Action on Hill 342
_First Platoon Fight--The Perimeter on Hill 342--Call for Artillery
Fires--Task Force Kean Stalled--General Craig Assumes Control--Enemy
Attack at Dawn_
On 6 August 1950 the Brigade was attached to the 25th Infantry Division
and ordered forward to Chindong-ni. The area from that village westward
toward the Tosan junction was occupied by thinly spread elements of the
5th RCT and the 27th Infantry. While the former took over front line
positions preparatory to launching the main attack on the next day,
the latter was gradually displacing rearward to go into Eighth Army
reserve.[170]
[170] Annexes 1 and 2 to 25th InfDiv War Diary, Sep 50, Book
VIII; and Brig SAR, basic rpt.
To facilitate the early relief of the 27th Infantry, Lieutenant Colonel
Robert D. Taplett’s 3d Battalion, 5th Marines, departed from Changwon
at 1040, 6 August, and arrived at Chindong-ni less than 2 hours later.
The infantry unit was accompanied by the 1st Battalion, 11th Marines;
the 2d Platoon, 75-mm. Recoilless Guns; and the 3d Platoon, Company A
Engineers. After assembling in a schoolyard north of the village, 3/5
relieved the 2d Battalion, 27th Infantry, on and around Hill 255.[171]
[171] All hill numbers given in this text refer to the highest
peak of the specific high ground being considered.
Numbers indicate height in meters above sea level,
and Hill 255 is therefore more than 800 feet high.
Chindong-ni, being almost at the water’s edge, may be
taken as sea level.
One and a half miles out of Chindong-ni, the road from Masan takes a
sharp turn so that it is running generally north and south before it
enters the village. Hill 255 borders the west side of the road, rising
from the valley floor just above Chindong-ni and climbing northward to
its summit in a series of prominent steps. Its ridgeline is narrow,
with the eastern slopes falling steeply to the Masan route while
its western wall plunges sharply to the valley and road connecting
Chindong-ni and Haman.
Taplett set up his CP, headquarters units, and weapons company along
the first step of the hill. Higher up, at the top of the second rise,
Captain Joseph C. Fegan deployed Company H in defensive positions
facing generally north. Forward, a long narrow plateau stretched
for 250 yards before the third step of the ridge rose abruptly to
the second highest peak on the hill. Noting the advantages of the
commanding ground to his north, Fegan requested permission to move his
company forward to that area. Since this would have placed him 500
yards from the nearest 3/5 unit, the request could not be granted.[172]
[172] Maj Joseph C. Fegan interv with authors, 17 Apr 54
(Fegan, 17 Apr 54).
The battalion commander intended to keep his defenses as tightly
knit as possible in order to discharge his mission of blocking the
approaches to the Masan-Chindong-ni MSR. Despite vigorous patrolling by
25th Division units in the mountains between the coastal village and
Haman, intelligence reported increasing numbers of enemy troops, heavy
weapons, and equipment in the area to the north. It appeared that large
NKPA forces were slipping through and descending on Chindong-ni to “cut
off the windpipe” of Walker’s southern flank.
First Lieutenant Robert D. Bohn, commander of Company G, deployed his
2d and 3d Platoons on Hill 99, to the west and across the valley from
255. He arranged his defenses to block the approaches from the high
ground on his north (actually an extension of Hill 99) and from the
valley to the west, separating him from massive Hill 342.[173]
[173] Capt R. D. Bohn interv with authors, 17 Apr 54 (Bohn, 17
Apr 54).
On a small knoll at the base of Hill 255 was deployed Company G’s 1st
Platoon, commanded by Second Lieutenant John H. Cahill. With the 75-mm.
recoilless gun platoon attached, this unit guarded the Haman road 600
yards from Chindong-ni.[174]
[174] _Ibid._
On high ground east of the MSR and beyond the village sat the
2d Platoon of Company H, with the mission of defending against
infiltration from the direction of the sea and the mountains southeast
of the road to Masan.[175]
[175] Fegan, 17 Apr 54.
This completed the infantry deployment. Company H had its three
platoons spread over 1,500 yards, while those of Company G ranged at
least an equal distance. Due to the lack of a third company, Taplett
had no reserve other than a handful of headquarters troops. Thus 3/5
got its taste of things to come in a strange war of mountains and men.
As the riflemen were digging their hilltop holes with traditional
distaste, other supporting elements of the Brigade and 5th Marines
began to arrive at Chindong-ni and set up for business. These included
the Brigade Reconnaissance Company and a platoon of the regimental
4.2-inch Mortar Company.[176] All Marine units in the area temporarily
came under control of 3/5’s Battalion Commander. Taplett was given the
added responsibility of handling all area requests for tactical air
support.[177]
[176] Annex How.
[177] LtCol R. D. Taplett interv with authors, 20 Apr 54
(Taplett, 20 Apr 54).
For the time being, the 3d Battalion itself was under operational
control of Colonel John H. Michaelis, USA, commander of the 27th
Infantry “Wolfhounds.” Verbal instructions from Major General Kean
on 6 August had given the Army officer control of all troops in the
Chindong-ni area. When a second Marine battalion arrived in the locale,
command would then pass to General Craig.[178]
[178] Brig SAR, basic rpt.
By 1600, Taplett had reported his command post location and defensive
positions to Michaelis. Immediately afterwards he ordered mortars and
artillery to lay registration fires on the northern approaches to
Chindong-ni.[179] Having left the phantoms of Changwon far behind, the
Marines of the reinforced battalion settled down for the night.
[179] _Ibid._; and Annex How.
_First Platoon Fight_
Shortly after midnight, the 3d Battalion received an unexpected message
which precipitated the first Marine infantry action of the war. Colonel
Michaelis radioed Taplett and passed on a directive from 25th Division,
ordering the Marine battalion to commit immediately one reinforced
platoon for the defense of Hill 342. He explained that this unit was to
relieve a beleaguered Army company being slowly eaten away in a private
war of attrition. Taplett informed the regimental commander that he
could ill afford to spare 1 of his 6 rifle platoons, but was told in
return that General Kean had ordered 342 held at all costs.[180]
[180] This section of the narrative is derived from: LtCol
R. D. Taplett interv with the author, 18 Nov 53 and 19
May 54; Annexes Easy and How to Brig SAR; and Capt J. H.
Cahill ltr to authors, 9 Dec 53.
Tagged with the ominous sounding name “Yaban-san” by Koreans, this
hill resembles a huge molar whose roots rise from the MSR west of
Chindong-ni and lead to a tremendous mass about 2,000 yards north
of the road. There the ground climbs sharply, culminating in a peak
1,100 feet high. Beyond, a long saddle extends a few thousand yards
northwest, connecting 342 with a height of almost 2,000 feet. The
latter was a stronghold of NKPA 6th Division elements, making a
determined bid to carry 342 and cut the MSR.
Assigned the mission of making the Brigade’s first ground contact was
young Lieutenant Cahill of Company G. His 1st Platoon was reinforced
with a machinegun squad and SCR-300 operator before he led it from
3/5’s perimeter.
Moving westward on the MSR, the platoon reached Michaelis’ CP, located
near the bridges south of Hill 99. Cahill was told that he would be met
by a guide at a road junction 700 yards farther down the MSR. From this
point the platoon followed a soldier who escorted Cahill to the CP of
the 2d Battalion, 5th RCT. This headquarters was situated just north of
the road, on the tip of 342’s eastern “root,” 1 of the 2 long ridges
leading to the hill itself.
The Marine officer was told to relieve the Army company on the summit
and hold the hill with his platoon. Following a quick briefing, Cahill
and the guide led the column northward from the CP, skirting the
western base of the ridge. A few hundred yards along the way, the guide
discovered that he had miscalculated in the darkness. More time was
lost while the platoon descended to resume the correct route.
As the men threaded their way along the unseen trail, a few enemy
artillery shells burst nearby. The column reached the end of the valley
separating the two long spurs of 342, and a volley of rifle fire
cracked in the darkness. Two of Cahill’s Marines were painfully wounded.
Since the column was still in friendly territory, the guide advised
Cahill not to climb 342 until dawn shed light on the mystery. It was
then 0500, 7 August, and the Marine platoon had marched 3 miles from
its original position.
Shortly after first light, it was discovered that soldiers of the
2d Battalion, 5th RCT, had fired on the Marines, not realizing that
friendly units were moving within the area.
As the sun rose in a cloudless sky, Cahill took the lead. First, he
climbed the high ground joining 342 with its eastern spur, then crossed
over and continued toward the peak from a southeasterly direction.
[Illustration: CHINDONG-NI AREA 6–9 AUG. ’50
SHOWING 1st PROV. MAR. BRIGADE’S DISPOSITION, BLOCKING ACTION, & LOCAL
ATTACKS]
The platoon made good progress at the outset, but the heat became
stifling; and all the while the slopes of 342 stretched ahead like
a continuous wall. Stumbling, gasping for breath, soaked with
perspiration, every Marine reached the point at which he barely managed
to drag himself up the steep incline. There were choked curses as men
gained a few feet, only to slip and fall back even farther.
Water discipline collapsed as canteens were quickly emptied. Marines
began to drop along the slope, some unconscious, others doubled over
and retching. The tactical formation of the platoon became ragged, but
Cahill and his NCO’s urged the men upward.
Accompanied by Sergeant Lee Buettner, Cahill set out to contact
the Army company commander on the summit and reconnoiter the area.
Seventy-five yards from the top, he was fired on from the eastern
slopes. Since he was in sight of the Army troops on the crest, it was
obvious that the North Korean People’s Army had officially greeted the
1st Provisional Marine Brigade.
_The Perimeter on Hill 342_
Convinced that he was encountering only sniper fire, Cahill ordered
Buettner to stay behind and keep the platoon moving up a draw affording
cover. Then, ignoring enemy marksmen, the young officer climbed up to
the crest and entered a grim little company perimeter under constant
rifle and machinegun fire from its front and both flanks.
It was 0830 when the Army company commander greeted Cahill and
explained his defenses. It had been customary, he said, to man a broad
front during the day and draw back into a tight perimeter at night.
But the intense enemy fire of the previous night had not diminished
after daybreak, with the result that his men still occupied their night
perimeter. The Army officer added that he had returned his mortars
to the base of the hill, since they had drawn too much fire to be
effective. Deployed around a triangular perimeter conforming to the
shape of 347’s peak were the remnants of his three shattered platoons.
While Cahill appraised the situation, his platoon labored up the hill
under prodding by Buettner and other NCO’s. Well up the southeastern
slope, the column suddenly came under automatic weapons fire from
invisible enemy positions. The exhausted Marines set up weapons along
the hillside and fired at area targets. Despite the blistering sun and
whine of bullets, NCO’s led their fire teams and squads up toward the
peak.
When the Marines reached Cahill, he learned that 1 man had been killed
and 6 wounded, including Staff Sergeant Robert Robinson, platoon
sergeant, and Sergeant Thomas Blackmon, platoon guide. A number of heat
casualties were recuperating far down the slope, and one Marine had
suffered an emotional collapse. Blackmon, despite a mortal wound, had
been so intent on joining his platoon leader at the crest that four
weary men were required to carry him down the hillside to safety. Three
other able-bodied Marines also had to assist wounded men down the hill.
Of the 52 men who had set out the previous night, only 37, including
those recovered from heat sickness, finally reached Cahill. As they
assembled on the reverse slope of 342, a group of soldiers on the
crest broke under a heavy volume of enemy fire and bolted from the
perimeter. The Army company was on the verge of panic until a young
Army lieutenant restored order and led the men back to their foxholes.
Cahill and his remaining NCO’s crawled around the perimeter to insert
Marines in positions among those of the Army troops. This psychology
was sound, for each infantryman, eyeing his Army or Marine neighbor,
prided himself on setting a high standard of military conduct. From
that time on, every man discharged his responsibility in a most
exemplary manner.
Two more Marines had been killed instantly while being led to their
positions by Sergeant Jack Macy. These casualties brought the platoon’s
total to 3 KIA and 8 WIA.
It is not likely that Cahill’s men were interested enough in historic
dates to recall that it was the eighth anniversary of the Marine
landing on Guadalcanal in World War II. For at noon, the fight on Hill
342 took on aspects of a siege. Swarms of North Koreans inched upward
toward the crest, taking advantage of cover and concealment as they
kept a steady stream of rifle and machinegun fire cutting across the
hilltop. Despite the visual handicap resulting from the enemy’s use
of smokeless powder, the Marines and soldiers returned the fire with
determination.
Due to the urgency of the situation on 342, the 2d Battalion, 5th RCT,
ordered its company to remain on the crest with Cahill’s platoon. Plans
were already underway for a larger Marine force to clear the high
ground.
_Call for Artillery Fires_
In the meantime Cahill used his initiative to improve the situation.
With his SCR-300, he called for Army artillery fire to silence the
Communist mortars. When the first shells were fired for registration,
he searched the perimeter and located an artillery forward observer.
Accurate bursts were laid on likely looking mortar OP’s in enemy
territory, yet the Communist tubes continued to fire.
With ammunition and water in critical supply, the Marine officer
radioed 3/5’s CP and requested an air drop. Taplett’s Tactical Air
Control Party relayed the message to the Brigade Air Section, and an
Air Force R4D transport flew over the restricted drop area atop Hill
342. The precious supplies tumbled from the big plane--into enemy
territory. A single recovered packet contained carbine cartridges, the
one type not needed.
The Brigade Air Section then turned the mission over to VMO-6.
Every 5-gallon water can owned by the squadron was donated, and the
more maneuverable OY-2’s were able to drop them within the confined
perimeter. Unhappily, the containers burst upon striking the ground,
so that the parched hill defenders were able to salvage only a few
mouthfuls of water apiece.
Sergeant Macy reacted with vigor. With Cahill’s permission, he
organized a few volunteers into a patrol to search for water.
Descending the perilous southeastern slope under fire, the little group
struck out for the village of Taepyong-ni, located along the base of
342’s eastern spur and facing Hill 99 across the valley.
As the afternoon wore on, the Army-Marine defenders clung to their
precarious perch, despite swollen tongues and Communist fire. The enemy
had succeeded in surrounding the entire peak with a ring of fire.
Several more casualties were inflicted on the infantry company, and a
Marine machinegunner was killed instantly by a sniper who had worked
his way to the south of the perimeter.
_Task Force Kean Stalled_
Although the night of 6–7 August had been uneventful for 3/5’s front
lines around Chindong-ni, Taplett’s CP near the base of Hill 255 came
under sporadic shelling between 0100 and 0400. The first messages
from Cahill, received about 0600, caused anxiety over the fate of his
platoon.[181]
[181] Annex How.
At 0200 that morning, a long column of trucks had set out from
Changwon, carrying Lieutenant Colonel Harold S. Roise’s 2d Battalion,
5th Marines. The head of the convoy reached Chindong-ni about 0500
and entered the truck turn-around in a schoolyard at the base of Hill
255.[182] As 2/5 unloaded, the turn-around became a bottleneck of
vehicles, men, and equipment which slowed movement on the MSR itself
almost to a standstill. To make matters worse, the heavy traffic
gradually pounded the schoolyard into a quagmire, so that trucks bogged
down and added to the confusion.
[182] _Ibid._; and LtCol H. S. Roise ltr to authors, 5 Feb 54
(Roise, 5 Feb 54).
While Roise was assembling his battalion, the entire area came under
heavy mortar and artillery fire from the north. The sudden shelling,
which caused 2/5’s first battle casualties, brought all traffic on the
road from Changwon to an abrupt halt.
Although the Marines of the 2d Battalion were well covered behind Hill
255, bursts from shells striking the trees high on the ridge filled
the air with fragments. Before the enemy mortars ceased, 1 Marine had
been killed and 11 wounded, including Captain George E. Kittredge, Jr.,
commander of Company E.[183]
[183] _Ibid._
Lieutenant Colonel Murray, whose headquarters was behind Roise’s unit
in the convoy, was still north of Chindong-ni when the column slowed
almost to a standstill. He radioed 2/5’s commander and told him to
keep the trucks moving despite the shelling. Roise replied that the
muddy schoolyard, not enemy fire, was the main cause of the delay.
Thus Murray received the first of many object lessons in Korean
geography. He sat patiently in his jeep, while the column inched into
Chindong-ni.[184]
[184] Murray, 15 Feb 54.
After the regimental commander arrived in Chindong-ni, the 3d
Battalion, less Cahill’s platoon, reverted to his control. Because of
the battle in progress on Hill 342 and enemy activity to the north
of the village perimeter, Murray ordered 2/5 to occupy and defend an
expanse of 255 above Company H’s positions. He directed 1/5 (following
his headquarters in the column from Changwon) to occupy Hill 99, thus
relieving Company G to bolster Taplett’s lines on lower 255.[185]
[185] Annex How.
General Craig arrived at Chindong-ni shortly after 0700, just in time
to be warmly greeted by the enemy shelling as he stepped from his
helicopter. Since the Brigade attack scheduled for 7 August hinged on
the 5th RCT’s success at the Tosan junction, Craig quickly arranged
for a telephone line to that unit, so that his CP would be in constant
contact.[186]
[186] LtGen E. A. Craig ltr to authors, 12 Jan 54 (Craig, 12
Jan 54).
News from the front was not good. At 0630, after air and artillery
preparations, the 5th RCT had jumped off on schedule. Just beyond the
line of departure, it came to a sudden halt as a result of increased
enemy activity north of the road. Elements of the NKPA 6th Division,
paying little attention to the plans of Task Force Kean, had launched
an attack of their own above the MSR.
The situation on Hill 342 kept the entire 2d Battalion, 5th RCT, tied
down in a fight to hold the Chinju road open. With the help of Cahill’s
platoon on the crest, this mission was being accomplished; but the
battalion was temporarily lost to its regiment, and the road itself was
choked with men and vehicles unable to move.[187]
[187] Brig SAR, basic rpt.
_General Craig Assumes Control_
The Brigade was ordered to provide a battalion for the relief of the
Army unit on Yaban-san, so that the 5th RCT could strike harder at the
road junction 2½ miles to the west.[188]
[188] _Ibid._
Just as 2/5 was ascending Hill 255, Lieutenant Colonel Murray received
word from Brigade of the Marine commitment. The 5th Marines commander
canceled Roise’s orders and directed him to relieve both Cahill’s
platoon and the 2d Battalion, 5th RCT, and to seize the remainder of
Hill 342.[189]
[189] _Ibid._; and Annex How.
At 1120 on 7 August, General Craig received a telephone message from
General Kean directing the Brigade commander to assume control of all
troops in the Chindong-ni area until further orders. With this overall
responsibility, Craig went forward to observe the 5th RCT in action. He
ascertained by personal reconnaissance that enemy resistance was light,
although few friendly gains were being made because of the scattered
and confused nature of the fighting.[190] The MSR between Sangnyong-ni,
at the base of Hill 342’s spurs, and the vital Tosan junction was
jammed with men, vehicles, and equipment, while infantrymen probed
the surrounding high ground in an effort to weed out snipers and
infiltrators.
[190] Craig, 12 Jan 54.
When 2/5 reached the road junction at which Cahill had been met by the
Army guide during the night, Lieutenant Colonel Roise ordered Company D
to move up the north fork, tracing the base of 342’s eastern spur, and
seize both the spur and great hill itself. Company E, now commanded by
1st Lieutenant William E. Sweeney, was to pass behind Sangnyong-ni and
seize the west spur. Such a deployment would leave the battalion spread
thinly, but Roise’s orders were to protect the wide valley formed by
the two long ridges. This could be done only by occupying both spurs
and 342 itself.[191]
[191] Roise, 5 Feb 54.
Outside of Chindong-ni, Major Morgan J. McNeely, 2d Battalion S-3, had
picked up Captain John Finn, Jr., CO of Company D, and the two officers
drove ahead by jeep to the village of Taepyong-ni at the eastern base
of Hill 342. The staff officer informed Finn that Dog Company was to
relieve a 5th RCT unit on the high ground above the clump of thatched
huts. Both McNeely and an Army guide said that the Marines would meet
no organized resistance in their climb.[192]
[192] Capt J. Finn, Jr., ltr to authors, 1 Mar 54 (Finn, 1 Mar
54).
Having spent a sleepless night on the road from Changwon to
Chindong-ni, Finn’s infantrymen were fagged. It was now midafternoon,
and the heat began to take its toll of Dog Company.
Just as the leading elements reached Finn at Taepyong-ni--30 minutes
after McNeely’s departure--the column came under rifle and machinegun
fire from the high ground above the road and from the hamlet of
Tokkong-ni across the valley on the right. The Marines thought they
were being shot at by Army troops, but the chatter of Communist
“burp guns”[193] soon convinced them that they were meeting enemy
resistance.[194]
[193] PPS-1943, Soviet 7.62-mm. submachinegun.
[194] Capt R. T. Hanifin ltr to authors, 15 Feb 54 (Hanifin,
15 Feb 54).
Finn ordered his men into the rice paddies bordering the road. Calling
his platoon leaders, he told them that there was no real intelligence,
but that the fire from Tokkong-ni would be ignored due to the company’s
mission on 342. He assigned routes of ascent to each platoon. The 2d,
under Second Lieutenant Wallace J. Reid, would push through Taepyong-ni
and on up the hill at its juncture with the spur. On the left, Second
Lieutenant Edward T. Emmelman would lead his 3d Platoon to the top of
the spur. The 1st Platoon, commanded by Second Lieutenant Arthur A.
Oakley, would hold the right flank and ascend the southern slopes of
342 itself.[195]
[195] _Ibid._; and Finn, 1 Mar 54.
Company D met scattered opposition. By the time it moved over the
crest of the spur, five Marines had been wounded. The sun, however,
had been more effective; for twelve men were completely unconscious
from the 100° heat, and the rest of the company had neared the point of
exhaustion.
Finn ordered his executive officer, First Lieutenant Robert T. Hanifin,
Jr., to set up headquarters and the 60-mm. mortars on the high ground
directly above Taepyong-ni. It was already early in the evening when
Hanifin established a thin perimeter of headquarters personnel to
safeguard the CP.[196]
[196] Hanifin, 15 Feb 54.
In the meantime, Finn was leading his three rifle platoons up the same
southeastern approach to 342’s summit which Cahill’s platoon had scaled
12 hours earlier. The company commander could no longer overlook the
combined effects on his men of heat and overexertion. A few hundred
yards from the summit, he radioed Roise that Company D was exhausted.
During the halt, Lieutenant Oakley climbed to the summit to contact the
Army and Marine defenders. He returned just before dark with Cahill and
the Army company commander.[197]
[197] Finn, 1 Mar 54.
In the hurried conference that followed, the Army officer advised Finn
against finishing the rugged climb and assured him that his soldiers
and Cahill’s platoon could defend the peak through the night. Informed
of this by radio, Roise allowed Company D to hold its present position
and relieve at dawn.[198]
[198] _Ibid._
Earlier in the day, Lieutenant Sweeney had led Company E up the lower
tip of 342’s western spur, then along the ridgeline toward the large
hill mass. At intervals the company came under long range, ineffectual
machinegun fire. But, as in the case of Finn’s unit, the heat and
terrain were more damaging than enemy bullets. At dusk, Company E had
reached the midway point along the ridge, and there it dug in for the
night.
_Enemy Attack at Dawn_
Under cover of darkness, Red Korean troops wormed their way around
the little perimeter on the summit of Hill 342. Just before dawn the
soldiers and Marines were greeted by bursts of short-range rifle and
machinegun fire. The defenders returned the fire and hurled grenades
down the slopes, but a small force of North Koreans succeeded in
crawling close enough to launch an assault against the northeast leg
of the triangle.[199]
[199] Cahill, 9 Dec 53.
A fierce hand-to-hand struggle ensued at the point of contact, and the
Communists were thrown back down the hill. One of Cahill’s men died of
bayonet and gunshot wounds, and another Marine and several soldiers
were wounded.[200]
[200] _Ibid._
Finn’s men struck out for the summit shortly after daybreak on 8
August. With three platoons abreast along the southern face of 342, Dog
Company pushed upward swiftly, brushing aside light resistance. Upon
reaching the perimeter, the Marines came under a storm of fire from NK
positions which ringed the northern half of the hill.[201]
[201] Finn, 1 Mar 54; and Roise, 5 Feb 54.
The relief was effected, nevertheless, and Cahill’s thinned squads
descended Hill 342 together with the shattered Army company. The Marine
platoon had lost 6 killed and 12 wounded--more than a third of the 52
men who had set out from Chindong-ni.[202] But its determined stand
with the beleaguered Army unit had saved the height and frustrated the
Communist attempts to establish a bastion overlooking the MSR.
[202] Annex Able to Annex How.
Company D fared no better than its predecessors at consolidating the
crest of 342 and clearing upper slopes which were crawling with North
Koreans. Finn’s unit took several casualties in the fire fight that
accompanied and followed the relief of the original defenders. Two
of those killed in action were Second Lieutenants Oakley and Reid.
The only surviving platoon leader, Lieutenant Emmelman, received
a serious head wound as he was pointing out targets to a Marine
machinegunner.[203]
[203] Finn, 1 Mar 54; and Hanifin, 15 Feb 54.
Captain Finn, seeing Reid’s motionless form lying ahead of the company
lines, crawled forward to recover the body. Having moved only a short
distance with his burden, the company commander himself was struck in
the head and shoulder by enemy bullets. Barely conscious and almost
blinded by blood, Finn crept back to his lines on his hands and knees.
A corpsman administered first aid and Company D’s first sergeant
helped the officer down the steep slope.[204] On the way the pair
met Lieutenant Hanifin, who was leading company headquarters and the
mortar section to the high ground from their positions of the previous
night. Finn informed the executive officer that he was now in command
of the company.[205]
[204] _Ibid._
[205] _Ibid._
Reaching the summit, Hanifin had just enough time to reorganize
his defensive positions and emplace the 60-mm. mortars before the
Communists launched another attack. Again Marine rifles, machineguns,
and grenades scorched the northern slopes. Again the enemy was
beaten back, leaving the hillside littered with dead. But Company
D’s casualties had mounted meanwhile to 6 killed in action and 25
wounded.[206]
[206] Annex How; Hanifin, 15 Feb 54; and Maj A. M. Zimmer ltr
to author, 18 Feb 54 (Zimmer, 18 Feb 54). This breakdown
of casualties is as nearly correct as can be ascertained
from recollections of participants and a comparison with
the final total given after 2/5 was relieved on position.
About 1130, as the fire fight slackened, Roise phoned Hanifin from
his OP on the eastern spur. The conversation had no sooner begun
when the company commander collapsed from heat exhaustion. A veteran
NCO and a young officer promptly filled the command vacuum. Company
D’s gunnery sergeant, Master Sergeant Harold Reeves, assumed control
of the three rifle platoons with the confidence of long experience.
Second Lieutenant Leroy K. Wirth, a forward observer of 1/11, took
responsibility for all supporting arms, including the planes of MAG-33
circling overhead. The NCO of almost 30 years service and the young
officer repeatedly ranged forward of the front lines to spot enemy
positions for air strikes and make new appraisals of the situation.
Company D remained steady, and never again did the North Koreans
seriously threaten the hilltop.[207]
[207] Hanifin, 15 Feb 54.
The 2d Battalion, 24th Infantry, was scheduled to relieve 2/5 on Hill
342 during the afternoon of 8 August; but the Army unit was unable
to reach the area for reasons to be explained later. Informed of the
change in plans, Roise kept his battalion busy with consolidation of
positions and evacuation of casualties.
Company E moved forward a few hundred yards along the western spur
of 342 and dug new foxholes. Captain Andrew M. Zimmer reported from
regiment, where he had been an assistant S-3, and took command of
Company D.[208]
[208] Annex How.
Although the North Koreans continued to harass the “iron triangle” on
the crest, there was no more hard fighting. A few additional casualties
were taken by Zimmer’s company, most of them occurring while Marines
tried to retrieve airdropped supplies which had fallen wide of their
mark.[209]
[209] Zimmer, 18 Feb 54.
During the fighting on 342, Major Walter Gall, commander of 2/5’s
Weapons Company, had dispatched a small patrol to eliminate the enemy
machineguns in Tokkong-ni. After a brief fire fight which cost three
friendly casualties, the withdrawal of the patrol left the Communists
still entrenched in the village. When the Marines returned to Weapons
Company lines on the eastern spur, First Lieutenant Ira T. Carr turned
his 81-mm. mortars on Tokkong-ni and brought the enemy fire to an
end.[210]
[210] Maj Walter Gall interv with authors, 9 Feb 54.
The night of 8–9 August was relatively quiet on 342. Obviously weakened
by casualties, the enemy gave the Marine positions a wide berth.
NKPA harassing fires consisted of periodic bursts from long-range
machineguns and antitank guns.[211] There was desultory sniping during
the morning of the 9th, but Brigade intelligence reported a gradual
withdrawal of the enemy northward.[212]
[211] Zimmer, 18 Feb 54.
[212] Brig Periodic IntelRpt No. 6.
That afternoon Company D was relieved by an Army unit when 2/5 turned
over responsibility for the hill to the 2d Battalion, 24th Infantry.
The fight had made veterans out of the men Zimmer led down to the road,
but the company paid with 8 dead and 28 wounded.[213]
[213] Zimmer, 18 Feb 54; and Annex How.
Documents taken from enemy dead disclosed that the defenders of Hill
342 had been opposed by elements of the 13th and 15th Regiments of the
NK 6th Division. Lieutenant Cahill qualified his report of 150 enemy
dead as “conservative,”[214] and 2/5 set the total at 400 after its
fight.[215] The actual number of fatalities inflicted by Marine-Army
infantry and supporting arms probably lies somewhere between these two
estimates.
[214] Cahill, 9 Dec 53.
[215] Annex How.
At any rate, the Red Korean commander had committed at least two rifle
companies supported by machineguns, mortars and artillery. The force
thrown against Yaban-san could be estimated at 500 to 600 troops, and
they had failed in their attempt to cut the MSR.[216]
[216] _Ibid._; and Brig Periodic IntelRpts Nos. 5 and 6.