Sully
Platoon Leader, D/2/5
Korea, 1950
At 0800, 14 July, 1950, the USS
George Clymer (APA 25), cast off her lines securing
her to a pier in San Diego, and headed west, in
convoy, with a number of other PAs and KAs carrying
the troops, equipment, and supplies for the 1st
(Provisional) Marine Brigade. This Brigade would be
the first Marine contingent, but far from the last,
who would see combat in the intensifying war in
Korea. Aboard Clymer were two rifle companies (D
& E) of the 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines. Those
familiar with the T/O of rifle battalions will ask
where the third letter company was? The truth is it
didn't exist. Every man jack possible had been
swept up and incorporated into the 5th Marines to
fill out the six rifle companies that comprised the
regiment. Also aboard Clymer was the Headquarters
of the Brigade, including the officers of the
General and Special Staff.
The latter fact gave 2/5 a bonus,
in that those staff officers had the very latest
intelligence and operational information on what
was going on in Korea. We had been reading reports
in the news of US Army units being overrun because
they had no weapons that were effective in stopping
the T34 tank. Then shortly before we boarded ship
for deployment, there was a picture in the
newspaper that I'll never forget. It showed a
black soldier standing in a dry paddy, sighting a
3.5 RL, and holding the weapon at a 45 degree
angle. One must ask what he was aiming at, and at
what range?
Anyway, the Brigade Tank Officer,
Major Frank Stewart, lectured us all on the tactics
to employ should we encounter enemy tanks.
According to what the good Major had gleaned,
neither the 2.36 or 3.5 RLs could stop a T34. So
our only option was to climb up on the tank, and
smear mud or grease on the periscopes. This would
effectively blind the crew. He didn't tell us
what the NKs in the other tanks and accompanying
infantry would be doing while we were dancing the
light fantastic on the tank turret. But we thought
we knew.
When I imparted the foregoing to my
Rocket Section, somehow they were less than
enthusiastic about the proposed anti-tank tactics.
Can't imagine why.
Should say here that when we went
aboard Clymer I was the Mortar and Rockets Section
Leader in D/2/5. Three tubes of each. But as
everyone knows, what I was really on the rolls for
was as spare parts for a rifle platoon. Our first
twenty-fours hours in combat saw us lose all three
of the rifle platoon leaders in the first few
minutes, and so I left the ranks of the unemployed
rather quickly. I was dragged out with my second
wound the third day of our godforsaken little war.
I was the fifth officer (of seven) to leave the
company. Two went headfirst.
Whatever. When we arrived in San
Diego for embarkation, wonder of wonders, we were
issued the brand-new-still-in-cosmolene 3.5 RLs.
When I asked about ammo I was told that it was
being flown out to Korea, and we'd get it on
landing. And on the evening of August 2d, on
arrival at Pusan, we did. Eight rounds per tube,
and we were told there would be no re-supply. I
wanted to ask if that meant that when we used up
our eight rounds we could go home, but
didn't.
The U. S. Army band that greeted us
played, among other popular tunes of the day,
"Enjoy Yourself, It's Later Than You
Think." They must have known something we
didn't. We were soon to learn the lesson.
Discussing the situation with the
guys in the Rocket Section, we came to the joint
conclusion that since we did have a copious supply
of 2.36 rockets, we'd better carry both
weapons. So we did. Of course we had no manuals on
the 3.5, but in all appearances it looked much like
the 2.36 and we assumed it would function the same
way. The first morning we were in combat we had a
real target of opportunity present itself. My two
sections had been left on a connecting ridgeline to
the company's position, with orders to hold it
in the event of an attack from the east (our right)
or the rear. Someone noted that a large building at
the foot of the virtual cliff we were atop of was
attracting a great deal of traffic. We could see
North Koreans in uniform run in and out of the
building, as well as people in civilian clothing.
Most carried rifles. Here was our target. So as we
watched closely, the 3.5 was loaded, and the
reputedly best gunner in the section fired one
round. Miracles of miracles, the round exploded as
it hit the roof of the building. That assured us
that the 3.5 would, in fact, work as advertised if
called upon. But with no resupply it was obvious
that those 3.5 rounds had to be husbanded as though
they were pure gold.
Fast forward to the evening of
September 15 when 2/5 hit the beach at Inchon. By
this time most of the original Rocket Section,
including myself, were hors de combat during either
the push on Kosong, or the 1st or 2nd Battles of
the Naktong Bulge. One of those still present and
accounted for was Corporal Okey Johnson Douglas.
Douglas, in my memory, was a young Marine of maybe
5' 9, blond curly hair, blue eyes, and always,
a very mischievous grin. His serial number (650791)
indicates that he had probably entered the Corps
shortly after the end of WW II. The fact that he
was already a Corporal when we had shipped out of
San Diego indicates that he had been a cracker-jack
Marine. Making Corporal between WW II and the
Korean War was considered very much above par for
the course.
The evening of
September 16 2/5 had advanced to good defensive
positions with its right flank hinged on the Main
Supply Route (MSR) to Inchon. This was only some
1,000 meters short of Ascom City which lay to the
northeast. D Company was on the right, and F
Company across railroad tracks to the north, both
dug in on slightly higher ground than the
surrounding terrain. Some 500 meters to the
northeast the MSR swung sharply east to move
between two pieces of higher ground. Lieutenant
"H" "J" Smith, looked to his
northeast at a range of some 600 meters, and noted
a most interesting detail. There the MSR bent, at
about a 70 degree angle, and disappeared between
two pieces of higher ground where it could not be
seen from Lieutenant Smith's position. The high
ground directly to Smith's northeast was across
(to the north) of the MSR, and whomever controlled
that piece of ground would control the critical
"bendin the road" where the MSR went due
south.
Lieutenant Smith decided to
strongly outpost that critical piece of high
ground. He ordered Lieutenant Lee R. Howard to move
his 2d Platoon, reinforced by a section of light
machine guns and a detachment from the company
Rocket Section to the key terrain. Corporal Douglas
was part of the latter reinforcement and he chose
to bring with him a 2.36 RL. Lieutenant Howard
moved his platoon some 600 meters and quickly
occupied a tight perimeter on top of the knoll.
Thus he not only had observation of the defile
before the MSR bent sharply to the south, but also
could see the route of the MSR to the east to the
limit of visibility. Lieutenant Smith, who had but
eight days to live, had recognized the key terrain,
occupied it, and Lieutenant Howard had done a
masterful job in organizing the defense.
|