moderate resis-tance. Pomeroy came up with hisplatoon of M-26 tanks. Looking forRoise's 2d Battalion and, not find-ing the mythical road, he instead

124

found Taplett's 3d Battalion.Eventually, Pomeroy reached the2d Battalion and a road that wouldlead to Kimpo Airfield now aboutfive miles away. He was joined byhis company commander, CaptainGearl M. English, and another pla-toon of tanks.

Meanwhile, Roise advanced totwo high hills some 4,000 yardssouth of Kimpo. He launched hisattack against the airfield withCompanies D and E in the assault.They moved rapidly against noth-ing but light small arms fire.Captain English brought up histanks to help, assigning a tank pla-toon to support each of the assaultcompanies. By 1800, Roise'sMarines were at the southern endof the main runway. Each of histhree rifle companies curled intoseparate perimeters for the night.Lieutenant Deptula's 1st Platoon,Company E, was positioned wellout to the front in the hamlet ofSoryu-li as an outpost.

During the afternoon, Newtonand the 1st Battalion, 5th Marines,had moved up on Roise's rightagainst no resistance. Taplett's 3dBattalion, having eased the situa-tion for the Korean Marines, wastwo miles to the rear, again in reg-imental reserve.

With 1St Marines

Throughout the day, 17September, Puller's 1st Marines hadcontinued its advance. On the leftflank Sutter, with the 2d Battalion,straddled the highway and movedforward behind an intermittentcurtain of howitzer fire deliveredby the 11th Marines. Essentially,Sutter was attacking due east fromMahang-ri to Sosa, two fair-sizedvillages. He deployed Company Eon the left of the road, Company Fon the right, and kept Company Din reserve. As the 5th Marinesmoved to the northeast toward

Infantry Advances

had come ashore to observe theoperations of the Korean MarineRegiment. (He also received aMacArthur Silver Star.) Sohnpicked a temporary mayor whowas installed on the morning of 18September by authority of a 1stMarine Division proclamation.

5th Marines Takes Kimpo

Department of Defense Photo (UsMc)

When not moving from hill to hill, the Marines frequently found themselvesattacking across flat rice paddies. Ironically, Kimpo, in addition to having thebest airfield in Korea, was also known for growing the best rice.

Kimpo, a considerable gap widen-ed between the two regiments.

North Korean resistance thick-ened as Sutter neared Sosa. Pullerordered Ridge to move the 3dBattalion up on Sutter's right flank.Ridge decided again to useamphibian tractors as personnelcarriers. Westover's Company Gclanked up the road behind the 2dPlatoon, Company B tanks, underSecond Lieutenant Brian J.Cummings. In a defile, some braveNorth Koreans tried to stopCummings' M-26s with grenades.The advance on the road stalled.Company G got up on the highside of the defile to the right of theroad. With Sutter's battalion on theleft, the Marines had a converging"turkey shoot" and broke up theNorth Korean attack. Sutter andRidge dug in for the night, eachbattalion on its own side of thedefile. To their south, Hawkins' 1stBattalion and Houghton'sReconnaissance Company hadcleared up Namdong Peninsula.The night would pass quietly forthe 1st Marines.

To the rear, Inchon was in a

The night of 17-18 Septemberwas tense for the 5th Marines.Murray was certain that the NorthKoreans would not give up Kimpo,the best airfield in Korea, without afight, and he was right. The airfieldwas under the apparent commandof a Chinese-trained brigadier gen-eral, Wan Yong. The garrison,nominally the NKPA 1st Air ForceDivision, was in truth a patchworkof bits and pieces of several regi-ments, with not more than a fewhundred effectives.

The North Koreans went againstRoise's well dug-in battalion in

shambles. Most of the city officialshad fled before the North Koreancapture of the city. Fortunately,Admiral Sohn Won Yil, the chief ofnaval operations of the ROK Navy,

Shore party operations followed close behind the assault waves and within afewdays, stocks of ammunition, rations, and other supplies had reached the levelneeded for the drive to Seoul and its capture.

l'hoto by Frank Noel, Associated Press

125

oners and had counted about 100enemy dead.

1st Marines Advances

Department of Defense Photo (USN) 420271

Fumigation and bath platoons would arrive later, but during the assault phaseof the Inchon operation Marines seized the opportunity to clean up when andwhere they could. Helmets made convenient wcishbasins.

machine pistols, backed by a T-34tank. Deptula skillfully fought offfour half-hearted assaults and by0500 had withdrawn successfullyto Company E's main line of resis-tance.

The second attack came fromboth the west and east againstJaskilka's Company E. The thirdattack hit Harrell's Company F fur-ther to the south. Both attackswere easily contained. The routedenemy fled toward the Han River.

At daylight Roise jumped off inpursuit. His Marines swept acrossthe airfield, securing it and its sur-rounding villages by 1000.Companies E and F mopped upand Company D went on to takeHill 131 overlooking the Han. In 24hours of fighting, Roise had lostfour Marines killed and 19 wound-ed. His Marines had taken 10 pris-

In the 1st Marines' zone ofaction, Ridge, with the 3d Battalionoutside of Sosa, decided that thecenter of North Korean resistancemust he on Hill 123. During thenight he called for naval gunfire.HMS Kenya, Captain P. W. Brockcommanding, delivered some 300rounds of 6-inch shells somewherebetween Sosa and Hill 123. Ridge'snaval gunfire spotter was not surewhere they impacted, but Ridge, inthe interest of inter-allied cordiali-ty, sent Captain Brock a "welldone."

three badly coordinated attacks.The first hit Deptula's outpost atabout 0300 in the morning, theCommunists using rifles and

At dawn Sutter charged aheadastride the Seoul highway, Comp-any E on the left of the road andCompany D on the right. Pre-mature airbursts on the part of hisartillery preparatory fires cost him

Correspondents and photographers examine a Russian-built Yak fighter in adestroyed hanger at Kimpo Airfield. Captured by the 2d Battalion, .5th Marines,Marine engineers quickly made the airfield operative and ready to receive ele-ments of MAG-33. Nationai Archives Photo (USA) 111-Sc349036

126

were with the red-orange scars ofshell holes and trench lines, wasover. The war was getting serious.

Sutter's 2d Battalion, meanwhile,went straight ahead, left flank onthe railroad tracks, into a defensiveposition about a mile beyond Sosa.A barrage of mortar shells cost him14 casualties. Hawkins' 1stBattalion continued advancing onthe right and for the third straightday encountered nothing but a fewrifle shots.

Kimpo Airfield

Becomes Operational

two killed and three wounded.Behind the 2d Battalion, Ridge

mounted up the 3d Battalion in amotorized column made up of amixture of jeeps, amphibian trac-tors (LVTs), and amphibious trucks(DUKWs). Corsairs from VMF-214worked over Sosa, sighted six T-34s beyond the town, andknocked out two of them. Ridgethundered ahead in a cloud of dustbehind the tanks of Company B,1st Tank Battalion. Together theybrushed aside some light resis-

tance, including an antitank road-block. By noon Ridge had clearedthe town. His battalion then swungto the left off the road and movedup Hill 123 while his naval gunfirespotter continued to look for someevidence as to where the Kenya'sshells might have hit. The 3dBattalion was barely on the hilland not yet dug in when a barrageof North Korean 120mm mortarshells drenched their positioncausing 30 casualties. The rompover the green hills, marred as they

127

Murray displaced his commandpost forward from Ascom City toKimpo. His regiment spent a quietday sending patrols around the air-field. The field was in relativelygood shape. A North KoreanSoviet-built Yakovlev Yak-3 fighterand two Ilyushin "Shturmovik"attack aircraft were found in near-flyable condition.

The first aircraft to land atKimpo was a Marine HO3S-1 heli-copter. It arrived at 1000 thatmorning, 18 September, piloted byCaptain Victor A. Armstrong ofVMO-6 and with General Shepherdand Colonel Krulak as passengers.General Craig who had just arrivedby jeep met them.

Captain George W. King'sCompany A, 1st Engineer Battal-ion, made the field operationalwith temporary repairs. GeneralsHarris and Cushman came in byhelicopter that afternoon. On theiradvice, General Almond autho-rized the establishment of MarineAircraft Group 33 (MAG-33) on thefield.

Corsairs began to arrive the nextday. Harris set up the headquartersof his Tactical Air Command. TwoCorsair squadrons, VMF-312 andVMF-212, came in. Night fightersquadron VMF(N)-542, underLieutenant Colonel Max J.

Volcansek, Jr., arrived from Japan.There was a paper shuffle ofsquadrons between Marine AircraftGroups 12 and 33. Marine AircraftGroup 33 under Brigadier GeneralThomas J. Cushman was now inbusiness ashore. MAG-12 pickedup the squadrons afloat. VMFs 214and 323 continued to operate fromthe Sicily and Badoeng Strait, andthe night-fighters of VMF(N)-5 13from their base at Itazuke in Japan.

Reinforcements Arrive

On Murray's left the 2d KMCBattalion joined the 1st KMCBattalion. The ROK Army's 17thRegiment landed at Inchon and,temporarily under 1st MarineDivision control was given an ini-tial mission of completing theclean-up of the unswept areabetween Ascorn City and the sea.

Almond, pressing forward, con-ferred with Smith on the morningof 18 September concerning thereadiness of the 1st MarineDivision to cross the Han. Smithpointed out that the 7th Division

must take over its zone of actionand free his right flank so he couldconcentrate his forces to cross theriver. Smith already had it in hismind that the 5th Marines wouldgo over first to be followed by the1st Marines. His 7th Marines wasstill at sea. He went forward toKimpo to discuss the matter withMurray.

The first unit of the 7th Division,the 32d Infantry, landed, aspromised on the 18th, wasattached temporarily to the 1stMarine Division. Smith relayedAlmond's orders to the 32d torelieve the 1st Marines on the rightflank and then to operate in thezone of action assigned to the 7thDivision.

7th Division Becomes Operational

On the morning of 19September, General Barr estab-lished his 7th Division's commandpost ashore. Almond called Barrand Smith together at the 1stMarine Division command post todiscuss the 7th Division's immedi-

128

ate assumption of what had beenthe 1st Marines' zone of actionsouth of the Inchon-Seoul high-way.

The 31st Infantry had begunlanding. The 32d Infantry wouldbe detached from the 1st MarineDivision at 1800. With these tworegiments Barr was to begin oper-ations. Smith would then be ableto side-slip Puller's regiment fullyto the left of the Seoul highway.

Almond's aide, Lieutenant Haig,who was a fly on the tent wall atthese meetings, observed that "theMarines' respect for the 7thDivision at this stage of the warwas ostentatiously low."

Advancing to the Han

After that meeting, the peripatet-ic Almond went on to visit thecommand posts of both the 32dInfantry and the 1st Marines. Hethen proceeded to the 5th Marinescommand post on Kimpo Airfieldto discuss with Murray the crossingof the Han that was scheduled forthe following day. Murray told himthat he planned to cross in columnof battalions using amphibian trac-tors, amphibious trucks, and pon-toon floats at a ferry crossing sitenortheast of Kimpo.

A significant range of hills sepa-rated the 5th Marines on Kimpofrom Yongdung-po and the Han.During the night of 18-19September, Murray had orderedNewton forward with the 1stBattalion to seize Hill 118 and thenHills 80 and 85, overlooking theKaichon River near where it joinedthe Han.

At dawn, before Newton couldmove out, a company-sized NorthKorean force attacked Company Cbehind a shower of mortar shells.While Company C slaughtered theNorth Koreans, "Ike" Fenton'sCompany B moved against Hill118. There was the usual air and

National Archives Photo (USMc) 127-N-A3727

lstLt John V Hanes flew in first Marine Corsair to land at Kimpo Airfield.Having taken hits while on a bombing mission, Hanes was grateful that therewas a friendly airfield on which to land. BGen Thomas J. ('ushman, AssistantWing Commander of the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, greets him.

artillery preparation before thejump-off, and Company B took thepeak of Hill 118 without sufferinga single casualty. The trappedattacking North Koreans lost per-haps 300 dead (there is alwaysoptimism in the count of enemydead) and 100 prisoners. CompanyC lost two killed and six wounded.

To the 5th Marines' right, Ridge's3d Battalion, 1st Marines, withCompanies H and I in the assault,moved off Hill 123 toward LookoutHill, so-called because it gave agood view of the Kalchon and thetown of Yongdung-po beyond.Official historians Montross andCanzona called the attack, whichcost two killed and 15 wounded,"too successful," because it putRidge's battalion well out in frontof the 5th Marines on his left andSutter's 2d Battalion on his right.

Sutter's battalion was advancingalong the Seoul highway behind

Captain Richard M. Taylor'sCompany C tanks and had gone lit-tle more than a quarter-mile whenthe lead M-26 hit a box mine thatblew off a track and two roadwheels. The antitank barrier ofmines was formidable. The wholecolumn came to a stop. Small-armsfire smashed in from neighboringHill 72. The 11th Marines, the divi-sion's artillery regiment, took Hill72 under howitzer fire. Corsairsfrom ever-ready VMF-214 came tohelp. A platoon of engineers underFirst Lieutenant George A. Babeblew up the box mines with"snowball" charges of C-3 plasticexplosive. Sutter used all three ofhis rifle companies to uncover theminefield and force his waythrough. His infantry went forwarda mile into heavy fighting aroundHill 146 while the tanks waited onthe side of the road. A secondminefield was encountered, and

129

more work by the engineers wasneeded. At 1900, Sutter ordered hisbattalion to dig in. His Marines hadadvanced nearly three miles at acost of four killed and 18 wound-ed. Yongdung-po was still morethan two miles in front of him.

Smith moved his command postforward the afternoon of 19September to a site Craig selectedabout a mile and a half southeastof Kimpo; it had been used for U.S.dependents housing during theoccupation. From here Smith waswithin easy jeep or helicopter dis-tance of his front-line units. Theabandoned Quonset huts werenear ideal except for occasionalharassment apparently by a singleNKPA gun. The backbone for theperimeter defense around the com-mand post was provided by a sec-tion of the Division Band trainedas a machine gun platoon.

The 32d Infantry, now detached

from the division, was somewhereto Sutter's right rear. The Army bat-talion that relieved Hawkins' bat-talion had spent the day moppingup rather than continuing theattack.

Hawkins' 1st Battalion, 1stMarines, was on its way to relieveNewton's 1st Battalion, 5thMarines, an 11-mile motor marchfrom the division's right flank.

Captain Robert H. Barrow'sCompany A, 1st Marines, was thefirst to reach Hill 118 and relieveFenton's Company B, 5th Marines.

Company C, 1st Marines, was toreplace Company C, 5th Marines,on Hills 80 and 85. Newton wasanxious to pull back his 1stBattalion, 5th Marines, to Kimpo toget ready for the river crossing thenext day, and it was almost dark

when Hawkins reached him.Company C, 1st Marines, underCaptain Robert P. Wray, had notyet arrived.

Barrow, a tall Lou isianian and afuture Marine Commandant, real-ized the tactical importance of Hills80 and 85 and radioed for permis-sion to move Company A forwardto the two hills. Permission wasdenied. Newton made it knownthat he would pull Company C offthe hills no later than 2100. Wray'sCompany C did not reach Hill 118until 2200; Hills 80 and 85 were leftempty.

Confused Day

130

Before dawn the next day, 20September, Hawkins' Marines onHill 118 heard the North Koreansassault the empty hills. Then theycame on in company-sizedstrength in a futile attack againstthe entrenched Marines on Hill118.

Meanwhile, shortly before dawna battalion-sized North Koreanforce, led by five T-34 tanks fol-lowed by an ammunition truck,came down the Seoul highwayagainst Sutter's 2d Battalion, 1stMarines. Companies D and E heldpositions on each side of the road.The column roared through thegap between them and hit head-onagainst Company F's support posi-tion. The North Koreans werecaught in a sleeve. Companies Dand E poured fire into their flanks.Howitzer fire by the 2d and 4thBattalions, 11th Marines, sealed inthe entrapped North Korean col-umn. "A fortunate grenade wasdropped in the enemy ammunitiontruck and offered some illumina-tion," noted the 2d Battalion'sSpecial Action Report, "enablingtwo tanks to be destroyed by 3.5"rocket fire."

The rocket gunner was PrivateFirst Class Monegan, the tank-killer

Private First Class Walter C. Monegan, Jr.

Nineteen-year-old Walter Monegan in five day. ofaction fought two batLles against North Korean T­4 wnks, won them both and lost his own life.

Born on hristmas Day 1930, h c ulcl not wait untilhis 17th birthday, enlisting in the rmy in Tovember19'+ . Th Army discovered he wa underage andpromptly ent him home. Ile tri d again on 22 March19<±8, eoli ting in the Marine orps. After recruit trainingat Parris Island in June he was sent to China to join the3d Marines at Tsingtao. AIt r a year in China he camehome, was stationed at amp Pendleton for a y ar, andthen was sent to Marine Barra k', aval Air tation,:eanle. II had barely re-enli ted in July 1950 when hwas ordered to return to amp Pendl ton to join the 2 IBattalion, 1st Marines, th n being formed.

Hb remains, buried temporarily at Inchon werereturned home and re-interred in Arlingron ational

m tcry on 19 July 1951. His wife, Elizabeth C.Monegan, hiding th ir infant child, Walter TIT, re eivcdhi po:thumous ledal of Honor from e TetalY of th

avy D:ln Kimball, on 8 February J952.Citation:

For conspicu u gallantry and intrepidity at therisk of hi life ab ve and beyond the call of dutywhile serving as a Rock t Gunner att:lched toCompany F, Se and Battalion, First Marines, First

larine Division (Reinforc d), in action :lgain °tenemy aggr 5S r for ·e. near 'osa-ri, Korea, on 1and 20 eptember 19'50. Dug in a hill overlookingthe main ,eoul highway when . ix enemy tankthreatened to break through the Battalion positionduring a pre- dawn atta k on 17, ptember, PrivateFirst Ia. Monegan promptly mo ed forward withhi. bazooka under heavy hostile automatiweapons fire and engag d the lead tank at a rangeof less than 50 yard,;. After scoring a dire t hit andkilling the 'ole surviving tankman with his carbineas he cam through the escap hatch, he boldlyfir d two more rounds of ammunition at thoncoming tanks, disorganizing the attack andenabling our tank ere\! . to continue bb. ting withtheir 90-mm guns. With his own and an adjacentcompany's position threatened by annihilationwhen an VCI\ helming enemy tank-infantly forceby-pas. ed the area and proceed d toward th bat-

talion Command Post during the early morning ofptember 20, he seized hi rocket launcher and, in

total darkne 'S, charged down the slope of th hillwhere the ranks had I roken through. Quick to a twhen an illuminating shell hit the ar a, h scored aclir ct hit on one of the tank~ a. hostile rine andaut matie weapons fire raked the area at closerang. gain exposing himself he fir d an therround to d stroy a . econd tank and, as the reartank turned to retr at, stood upright to fire and wasfatally stru k down by hostile machine-gun firwh n another illuminating shell ilhouelled himagainst the sky. Private Fir t Class Monegan's dar­ing initiativ , gallant fighting spirit and ourag au.devotion to duty were contributing fa t rs in theucce s of his company in repelling the enemy and

his self-sa rificing ef~ rts throughout sustain anclenhance the high st traditions of the United States

aval ervice. He gallantly ga e hi. life for his

ountry.

of Soryu-li. He slid down the slopefrom Company F with his 3.5-inchrocket launcher and knocked outthe first and second tanks. Machinegun fire killed him as he took aimon the third T-34. His family wouldreceive a posthumous Medal of

Honor. A third T-34 was capturedintact. Sutter's battalion claimed300 enemy dead. Half an hourafter breaking up the North Koreanattack, the 2d Battalion moved for­ward in its own attack.

Yongdung-po was drenched

131

that day with shell-fire. Pullermoved to align his regiment forthe assault of the town. Hawkinswas to take Hills 80 and 85.Sutter was to advance to the firstof two highway bridges crossingthe Kalchon. Ridge was to stay in

reserve on Lookout Hill.Hawkins sent out Captain Wray

with Company C to capture Hills

80 and 85, that had been free forthe taking, the day before. Wray,covered by the 81mm mortars and

Browning water-cooled machineguns of Major William 1. Bates, ]r.'sWeapons Company, made a text-

Second Lieutenant Henry A. Commiskey

Lieutenant mmi:;key was no slranger to war. s annlisted Marine he had been \\ounded at (wo Jima

and received a letter of commendalion for "exhibit­ing high qualities of lead rship and courage in th> faceof a stubborn and fanalical en my."

Born in JIattie. burg, lissis:;ippi, in 1927, h' hadjoined the Marin' orps two days after hi 17th birrhday.I Ie selved more than five year. a an en]i't d man andwa: a staff sergeanl drill instructor at Parris Island whenh was selected for officer training in 19-19. Ill' complet­ed this Lraining in June 1950. Two months later he waswith the 1st Marine:; and on h.i way to Korea.

I Ie came from a famil of fighters. I lis father had beena ma hine gun instructor in 'J arid '\ ar 1. One brotherhad been with the ~Iarine Raid rs in arid \! ar II.Anoth'r brother \\'as badly wounded while \'\ ith th187th Airborn Infantly in Korea.

[n the action on 20 ept mb r, that gained HenlYommi key the nati n's highesl award for al r, he

ap d unscath'd, but a week later he was slightlywound 'd in the fight for 'eoul and on H D cember seri­ousl wounded in the kn e at th ho:-.in Re er\'oir. • enthome for hospitalizalion. he rec \'ered and went toP 'n.'acola in 'eplemb'r 1951 for flight training, receivinghi, wings in Jun 1953 and then qualif ing as a jet pilot.

I Ie r turned to Korea in pril 19')"! as a pilot .. ithV lA-212. oming home in • eptember, he relllrn d tolin duty at his O\vn request and \\ as assign d on 'e moret the 1st Marine Division. ext as. ignment was in 1956to Jackson, lississippi, cia e to his bilthplace, for lhreeyears duty as a rc ruiter, In 19-9, now a major, he wentto the Amphibiou.... \! arfar 'hool, Junior oun~ atQuanti 0, and stayed on as an instructor at the Basic:chool. He r tired from active duty in 1966 to Meridian,Mi:-.sis. ippi, :.md di'd of a self-inflicted gunsh t woundon 15 ugust 19 1.

ilation:For conspiCUOUS gallantry and intn:pidity at th

risk of his lif above and beyond the call of dutywhile serving as a Platoon Leader in CompanyFir l Battalion, First Marines, First 1arine Division(R inforceeD. in action against enemy aggressorforc s near Y ngdungp'o. Kor a, n 20 eptember1950. Dire ted to attack ho. tile forces well dug inon Hill 85, FirM Lieutenant ommi:k', then. econd Lieut nant, . pearhead I th as. auIt, char ­ing up the st p slopes on the run. Coolly di. re­garding the h avy enemy machin '-gun and small­arms fire, h plung d on well for" 'ard of the est of

132

his platoon and \\'a. the first man to reach th ' er stof th> objective. rmed only \\ ith a pi~lOI, hejump d into a hostil m'lChine-gun empia ' 'memoccupied by five en my tr ops and qui 'kly dis­posed r four of th • soldier... with his automatic pis­tol. rappling with the fiflh, First Lieutenant

ommisk y knock d him to the gr und and heldhim until he could obtain a weapon from anothermember of his platoon and kill th IaSl of theenemy gun cre\\. . untinuing his bold as....aull, hemov d lO the next emplacem 'nt, killed l\\'O ormore of the enemy and then I d his plaloon towardthe rear nose of Ihe hill to rout the remainder of lh 'hostile troop: and destroy them as they fled fromtheir po itions. Ilis \'aliant leadership and coura­geous fighting spirit . er\'ed to in:-.pire the men ofhis c mpany to heroic end ';1\01' in seizing theobje tive and r 'fleet the high st cr dit upon FiNLieut nant Commiskey and the l 'nit d Slat·s 'a\'al

rvice.

book double envelopment of Hill80 against stubborn resistance. The1st Platoon, under SecondLieutenant William A. Craven,came in on the left. Second

Lieutenant Henry A. Commiskeycame in on the right with the 3dPlatoon. Together they took Hill80. The day was almost done butWray went on against Hill 85,

repeating his double envelopment.Craven set up a base of fire withhis platoon on the northern slopeof Hill 80. Second Lieutenant JohnN. Guild went forward on the left

On 20 Septembei as the loading continues, an LSTbeached until the next high tide comes in, has discharged its

Department of Defense Photo (USN) 80-G-426159

cargo. The small landing craft to the right are a 36-footLCVP and two 50-foot LCMs.

1st Amphibian Truck Company, an element of the 1st MotorTransport Battalion.

National Archives Photo (USA) 11 1-SC348700

Amphibious trucks, "ducks" to Marines, are readied atInchon to be moved up for use in crossing the Han River.The division was well supported by the versatile trucks of the

133

with his 2d Platoon and got almostto the top of the hill before beingmortally wounded. Commiskeywent out in front of his 3d Platoonin a one-man assault that earnedhim a Medal of Honor.

While Wray worked at capturingHills 80 and 85, Hawkins' com-mand group and Barrow's Marineswatched as spectators from Hill118. They saw to their left front, totheir horror, a tracked "Weasel"with a wire party from the 1st

Signal Battalion hit a mine on theapproach to a bridge across theKalchon near where it joined theHan. In full sight of Hill 118, twoMarine wiremen were taken pris-oner. A truck from Company A, 1stEngineers, with a driver and threepassengers, unaware of the fate ofthe communicators, now camealong the road. Barrow tried tocatch their attention with rifle fireover their heads, but the truck con-tinued into the ambush. Three

134

engineers got away; one, PrivateFirst Class Clayton 0. Edwards,was captured. (He would laterescape from a train taking prison-ers into North Korea.)

Meanwhile, Sutter's 2d Battalion,having begun the day by breakingup the T-34 tank-led North Koreanattack, had moved forwarduneventfully, except for harassingfire from their open right flank.They reached their day's objective,the highway bridge over theKaichon, shortly after noon. Thebridge was a long concrete span.The engineers inspected it and cer-tified it strong enough to bear M-26Pershing tanks for next day's attackinto Yongdung-po itself. The sec-ond bridge, crossing a tributary ofthe Kalchon, lay 2,000 yardsahead. Ateemingdefenders,dominatedneighborLieutenantMount, USA,32d Infantry. The ridge command-ing the second bridge was techni-cally in Mount's zone of action. At1300, Sutter asked Mount for per-mission to fire against the ridge.Mount readily agreed, hut it tookseven hours to get the fire missioncleared through the layers of regi-mental and division staffs andapproved by X Corps. It was darkbefore Colonel Brower's 11thMarines was allowed to fire.

During the day, General Almondvisited Colonel Puller at the 1stMarines' command post. Almondadmired Puller's aggressive tacticsand there was also a VirginiaMilitary Institute connection.Puller, saying he could not reachSmith either by wire or radio,asked permission to burnYongdung-po before committinghis troops to its capture. Almondauthorized its burning.

Almond's habit of visiting the

high ridge, seeminglywith North Koreanto the right of the road

the bridge. Sutter'son his right wasColonel Charles M.

with the 2d Battalion,

Marine regiments and issuingorders directly to subordinate com-manders had become a seriousaggravation to Smith. A divisionorder went out that any directorder received from Almondwould he immediately relayed todivision headquarters for ratifica-tion.

Ready to Cross the Han

The shelling of Yongdung-po,now blazing with fires, continuedthroughout the night. Puller's planof attack for the 1st Marines on 21September was to have the 2dBattalion continue its advanceastride the Inchon-Seoul highway.

The 1st Battalion on the left wouldattack across country and the 3dBattalion, occupying Lookout Hill,would initially stay in reserve.

During the previous day,Captain Richard L. Bland had occu-pied Hill 55 overlooking the Hanwith Company B, 1st Marines.Now, shortly after dawn, he tookhis company across the bridge thathad been the site of the ambush ofthe Marine communicators andengineers. In late afternoon,Hawkins sent Company C andWeapons Company across thebridge to join with Company B toform a perimeter for the night.

During the day, Ridge's 3dBattalion, in reserve on Lookout

Hill, had grown impatient and hadcome forward prematurely, gettingout in front of both the 1st and 2dBattalions. Its prospective assaultcompanies, Companies G and I,reached and huddled behind thedike on the western bank of theKalchon close to a water gatewhere a tributary entered into themain stream. This put them ingood position to watch theapproach march of Barrow'sCompany A to the Kalchon.

With Bland's Company B stalledon the opposite bank of theKalchon, Hawkins had committedCompany A to an attack from itspositions on Hill 80 across a mileof rice paddies to the river. Barrow

Following a burst of sniper fire, Marines quickly take cover suffered only light casualties, while the North Koreans hadalong a dike near the Han River. So far, the Marines had lost heavily. National Archives Photo (USA) 111-5C349026

135

deployed his platoons in a classictwo-up one-back formation. Asthey came forward through thewaist-high rice straw, a 3dBattalion officer, watching from hisposition behind the dike, wasreminded of the stories he hadbeen told of the Marines advancingthrough the wheat into BelleauWood. Without a shot being fired,Company A waded the stream andmarched into Yongdung-po.Barrow radioed Hawkins forinstructions. Hawkins told him tokeep on going.

The crossing of the Kalchon byRidge's 3d Battalion was less easy.Going over the dike was eerily likegoing 'over the top" of the trench-es in the First World War. SecondLieutenant Spencer H. Jarnagin ofCompany G formed his platoon in

line on the near side of the dikeclose to the water gate. At hiswhistle signal they started across.As they came out of the defiladeprovided by the dike, Maximheavy machine guns on the oppo-site dike, perhaps 50 yards distant,opened up. Jarnagin fell backdead. His platoon recoiled, someof them wounded. Denied artillerysupport and with his 81mm mor-tars lacking ammunition, the battal-ion's Weapons Company comman-der called up his platoon of sixwater-cooled Browning machineguns.

During the rapid cross-countrymovement toward Seoul the heavymachine guns were initiallyattached by section to the riflecompanies. They could not keepup with the light machine guns nor

136

did the rifle company commandersfully understand their capabilities.Consequently they were pulledback to company control andemployed in battery for overheadfire in the attack. Now, in this situ-ation so much like the WesternFront, they would come into theirown.

With their barrels just clearingthe top of the dike, the Browningsengaged the Maxims, just as theyhad done in 1918, and it was theBrownings that won. The 3dBattalion then crossed the Kalchonat the water gate, Westover'sCompany G to the left of the tribu-tary, First Lieutenant JosephFisher's Company I to the right.

Early that morning Sutter's bat-talion crossed the second bridgewithout incident except for fire

Marines of Capt Robert H. Barrow's Company A, 1stBattalion, 1st Marines, move into Yongdung-po. Althoughthe town seemed empty and dead, they carefully searched

National Archives Photo (USMC) 127-N-A3610

each building and side street but failed to uncover a flickerof enemy resistance.

that continued to come in fromacross the boundary separating the1st Marine Division from the 7thInfantry Division. Frustrated by thelack of artillery support, Sutterseized the bit in his teeth andshelled the offending ridge withhis attached 4.2-inch mortarsbefore sending up Companies Eand F to take the high ground.While they were so engaged,Captain Welby W. Cronk tookCompany D along the highwayand ran into another section ofheavily fortified dike. Heavy fight-ing, supported by the ever-willingCorsairs of VMF-214, continued inSutter's zone until late in theevening, when Sutter recalledCompanies E and F to tuck theminto a battalion perimeter for thenight.

In Yongdung-po, Barrow couldhear the furious firefight beingwaged by Sutter's battalion some-where to his right. Crossing thetown against scattered oppositionBarrow reached yet another dike.Beyond it was a sandy flat reach-ing about a mile to the Han. To hisleft rear was Bland's Company B.Barrow dug in on the dike in asausage-shaped perimeter. Atnightfall, the Marines of CompanyA heard the characteristic chug-ging clatter of advancing tanks.Five T-34s, without infantry escort,came up the Inchon-Seoul high-way and pumped steel into thewestern face of Company A's posi-tion. Barrow's 3.5-inch rocket gun-ners knocked out one and dam-aged two others.

Almond had been returningeach evening to the MountMcKinley, but on the morning of21 September he moved the head-quarters of X Corps ashore andopened his command post inInchon.

MacArthur came ashore againthat afternoon enroute to Japan. Apride of generals—Almond,

Shepherd, Smith, Barr, Harris, andLowe—had gathered at KimpoAirfield to see him off. Mutual con-gratulations were exchanged, andMacArthur flew to Tokyo. "He was,in my opinion, the greatest militaryleader of our century," musedGeneral Shepherd, the Virginiagentleman, in 1967.

Later that day, in a ceremony atX Corps headquarters in Inchonand in accordance with establishedamphibious doctrine, overall com-mand of the operation passed

from Admiral Struble to GeneralAlmond.

By midnight, five infantryassaults against Barrow's positionhad followed the attack by the T-34s. All were beaten back, theheaviest fighting being in front ofSecond Lieutenant John J. Swords'3d Platoon.

Pause in the Fighting

When the morning of 22 Sep-tember came, Barrow's Marines

Gen Douglas MacArthur and MajGen Edward M. Almond examine a map atKimpo Airfield shortly before the general's departure for Japan. MacArthurwould tell the Joint Chiefs of Staff that "his forces were pounding at the gates ofSeoul." National Archives Photo (USA) 111-sc349084

137

Navy Hospital Corpsmen Richard E. Rosegoom and FrankjYasso, assigned to the 1st Marine Division, give first aid to awounded North Korean while another prisoner is marchedto the rear. While always there for Marines, corpsmen also

National Archives Photo (USA) 111-SC349054

were available to treat prisoners of war and Korean civil-ians; the latter were second in number only to the Marinesthemselves.

were able to count 275 enemydead. The four remaining T-34s,two damaged, two intact, werefound abandoned nearby. The 1stand 3d Battalions renewed theirattack and converged on Barrow'sposition against negligible resis-tance.

Sutter was not the only com-mander to complain about the firecontrol problems along the bound-ary between the two divisions. The7th Division reported Marine Corpsfire falling in its zone. Almond metwith Barr and Smith and then toldhis aide, Lieutenant Haig, to tele-phone Corps headquarters andstraighten out the situation.

Almond, continuing his critiqueof the Marines' performance,expressed his concern over Smith's"open" left flank. Smith explainedto Almond his use of the 1stKorean Marine Corps Regiment,also that he had formed a KimpoAirfield defense force, using com-bat support and service units.Almond appeared somewhat mol-lified.

The Korean Marines, leavingone battalion behind in Inchon,had followed the 5th Marines toKimpo Airfield, and made its firstattack northwest of the airfield on19 September against light resis-tance. That same day the battalion

138

from Inchon rejoined its parentregiment. Now, with one battalionto be left behind to cover thenorthwest flank, the KMC regimentprepared to follow the 5th Marinesacross the Han.

Smith's third organic infantryregiment, the 7th Marines, includ-ing the battalion that had comefrom the Mediterranean by way ofthe Suez Canal, had arrived in theharbor. Colonel Homer Litzenbergasked General Smith what elementhe wanted landed first. "Aninfantry battalion," said Smith."And what next?" "Another infantrybattalion."

Litzenberg opened his command

post two miles south of Kimpo. His3d Battalion, under Major MauriceE. Roach, moved into an assemblyarea nearby. The 1st Battalion,under Lieutenant Colonel Thorn-ton M. Hinkle, reached Hill 131 amile north of the airfield sometimeafter midnight. The 1st Battalion,under Lieutenant Colonel Ray-mond G. Davis, stayed in the har-bor to unload the ships that hadbrought in the regiment.

Smith made a note in his journalthat Almond's concerns over openflanks had increased now that XCorps' command post was ashore.With the arrival of the 7th Marines,Smith himself could rest more eas-ily concerning the security of hisnorthwest flank.

Coordination between the 1stMarine Division and the 7thDivision continued to be poor. Anextensive minefield delayed the32d Infantry as it attacked alongthe Seoul-Suwon highway on 20September, but on that same daythe 32d did take T'ongdok moun-tain and a part of Copper MineHill. The rest of Copper Mine Hillwas taken the next day and, asnight fell, the Army regiment helda line two miles south of Anyang-ni. The big event of 22 Septemberfor the 32d Infantry was the cap-ture of Suwon Airfield and open-ing it to friendly traffic.

Sutter's 2d Battalion reverted toregimental reserve the afternoonof 22 September after seven days

in the assault. His grimy Marinesgathered together in a bivouacarea where they could wash andrest. The 22 September entry inAlmond's war diary, dutifully keptby Haig, noted that Sutter's battal-ion had taken 116 casualties as"the result of aggressive forwardmovement without the requiredartillery preparation." Thatevening, Almond, after a busy day,entertained Admiral Doyle andselected staff officers at dinner athis newly established mess inInchon.

Almond and Smith Disagree

By 23 September, the 32dInfantry had secured its objectives

Loaded in amphibious tractors and trucks, Korean Marines followed the 5th Marines to Kimpo Airfield, made its firstprepare to follow the 5th Marines across the Han River. A attack northwest of the field, and were now poised to liber-major portion of the 1st Korean Marine Coips Regiment had ate the Korean capital.

139

National Archives Photo (USA) 111-SC348702

overlooking the Han, south andsoutheast of Yongdung-po. The 3dBattalion of the Army's highlyregarded 187th Airborne Regiment,with Almond's "GHQ RaiderGroup" attached, arrived at Kimpoand temporarily came under 1stMarine Division control. Smithgave it the mission of covering hisnorthwest flank, freeing the 7thMarines for a crossing of the Han.

Almond ordered his commandpost displaced forward fromInchon to Ascom City. During theday he visited Barr's commandpost and passed out a liberal num-ber of Silver Stars, Bronze Stars,and Purple Hearts. Smith foundAlmond's practice of presentingon-the-spot awards disruptive anda cause for hurt feelings and mis-understandings. He thoughtAlmond was inspired byNapoleon, but MacArthur was amore immediate practitioner. Smithhad, it will be remembered, him-

self received a Silver Star fromMacArthur as had Barr and AdmiralDoyle. MacArthur was even moregenerous to Admiral Struble, givinghim the Army's DistinguishedService Cross.

The 5th Marines was now firmlyacross the Han but was having dif-ficulty in expanding its bridge-head. Mid-morning on the 23d,Almond met with Smith and urgedhim to put the 1st Marines acrossthe river. He again complained thatthe Marines were not pressing theattack vigorously enough. Almondsuggested that Smith cross the Hansoutheast of Seoul with the 1stMarines and then attack frontallyinto the city. Smith countered witha less-rash plan to have the 1stMarines cross at the 5th Marines'bridgehead. Almond reluctantlyconcurred.

From 15 through 23 September,the 1st Marine Division had suf-fered 165 men killed in action or

140

died of wounds, 5 Marines stillmissing in action, and 988 menwounded. In turn the division hadtaken, by fairly accurate count,1,873 prisoners, and claimed 6,500enemy casualties.

During the day, 23 September,Smith visited the observation postof the 3d Battalion, 1st Marines,which had just taken Hill 108 over-looking the rail and highwaybridges, their spans broken, intoSeoul. A Marine major, who knewof 0. P. Smith's study of the CivilWar, presumed to remark that theposition was similar to that ofBurnside at Falmouth on the northbank of the Rappahannock acrossfrom Fredericksburg in December1862. General Smith looked withamusement at the major andpatiently explained that he wouldnot make the same mistake asBurnside. There would be nofrontal assault across the river intoSeoul.

1 St Marine Division Casualties15-23 September 1950

Date KIA' DOW2 MIA3 WIA4 Total15 Sept 20 1 1 174 196l6Sept 2 1 1 22 26

l7Sept 6 0 0 70 76

l8Sept 7 3 0 92 102

l9Sept 10 1 0 61 72

20 Sept 24 1 3 119 147

21 Sept 30 3 0 198 231

22 Sept 27 3 0 135 16523 Sept 19 7 0 117 143

Total 145 20 5 988 1,158

1 MA Killed in Action2 DOW Died in Action' MIA Missing in Action

WIA Wounded in Action

About the Author

Edwin Howard Simmons, a retired Marinebrigadier general, was, as a major, the com­

manding officer of Weapons Company, 3dBattalion, 1st Marines, in the landing acrossBlue Beach Two at Inchon. His active servicespanned 30 years-1942 to 1972-and includedcombat in World War II and Vietnam as well asKorea. A writer and historian all his adult life,he was the Director of Marine Corps Historyand Museums from 1972 until 1996 and is nowthe Director Emeritus.

He was born in Billingsport, New Jersey, thesite of a battle along the Delaware River in the

American Revolution, and received his com­mission in the Marine Corps through the ArmyROTC at Lehigh University. He also has a mas­ter's degree from Ohio State University and is agraduate of the National War College. A one­time managing editor of the Marine CorpsGazette, he has been published widely, includ­ing more than 300 articles and essays. His mostrecent books are The United States Marines: AHistory (1998), The Marines (1998), and DogCompany Six (2000).

He is married, has four grown children, andlives with his wife, Frances, at their residence,"Dunmarchin," two miles up the Potomac fromMount Vernon.

SourcesTh ffi ial hi t ry The

Inchon- eoul Operation bL nn ntr and Capt

i hoia Canzona, olumeII in the , ri . . Marine

'Peration in Korea 1950-195 a hington, D.C.:Hi, torical Branch, G-3DivL ion, IIQMC, 1955) pro-

id d a centerline for thiaccount.

Oth r ffidal hi, torie ofgreat us ere Roy E.Appleman, outh to the

aktong, orth to the Yalu( a hington D.C.: am ofth hi f f Milital Hi toryD part-m nt of th rmy1961); Jam, A. Fi ld, Jr.,Hi t01Y of nited tate aualOperation: K01"ea ( a hing­ton D.C.: Go rnm nt Printing

ffic, 19 2) and Jam F.hnab I, Policy and

Direction: The Fir. t Yeara hingt n: Office f th

hief of ilitary Hi tory,D partm nt of th rmy19 2 .

ictory at High TideCPhilad lphia: Lippincott1968) by C I Rob rt D. H inlJr. r main the b , t ingl-

v lume acc unt of Inchon.Among th other u, eful , ec­

ndary urce wereI and r Haig, Jr. Inner

Circle ( York: arnerBook', 1992); CIa Blair TheForgotten War: Anzerica inKorea 1950-195 C w York:Time Book, 19); enDougla MacArthur, Remini­cence ( w York: GrawHill 1964; Gen OmarBradle and CIa Blair AGeneral's Li/e: An Autobiog­raphy ( w York: imon and

hu ter, 19 ); Donald Knox,The Korean WaJ": Pu a n toChosin ( an Di go: HarcourtBrace Jo an ich. 19 5);Marguerite Higgin ~ ar inKorea: The Report of a \ omenCombat Corre 1JondentCGard n City: Doubl da &

ompany, 1951)' n].Lawton Collin, Lightning joe:An Autobiography (BatonR ug: Loui iana tate

niver ity Pr,., 19 9; anddr alcoLIn . Cagl and Cdr

Frank A. Man on, The ea Warin Korea nnap Ii :

aval In titute, 195 ).aluabl in ights r pro-

ided by an In hon ar gamed veloped at th Marin Corps

141

Hi torical nt r CMCHC) in19 which e amin d thoperation from the vie pointof it principal comman Irs,u in their r p ru, writing.,and memoir . Among the pri­mary . our e' u· d, the m stimp rtant er the unit fil .and r ord held by CH ofthe 1 t Marin Divi ion and itubordinat regiments and bat­

talion.. AI 0 important werth bi raphi file held bRd ren e " ction.

Oth r primary ourc, ofgr at u wer th oral hi'to­ries, diaries, and memoirs fmany of th participant·. Tilmo t in1portant of the eretho of G n ral tratemeyer,AIm nd, Cate, h pherdP. mith, Craig . H. Krulak,and Bo r, and dmiral.Burk and Do I . fullannotated draft of the text i.on fil at the Marine orp,Hi tori al C nt r. i' til irtraditi n, th member of thtaff at the nt r wer fullyupporti e in th pr du lion

of thi anniversaly pamphl t.Ph tograph. b Frank oel aru d ith the p rmi ion of

5S dat d Pr orld idPhotos.

BATTLE OF THE BARRICADES

U.S. Marines in the Recapture of Seoulby Colonel Joseph H. Alexander, USMC (Ret)

ate on the afternoonof 24 September1950, Captain RobertH. Barrow's CompanyA, 1st Battalion, 1st

Marines, secured the military crestof Hill 79 in the southwest corner ofSeoul, the enemy-occupied capitalof the Republic of South Korea.

This momentous day for Barrowand his men began with a nerve-wracking crossing of the Han Riverin open-hatched DUKWs, theubiquitous amphibious trucks ofWorld War II. Debarkation on thenorth shore had been followed byan unorthodox passage of lines"on the fly" of the regiment's leadbattalion and the subsequent high-tempo attack on Hill 79. Now therifle company assumed defensivepositions on the objective, the mengazing in awe at the capital cityarrayed to their north and east,sprawling virtually to the horizon.Thousands of North KoreanPeoples' Army (NKPA) troops laywaiting for them behind barricadesor among countless courtyards androoftops. Tens of thousands ofcivilians still clung to life in thebattered city. The Marines were avery long way from the barren

At left: Lead elements of aMarine rfle squad pause by acaptured North Korean barri-cade in Seoul to assign the nextobjective. Photo by David DouglasDuncan

beaches of Tarawa or Peleliu.Even smoking Inchon, theiramphibious objective 10 days ear-lier seemed far distant. Seoulwould represent the largest objec-tive the Marines ever assailed.

Earlier that day Colonel Lewis B."Chesty" Puller, commanding the1st Marines, issued a foldedAmerican flag to be raised on theregiment's first objective within thecity limits. Barrow's battalion com-mander gave him the honor as thepoint company in the assault. Thetime was right. Barrow's menattached the national colors to apole and raised them proudly on arooftop on Hill 79. Lfe magazinephotographer David DouglasDuncan, himself a Marine combatveteran, captured the moment onfilm. The photograph provedunremarkable—Hill 79 was noMount Suribachi—but it reflectedan indelible moment in MarineCorps history. Seven weeks earli-er the 1st Marine Division was adivision in name only. This after-noon a rifle company from thathastily reconstituted division hadseized the first hill within occupiedSeoul while all three regimentsconverged inexorably on the capi-tal's rambling perimeter.

Barrow's flag-raising initiativeenraged the neighboring 5thMarines, still slugging its waythrough the last of the bitterlydefended ridges protecting thecity's northwest approaches.Chang Dok Palace, the Republic ofKorea's government center, laywithin the 5th Marines' assignedzone. There, the 5th Marines

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insisted, should be the rightfulplace for the triumphant flag-rais-ing. Barrow brushed aside thecomplaints. "Putting the flag on abamboo pole over a peasant'shouse on the edge of Seoul doesnot constitute retaking the city," hesaid. Whether premature or ap-propriate, the flag raising on Hill79 was an exuberant boost tomorale at a good time. Chang DokPalace lay just two miles north ofBarrow's current position, but get-ting there in force would take theMarines three more days ofextremely hard fighting.

By the night of 19 SeptemberMajor General Oliver P. Smith,commanding the 1st MarineDivision, had grounds for caution.

Capt Robert H. Barrow, commandingCompany A, 1st Battalion, 1stMarines, pauses to raise the firstAmerican flag within the city limits ofSeoul on Hill 79.

Photo by David Douglas Duncan