OUTPOST WAR, U.S. Marines from the Nevada Battles to …

1 Marines in the Korean War Commemorative SeriesOUTPOST Marines from the Nevada Battles to the Armisticeby Bernard C. NaltyAbout the AuthorBernard C. Nalty, a memberof the Marine Corps histor-ical program from October1956 to September 1961, col-laborated with Henry I. Shaw,Jr., and Edwin T. Turnbladh onCentral Pacific Drive, a vol-ume of the History of U. Corps Operations inWorld War also com-pleted more than 14 short his-torical studies, some of which appeared inLeatherneckmagazine or the Marine Corps joined the history office of the Joint Chiefs of Staffin 1961, transferred in 1964 to the Air Force historyprogram, and retired in 1994. Mr. Nalty has written oredited a number of publications, including Blacks inthe Military: Essential Documents, Strength for theFight: A History of Black Americans in the Military,The Vietnam War, Tigers Over Asia, Air Power and theFight for Khe Sanh, and Winged Shield, WingedSword: A History of the Air Force.

2 In addition tocontributing to this series on the Korean War by writ-ing Stalemate: Marines from Bunker Hill to theHook, he took part in the Marines in World War IIcommemorative series, completing two pamphlets,Cape Gloucester: The Green Infernoand The Right toFight: African-American Marines in World War PAMPHLET HISTORY, one in a series devoted to Marinesin the Korean War era, is published for the education and training ofMarines by the History and Museums Division, Headquarters, Corps, Washington, , as part of the Department ofDefense observance of the 50th anniversary of that war. Editorial costshave been defrayed in part by contributions from members of theMarine Corps Heritage Foundation. To plan and coordinate the KoreanWar commemorative events and activities of the Sea Services, the Navy,Marine Corps, and Coast Guard have formed the Sea Services KoreanWar Commemoration Committee, chaired by the Director, Navy more information about the Sea Services commemorative effort,please contact the Navy-Marine Corps Korean War CommemorationCoordinator at (202) 433-4223/3085, FAX 433-7265 (DSN288-7265), E-Mail: Website: WAR COMMEMORATIVE SERIESDIRECTOR OF MARINE CORPS HISTORY AND MUSEUMSC olonel John W.

3 Ripley, USMC (Ret)GENERAL EDITOR, KOREAN WAR COMMEMORATIVE SERIESC harles R. SmithEDITING AND DESIGN SECTION, HISTORY AND MUSEUMS DIVISIONW. Stephen Hill,Visual Information SpecialistCatherine A. Kerns,Visual Information Marine Corps Historical Center1254 Charles Morris Street SEWashington Navy Yard DC 20374-50402002 PCN 190 0041 0400 SourcesThe best account of operations byMarines during 1953, their role in estab-lishing the Demilitarized Zone, and theireventual withdrawal from South Koreaappears in Operations in West Korea,volume five of U. S. Marine CorpsOperations in Korea, 1950-1953(Washington, : Historical Division,Headquarters, Marine Corps, 1972),by LtCol Pat Meid, USMCR, and MajJames M. Yingling, USMC. The Marine Corps historical programalso has dealt thoroughly with the treat-ment received by Marines held as pris-oners of war, their reaction to depriva-tion and hostile pressure, and theirrepatriation.

4 James Angus MacDonaldhas made extensive use of interviewswith former prisoners in his TheProblems of U. S. Marine Corps Prisonersof War in Korea,published by theHistory and Museums Division,Headquarters, U. S. Marine Corps, G. Hermes discusses MarineCorps operations in his contribution tothe official history of Army activity dur-ing the Korean War, Truce Tent andFighting Front(Washington, : Officeof the Chief of Military History, 1966), avolume that deals with negotiation aswell as Russ, a wartime Marine Corpsinfantryman, has written the best knownand most revealing memoir covering thefinal months of the fighting, The LastParallel: A Marine s War Journal(NewYork: Rinehart, 1957). Personal accounts by other Marinesappear in Korean Vignettes: Faces ofWar(Portland, OR: Artwork Publica-tions, 1996), a compilation of narrativesand photographs by 201 veterans of theKorean War, prepared by Arthur and Norman L.

5 Insights and first-handaccounts are also available in TheKorean War: The Uncertain Victory; TheConcluding Volume of an Oral History(New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich,1988), by Donald Knox with additionaltext by Alfred Coppel. William H, Jantzen, a participant inone of the fiercer actions of 1953, haswritten a riveting account of that fight in A Bad Night at Reno Block, in theMarch 1998 issue of Marine Corps Gazettehas ana-lyzed the tactics and lessons learned ofthe Korean War in three especially use-ful articles: Peter Braestrup s OutpostWarfare (November 1953) and Back tothe Trenches (March 1955); and Random Notes on Korea (November1955) by LtCol Roy A. Batterton. Also ofuse was the article by MSgt PaulSarokin, Going Home, in the May 1955issue of Leatherneck. The personal papers collection of theMarine Corps history program containsjournals, photographs, letters, memoirs,and at least one academic paper, a mas-ter s thesis on OUTPOST warfare by aMarine, Maj Norman W, Hicks.

6 Forevents of the year 1953, the most valu-able of these items were the submis-sions by Eldon D. Allen and Gen VernonE. 1953 began, theJamestown Line hadbecome, in thewords of MarineCorporal Robert Hallwho fought there, a messy, ram-bling series of ditches five to sevenfeet deep that linked a successionof bunkers constructed of sand-bags and timber and used for shel-ter or fighting. The trencheswandered erratically to preventChinese attackers who penetratedthe perimeter from deliveringdeadly enfilade fire along lengthy,straight segments. As for thebunkers themselves, since pilesof trash, ration cans, scrap paper,and protruding stove pipes revealed their location, the enemy must have known where everybunker was. A bunker, therefore, could easi-ly become a death trap. As aresult, the Marines had learned todig and man fighting holes outsidethe bunkers.

7 Hall described such ahole as simply a niche in the for-ward wall of the trench, usuallycovered with planks and a fewsandbags. Within the hole, acrude shelf held hand grenadesand a sound-powered telephonelinked the hole to the companycommand post. Along with thefighting holes, Hall and his fellowMarines dug rabbit holes, emer-gency shelters near the bottom ofthe trench wall that provided pro-tection from the stray Chinesemortar round that sometimesdropped into the trench. Some bunkers contained firingports for .30-caliber or .50-calibermachine guns and accommoda-tions for the crews. Chicken wirestrung across the firing ports pre-vented Chinese assault troopsfrom throwing grenades inside,but fire from the machine gunssoon tore away the wire, whichcould be replaced only at nightwhen darkness provided conceal-ment from Chinese bunkers served as livingquarters for five to 10 Marines andmight also provide a brief respitefor those standing watch in therain or cold.

8 Because of theemphasis on fighting holes, theliving bunkers that Hall remem-bered had no firing apertures andsometimes a curtain of blanketwool or canvas instead of a , shielded so they wouldnot attract Chinese fire, providedlight, and kerosene or oil stoves,vented through the roof, suppliedheat. The more elaborate livingbunkers to the rear of the mainline of resistance had electriclights, the power produced bygasoline night, during the early1 OUTPOST Marines from the Nevada Battlesto the Armisticeby Bernard C. NaltyONTHECOVER:Spotting targets ofopportunity, a Marine crew fires its75mm recoilless rifle directly againstenemy ArchivesPhoto (USMC) 127-N-A170206 ATLEFT:A Marine packs his gearbefore leaving Korea following thesigning of the armistice in July Archives Photo (USN) 80-G-626452 Department of Defense Photo (USMC) A167141By the end of 1952, the 1st Marine Division defended a static main line of resis-tance and its outposts, fighting from trenches, covered holes, and bunkers likethese manned by Company E, 2d Battalions, 7th of 1953, a cold wind usuallyblew from the north, sometimesbringing with it the sound ofChinese loudspeakers broadcast-ing English-language appeals tosurrender, interspersed with coun-try music.

9 The enemy s propagan-da tended to reflect Communistideology, urging members of theUnited Nations forces to escapetheir capitalist masters. TheChinese, however, also tried totake advantage of the fact that thecombatants in Korea were dis-cussing a ceasefire even as theyfought. Since the summer of 1951,truce talks had taken place atKaesong and later at Panmunjom,with the United Nations delegationtraveling to the site of the talksthrough a carefully marked demil-itarized corridor. When the talksseemed to be making progress,the Chinese used a more subtleapproach, trying to persuademembers of the United Nationsforces not to risk their lives in a warthat had almost cold-weather clothingand insulated boots, the chill ofthe winter night could numb thesenses. As a result, a Marine usual-ly stood nighttime watch in a fight-ing hole for 30 to 45 minutesbefore warming himself in a near-by bunker.

10 On some nights,Corporal Hall recalled, an outgoingsalvo or ripple of rocketsmight swish overhead to explodeon some distant hill. All throughthe night, he said, there weresporadic shots, grenades going off,artillery fire as outposts cameunder attack, ambushes were trig-gered, and patrols drew fire and at first light a ripple of randomshots would greet the new day, as visibility improved revealingtargets previously hidden by time to time, Marinesmanning the Jamestown Line got abrief respite from the danger, ten-sion, and discomfort. One of themost pleasurable things in movingoff the line, said Corporal Hall, was to walk back to battalion fora hot meal and a shower. AMarine just come from the battle-field could sit down to the kind ofmeal he might have been served ata mess hall in the United States,eat at his own pace instead of thetempo set by the mess sergeant,have a hot shower in tents modifiedfor that purpose, and exchange afilthy uniform for a clean one.