Evening star., 1952-12-25
Fierce Fighting
MARKS Holiday
On Korea Front
Planes, Artillery and
Ground Fighters Ask
And Give No Quarter
By the Associated Pres,

BY the Associated Press
SEOUL. Dec. 25.-Allied fight
ing men in Korea asked and gave
no quarter this Christmas Day
Air battles. artillery duels and
Iclose-quarter ground fighting
marked the birthday of the Prince
of Peace.
Russian-built MIG-15 jets ven-
tured farther south in mass than
ever before. the Air Force said.
Allied pilots roared aloft and
turned them back after destroy
ing one Red warplane and prob
ably destroying another.
The Air Force did not say how
many MICS left their usual haunts
near their Manchurian sanctuary
or just how far south they got.
But a spokesman said they did
not get below the bomb line" an
imaginary boundary few miles
north of the front behind which
Allied pilots never attack for fear
of hitting their own troops.
On the central front, Chinese
Reds announced by loudspeaker
that they would hold their fire
from 8 am. until noon in OBJ
servance of Christmas. They
also urged U. N. soldiers to "come
in one by one and surrender"
Seoul Boast Fails.
The allies asked no favors
They opened up with their big
guns, destroyed the loudspeaker
and killed two members of the
propaganda team.
The Reds replied with a bar
rage of their own.
Similar Red broadcasts last
week boasted that the Com
munists would be in Seoul by
Christmas. That threat fell far
short of fulfillment.
In the bleak. frozen mills OF
Eastern Korea. 400 North Korean
Reds overran an allied outpost
after heavy hand-to-hand fight
ing. The allied infantrymen
stormed back and recaptured the
position.
Soldiers of both sides huddled
in miserable foxholes, chilled by
10 degree temperatures.
The Communists warplanes got
pretty far south" before the
Sabre jets chased them back, an
Air Force spokesman said. The
unusual invasion" set off alerts
at airflelds near Seoul, but the
all-clear came less than an houl
later.
Graham's Departure Delayed.
One alert caught Evangelist
Billy Graham awaiting a plane
to Tokyo and delayed his de-
parture about an hour.
The DESTROYED MIG was credit.
ed to a flyer who wasn't ever
supposed to go aloft today. Maj
James Hagerstrom. Tyler. Tex.
damaged three MICS yesterday
and was supposed to sit out to-
days battles But he talked his
way into a mission when the alert
indicated the MICS were headed
south.
1t. Donald L. Pascoe, Bakers
field, Calf, had more than Christ
mas to celebrate today-his Tooth
and last mission. It was 1t.
Pascoe who got credit for the
probable MIG kill.
Allied B-26 invader bombers
were out in force as usual in the
predawn darkness and the All
Force said they racked up rs
Communist supply trucks de-
Istroyed. Marine fighter -bombers
flew through crisp clear skies and
destroyed so Red-occupied build
ines on the western front with
flaming napalm tjellied gasoline)
Pathetic Signs of Christmas.
Even in the midst of a cruel
and deadly war there were signs
of Christmas in Korea today.
+. Every effort was made, to bring
holiday cheer to the U. N. front
lines. Wherever possible, soldiers
in lonely outposts got a hot meal
and Christmas religious service
Mail was hurried to front-line out
fits. Those who could decorated
their bunkers with pathetic bits
of tinSel and ribbon.
Even the Communists tried to
get into the act. They left Christ
mas presents for allied troops at
several points along the battle
front-but most were ignored. A
BOBBY trap is as fatal on Christ
mas as any other day.