Shielded several wounded Marines from enemy fire with his own body and was seriously wounded. He was later captured as a POW. Owen, Joseph R. (2007). Colder Than Hell: A Marine Rifle Company at Chosin Reservoir. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-55750-416-6. In those days of research for Toko-Ri I would participate in catapult takeoffs and cable-grabbing landings many times,” wrote Michener, a World War II naval officer who had won the Pulitzer Prize writing about combat on sultry tropical islands. In the wintry Sea of Japan, with victory nowhere in sight, he wanted to know, “Have Americans lost their moral courage?” RCT-31, later known as " Task Force Faith," was a hastily formed regimental combat team from the 7th Infantry Division that guarded the right flank of the Marine advance towards Mupyong-ni. Before the battle, RCT-31 was spread thin, with main elements separated on the hills north of Sinhung-ni, the Pyungnyuri Inlet west of Sinhung-ni, and the town of Hudong-ni ( 40°26′N 127°17′E / 40.43°N 127.28°E / 40.43; 127.28) south of Sinhung-ni. [101] Although the Chinese believed RCT-31 to be a reinforced regiment, [83] the task force was actually understrength, with one battalion missing, due to the bulk of the 7th Infantry Division being scattered over northeast Korea. [101]

Neither White nor Whited recalls much concern over the fact that their liberation of South Korea had escalated into a war against Communist China. “We had no clue,” remembers Whited, “as to really what was going on as far the Chinese involved in the war was concerned.” Nor did they think much about the dangers of war with China. “Well,” says White, “one enemy is as good as another, we take them as they come... If you got a target, shoot at it.” Shielded wounded Marines from shrapnel using his own body, and despite his wounds he continued to render aid The 1st Marine Division reported 604 killed, 114 dead of wounds, 192 missing, 3,485 wounded and 7,338 non-battle casualties. However, US XCorps disputed the number by only recording 393 killed, 2,152 wounded and 76 missing for the 1st Marine Division. This number is calculated by inserting the 1st Marine Division's casualty data into the XCorps' total casualty report. See Appleman 1990, pp.345–347 and Montross & Canzona 1992, pp.381–382.Battalion – LTC Howard St. Clair 2nd Battalion – LTC Herman Dammer 3rd Battalion – MAJ E.G. Allen 39th Armored Field Artillery Battalion – LTC Robert B. Neely Company B, 10th Engineer Combat Battalion Company D, 10th Engineer Combat Battalion KATUSA - See Republic of Korea Forces below. 7th Infantry Division – MG David G. Barr, Seelinger, Matthew J. (20 January 2015). "Nightmare at the Chosin Reservoir". Army Historical Foundation. Archived from the original on 19 May 2022 . Retrieved 19 September 2018.

Here was complete failure,” Michener declared in the July 1952 Readers Digest. “…Heli­copter[s], planes and men were lost in the futile tragedy. The enemy had a field day and we had nothing. Nothing, that is, except another curious demonstration [that] sometimes defeat does actually mean more to democracy than victory.” When the chips were down, Michener assured Saturday Evening Post readers, “These pilots of Admiral Perry’s task force are as heroic as any men who have ever fought for the United States.” Captain Milton A. Hull, in command of Dog Company 2nd Battalion 7th Marines, awarded the Navy Cross. Richard W. Stewart (ed.). "Ch. 8 :The Korean War, 1950–1953". American Military History, Volume 2(revised 2005). CMH Pub 30-22. Archived from the original on May 18, 2015 . Retrieved August 20, 2007. Wise, James E. and Anne Collier Rehill. Stars in Blue: Movie Actors in America's Sea Services. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 2007. ISBN 978-1-59114-944-6. The U.S. 5th and 7th Marine RCTs at Yudam-ni were first withdrawn south to Hagaru-ri, arriving on December 4 in subzero temperatures to a warm welcome by members of 41 Commando. The next day the Royal Marines tried to recover nine 155 mm howitzers that had earlier been abandoned. The attempt failed, though they later destroyed the guns. On the positive side, U.N. aircraft managed to fly in 537 reinforcements to Hagaru-ri and evacuate a number of casualties—including 25 Royal Marines.Chinese leadership believed if their forces could annihilate the 1st Marine Division, elements of the 7th U.S. Army Division, and 41 independent commando, British Royal Marines, which were deployed around the Jangjin (Chosin) Reservoir, the United Nations would abandon the fight for the Freedom of Korea. Ye, Yumeng (叶雨蒙) (2007). 东线祭殇[ Mourning the Eastern Front]. Beijing: 解放军文艺出版社. ISBN 978-7-5033-2045-3. The Chosin Few Monument, Semper Fidelis Memorial Park, National Museum of the Marine Corps (Triangle, Virginia) But there were troops worse off still—the Chinese. “Some of the Chinese prisoners that we got, they were happy to be with us,” remembers Whited. “I just absolutely felt sorry for them. Their feet were nothing but ice.” American veterans of the battle are colloquially referred to as the "Chosin Few" and symbolized by the "Star of Koto-ri". [248]

And the defeat, it turned out, wasn’t total. Photorecon planes revealed all three bridges at Samdong-ni had been taken down. Ettinger, Thorin, Broomhead, Moore and Henry, even Ettinger’s Skyraider crew and Thorin’s Army intel passenger, all survived, and were among those repatriated in a prisoner exchange at war’s end. Tertitskiy, Fyodor (21 November 2017). "Words, words: North and South Korea's differing romanization". NK News. Archived from the original on 6 October 2021 . Retrieved 6 October 2021. Corps – Commander and Commissar Zhang Yixiang(张翼翔), Deputy Commander Liao Zhengguo(廖政国) [8] 58th Division – Commander and Commissar Huang Chaotian(黄朝天) [8] 172nd Regiment [nb 1] 173rd Regiment 174th Regiment 59th Division – Commander and Commissar Dai Kelin(戴克林) [8] 175th Regiment 176th Regiment 177th Regiment 60th Division – Commander Chen Ting(陈挺) [8] 178th Regiment 179th Regiment 180th Regiment 89th Division (Attached to 20th Corps from 30th Corps) – Commander Yu Guangmao(余光茂) [8] 265th Regiment 266th Regiment 270th Regiment 26th Corps – Commander Zhang Renchu(张仁初), Commissar Li Yaowen [8] 76th Division – Commander Gao Wenran(高文然) [8] 226th Regiment 227th Regiment 228th Regiment 77th Division – Commander Wang Jianqing(王建青) [8] 229th Regiment 230th Regiment 231st Regiment 78th Division [nb 2] – Commander Chen Zhongmei(陈忠梅) [8] 232nd Regiment 233rd Regiment 234th Regiment 88th Division [nb 2] (Attached to 26th Corps from 30th Corps) – Commander Wu Dalin(吴大林) [8] 262nd Regiment 263rd Regiment 264th Regiment 27th Corps – Commander Peng Deqing(彭德清), Commissar Liu Haotian(刘浩天) [8] 79th Division – Commander Xiao Jinghai(肖镜海) [8] 235th Regiment 236th Regiment 237th Regiment 80th Division – Commander Zhan Danan(詹大南) [8] 238th Regiment 239th Regiment 240th Regiment 81st Division – Commander Sun Duanfu(孙端夫) [8] 241st Regiment 242nd Regiment 243rd regiment 94th Division [nb 3] (Attached to 27th Corps from 30th Corps) – Commander Wu Lanting(邬兰亭) [8] 280th Regiment 281st Regiment 182nd Regiment Notable US participants and battle honors awarded [ edit ] US Marine Corps [ edit ] Chinese Military Science Academy (2000). 抗美援朝战争史[ History of War to Resist America and Aid Korea] (in Chinese). Vol.II. Beijing: Chinese Military Science Academy Publishing House. ISBN 7801373901. Like many Marines and Infantrymen in the Korean War, Whited felt ill-equipped for the type of combat he faced there.

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My platoon leader saw signs of activity up on the hill. He told me to take my squad up this hill and we did. All of a sudden I saw something moving and I fired my weapon in the brush, and four North Korean soldiers jumped up with their hands in the air and surrendered. I am glad they did because my weapon jammed.” After continuous fighting from Yudam-Ni to Gagaru-Ri through battered and bloody, all who could walk formed up and marched into Hagaru-Ri, singing The Marines’ Hymn on 4 December.

By November 19th, 1950, UN troops were making their way along perilous mountain roads towards the Chosin Reservoir in North Korea. While U.S. tanks and artillery provided the troops a great advantage, it also meant they were trapped to follow a winding single lane road. Engineers frequently repaired sections of the road and tanks often struggled to maneuver across the icy ground. By the time they reached the Chosin Reservoir, the men had traveled roughly 78 miles from the coast. Credit: U.S. National Archives Appleman, Roy (1987). East of Chosin: Entrapment and Breakout in Korea, 1950. Vol.2. College Station, TX: Texas A and M University Military History Series. ISBN 978-0-89096-283-1. This number is the total number of replacements requested by the 9th Army to reconstitute itself, which includes units that were not involved the fighting. See Roe 2000, p.394. Russ, Martin (1999), Breakout: The Chosin Reservoir Campaign, Korea 1950, New York: Penguin Books, ISBN 978-0-14-029259-6Leaped into a foxhole and threw an enemy hand grenade out. He was wounded by the explosion but saved the lives of two Marines.