Word: hungnam
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During the U.S. evacuation of the Hungnam beachhead last year, a key outer defense point was a ridge on the exposed eastern flank. For 30 hours an infantry platoon of the 3rd Division, commanded by ist Lieut. Harry E. Sutton, 30, of The Bronx, beat off enemy attacks, refused to retreat even when part of the U.S. line was overrun. Lieutenant Sutton won the Silver Star for leading a bayonet charge which dug out the enemy and restored the position. Greater honor, perhaps, than the Silver Star was the fact that his fellow soldiers and superior officers referred...
...else (not they) decided whether the U.S. Army would try to stay in Korea. They were waiting for a clear-cut directive from the White House. It never came. Yet a firm decision was made, largely by the ist Marine Division. When the marines fought their way down to Hungnam through the "unconquerable Chinese hordes," and embarked for Pusan with their equipment, their wounded and their prisoners, the war in Asia took on a different look. The news stories, pictures and newsreels of the Hungnam action contributed more to forming U.S. policy than all the words in the "Great Debate...
Tank-led infantry teams of the U.S. 3rd Division (evacuated from Hungnam in December) jumped off at 7 a.m., five hours later slogged into Osan without firing a shot, retook two other towns northeast of Osan, and finally, after an advance of twelve miles, ran into Chinese artillery and automatic weapons' fire from high ground positions...
...through hell-total bloody hell," said the letter. "Landed at [Pusan] half frozen from two days on open decks -no food but hot water to drink. Eleven hundred men . . . on a Victory ship-300 wounded-19 dead when we arrived . . . I was on the last ten ships to leave Hungnam . . . We left 300 on the beaches-mostly dying-why? . . . We waded in icy sea water to our hips to get into ships -men flopping all around like fish with bleeding holes . . . It's something so disastrous-and now we are in the line again...
...Statements in the Times-Herald letter are absolutely false . . . No men were left on the beaches; and none died of battle injuries among the last ten ships between Hungnam and Pusan. No men waded to ships.* Final 150 troops were lifted from beach by LVTs. There was no fighting on beachhead or nearby departing ships on final day. Troops on last ten ships . . . have not been recommitted to front lines . . . Strongly recommend take exception to ethics employed by editor of newspaper in publicizing so distorted, scurrilous and irresponsible a letter without offering the Navy an opportunity to substantiate or deny...