Korean War (38)

3 RAR defenses on the Jamestown Line, Jan. 1953

14 February 1953, after four days of Operation Clam Up, during which time the enemy fired 344 rounds of artillery and 1,469 rounds of mortar, they concentrated their attention on Hill 930. (The approach south to Tonpyang and Hills 812 & 854 and lost about 129 casualties, mostly KIA.)  An enemy prisoner, captured from the 45th North Korean Division, stated the reason for their reduced activity was to wait until a South Korean unit replaced the Marines and for the weather to change.  They had been prepared to occupy Hill 854 when they arrived carrying their packs, extra clothing and rations.  Operation Clam Up was terminated the following day.

DUKW

During the 14th, the island of Hwangto-do received 40 rounds of fire and 2 bunkers caved in; 2 US ships provided counterbattery fire.  Yo-do received 84 rounds and had 2 men killed and 9 wounded, including a USMC officer.  The Korean Marine Corps (KMC) command post had a direct hit, 3 DUKWs were damaged, 2 squad tents destroyed, the aid station damaged and the telephone wires were downed.

islands of Wonsan

28 February, the aircraft from Task Force 77 bombed and strafed Pusan’s #2 power plant.  An examination of the enemy fire power, for the month, from shore batteries showed that 90% were directed toward UN bulwarks and 10% against shore vessels.

Mao & Stalin

5 March, Stalin passed away and his successor, Georgi Malenkov, announced that “there is no disputed or unresolved question that can not be settled peacefully.”

Georgy Malenkov

For the 1st Marine Division, March as a whole was relatively quiet.  The reason for this being that the Chinese were preparing for their next offensive against the UN line.  A major victory would be to their advantage as the peace talks were to resume shortly.  By 10 March, the 3rd Battalion had replaced the 7th Marines on the MLR.

The map shows the sectors of the battalion during this “quiet” time.  Sgt. Jess Meado was recorded, as the spring thaw arrived:  “My squad had one of those outposts which was always under mortar fire.  There was also a sniper who shot at us persistently.  We fired rifle grenades each morning and received mortar fire in return…we went on patrol one dark and rainy night, crossing waist-deep streams.  Mud was everywhere.  We heard the gooks working on their wires and cans and we were told to shoot at them and then move out fast.  We all fired at once and their mortars hit the area we had just returned from.”

In an event at George Company’s CP position, Sgt. Meado related:  “A Chinese 76mm shell hit the front of the bunker, blowing up our mail box.  A piece of that round had gone through the doorway of another bunker, hitting the last of 4 men who were sitting in a row,  I ran over to see if I could help and the corpsman asked me to get his first-aid bag which was in the CP bunker.

“I barely got back to the wounded man when another 76mm went through the CP bunker… 7 men had been inside, 5 of them ran out.”  The two men Meado pulled out were dead:  “Pfc Donel Earnest and Pfc James Kimball would have gone home on the next draft out.”

Korean prisoners of war

POWs in UN custody became even more anxious about their fates.  The Koreans who wanted repatriation numbered 66,754 POWs and civilians.  Virtually all the non-repatriates were former soldiers: 35,597 Korean & 14,280 Chinese.

Click on images to enlarge.

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Personal note – 

Once again, for our newest readers, I wish to iterate that the dates omitted from these posts in no way suggests that the combat action on land or sea was silent.  If I have omitted any episode that you have knowledge of – Please, by all means, include it in the comments for others to view.

My e-mail address is not actually associated with this site and any messages delivered that are not in my contacts, go to Spam and are deleted.  So, please send your stories and links to research sites in the comments for everyone.

Thank you for being here, for being so loyal and helpful – I couldn’t be continuing on this site without you!

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Farewell Salutes – 

Joseph Albano – NYC; US Army, WWII, PTO

RCAF badge

Stanley Cogdell – Pointe-Claire, Quebec; RACF, WWII, Flight Engineer

Albert Fara – Chicago, IL; US Army, Korea

Gregory Hutchinson – Washington DC; US Army (Ret.) Lt. Colonel

Mary (nee Tierney) Kennedy – Elmhurst, IL; WAVES, WWII

Jeremy Maristany – Scotsdale, AZ; USMC, Sgt., 11th Marines; Iraqi Operations

Martin O’Neill – E.Islip, NY; US Army, Korea & Vietnam

Troy Ogden – Long Beach, CA; US Army, 511th Reg., WWII, PTO

Rudolph Pick – Vienna, Austria & Falls Church, VA; Czech Div. of British Army in Belgium & Dunkirk, WWII

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