Evening star., 1950-12-18

| III was almost as II they were
trying to suck us in," one said.
On November "a the Army
ordered the Marines to take Yu-
dam about half way up the west
side of Chanjin reservoir. The 5th
Regiment on the east side of
Changjin was called back, and
told to pass through the 7th
at Hagaru and move northeast
toward Yudam.
AS of November "a, the 5th and
7th Marines were at the south
end of Changjin reservoir. The
1st Regiment was moving north
toward that great lake.
Heavy Attacks Begin.
On November Is the Chinese
began a series of heavy attacks
on the 9th Army front which
eventually forced the withdrawal
of all United Nations units on
that northwest sector. The at
tacks came through the gap be-
tween the 9th Army and the 10th
Corps.
On the 9th Army front it was
evident at once the Chinese were
determined to drive the Ameri-
cans out.
The extent of the attacks there
must have been communicated to
the United States 10th Corps in
the northeast.
Nevertheless, so far as can be
determined here. the Marines
were not ordered to halt their
northwest movement. Instead a
short Lived push to ease pressure
on the 9th Army's right flank
was begun.
The Marines moved on during
November Is, 26 and 81.
On November % the 5th and
7th Marines reported they were
heavily engaged" They called for
strong air support.
This was the first tip-off those
birds really were there in
strength" staff officer said.
Reds Cut Roads.
BY this time the 5th Marines
were about three miles west of
Yudam and the 7th was strung
out between Yudam and Hagaru.
The Reds cut the road between
the two regiments, then cut the
road between Hagaru and Koto,
where the 1st Marines were
located.
At noon on November 28 the
5th Marines were ordered to
hold at Yudam. Early the next
day the 7th Marines were Or
dered to withdraw and on Novem-
ber 80 the 5th Marines received
a similar order.
Then began their retreat of
agony and death.
Up to six divisions of Chinese
were attacking their two regi-
ments. The Reds were on the
high ground behind, in front and
on both sides of the Marines. The
Chinese attacked in waves.
A gray-haired warrant officer,
who escaped in a personnel car
rier, said he looked up once as a |
hand grenade exploded near him,
driving a steel fragment into the
roof of his mouth.
There was a guy about six feet
away" the warrant officer said.
II got him right in the belly with
my Springfield rifle. He folded
like wet accordion.
Il Grabbed Pistol
give others jumped the vehicle.
Every one in our truck was
wounded or dead. I grabbed a.
pistol, and jerked a bowie knife
out of my boot top. I shot and
cut and slashed and hacked and
shot. I don't know how in hell I
ever got out of there"
The enemy was not only the
Chinese. 1t was the weather as
we'll.
The temperature dropped far
below zero. Rations froze so hard
it took one hour to thaw can of
hamburger-and who had an
hour?
Weapons froze. So did vehicles.
The shoe-pack to weatherproof
shoes proved of little protection
against sub zero temperatures.
Feet became frost-bitten or frozen.
The wind tobogganed down the
snow-capped mountains and buf-
feted the Marines with hard
driven snow. Moisture crystallized
in the frigid air. Hands frozen
and the skin cracked.
On the east side of the reservoir
an Army unit which had relieved
the 5th Marines was overwhelmed
by the Chinese. Survivors slipped
and struggled across the frozen
reservoir to join the Leathernecks.
The wounded suffered immeas-
ureably. Whole blood was frozen
into solid red blocks and was not
usable. Plasma was frozen in the
tube between the bottle and the
veins of the wounded.
Chinese Freeze, Too.
But weather was as hard on the
Chinese. Marines found them
frozen dead with their hands stiff
on their rifles. Many Chinese sur
rendered and many more died.
Numbed by the cold. the Ma
rines fought on. They struggled
off the road and fought the Chi
nese for high ground to protect
southbound vehicles and men.
Marines died in the snow and the
agonizing wind. Some were SO
numbed by the weather that they
paid little heed to the Chinese
shooting at them from the
heights.
AS they fought from Yudam to-
ward Hagaru, the 5th Marines
came across F Company of the
7th Marines, which had been sur
rounded on the main road since
the main Chinese attack started.
There was an unconflrmed re-
mort al. headouarters that every