3rd Ranger Infantry Company ( United States ) The 3rd Ranger Infantry Company ( Airborne ) was a Ranger light infantry company of the United States Army active during the Korean War . As a small special forces unit , it specialized in irregular warfare . Formed in the fall of 1950 , the 3rd Ranger Company was used for several months as a cadre of training staff for the Ranger Training Center at Fort Benning , Georgia . The company deployed to South Korea in March 1951 and was assigned to the U . S . 3rd Infantry Division for four months , where it was used as a reconnaissance and scouting unit , probing North Korean People ' s Volunteer Army positions . The company is known for its " Battle of Bloody Ridge " on 11 April where it stumbled into a Chinese ambush on its first mission , but was able to push the opposing force back . The company later supported the 3rd Infantry Division at the Battle of the Imjin River . Later in the summer , the company was used as a stealth " target acquisition " force , infiltrating Chinese positions and spotting concentrations of troops and equipment for artillery attack . The company was deactivated on 1 August 1951 , and was merged with the U . S . 187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team alongside all other Ranger units . Origins . With the 25 June 1950 outbreak of the Korean War , the North Korean People ' s Army had invaded the Republic of Korea ( ROK ) with 90 , 000 well - trained and equipped troops who had easily overrun the smaller and more poorly equipped Republic of Korea Army . The United States ( U . S . ) and United Nations ( UN ) began an intervention campaign to prevent South Korea from collapsing . The U . S . troops engaged the North Koreans first at the Battle of Osan , being badly defeated on 5 July by the better - trained North Koreans . From then on , the U . S . and UN saw a steady stream of defeats until they had been pushed back to the tip of the peninsula , into a - long fortification dubbed Pusan Perimeter by August . At the same time , North Korean agents began to infiltrate behind UN lines and attack military targets and cities . UN units , spread out along the Pusan Perimeter , were having a difficult time repelling these units as they were untrained in combating guerrilla warfare . North Korean special forces units such as the NK 766th Independent Infantry Regiment had defeated ROK troops and used irregular warfare tactics effectively , prompting Army Chief of Staff General J . Lawton Collins to order the creation of an elite force which could " infiltrate through enemy lines and attack command posts , artillery , tank parks , and key communications centers or facilities . " All U . S . Army Ranger units had been disbanded after World War II because they required time - consuming training , specialization , and expensive equipment . With the defeat of the NK 766th Regiment at the Battle of P ' ohang - dong , and the strength of U . S . infantry units in question , U . S . commanders felt recreating Ranger units was essential . In early August , as the Battle of Pusan Perimeter was beginning , the Eighth United States Army , in command of all US forces in Korea , ordered Lieutenant Colonel John H . McGee , the head of its G - 3 Operations miscellaneous division , to create a new experimental Army Ranger unit , the Eighth Army Ranger Company . In the meantime , the Ranger Training Center was established at Fort Benning , Georgia . Organization . With the successful development of the Eighth Army Ranger Company as a " test " unit for the United States Army to bring back Army Ranger units , additional Ranger companies were ordered . The companies were small light infantry special forces units which specialized in infiltration and irregular warfare . The new 3rd Army Ranger Infantry Company was formulated based on the Table of Organization and Equipment documents of Ranger units in World War II , all of which had been deactivated . The 3rd Ranger Infantry Company was organized into three heavily armed platoon s . A headquarters element of five men oversaw the platoons . Each platoon comprised 36 men in three squad s , two assault squads and one heavy weapons squad . Each platoon was also furnished with 60mm M2 mortar s , M20 Super Bazooka s , and M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle s . One sniper was designated for each platoon , with the remainder of the troops equipped with M1 Garand and M2 Carbine rifles . They were authorized two vehicles ; an M38 Jeep and an M35 2½ ton cargo truck . Overall , the company was far more heavily armed than both the Eighth Army Ranger Company and standard infantry companies . Like the other numbered Ranger companies , its organization called for five officers and 107 enlisted men in three platoons . The troops for the Ranger company were to be Airborne qualified , so the Ranger Training Center heavily recruited troops from the 82nd Airborne Division and 11th Airborne Division who had already completed United States Army Airborne School . In spite of this , only one Ranger operation in the conflict ever required an airborne landing . They initially wore a black and gold scroll as a shoulder sleeve insignia , but that insignia was later redesignated the Ranger Tab and the Rangers adopted a black , red and white scroll similar to that unofficially worn by Ranger Battalions in World War II . History . Formation and training . Of a pool of 5 , 000 applicants , the Ranger Training School selected 22 officers and 314 enlisted men for the first three Ranger companies on 2 October , which were entirely white . A fourth , all African - American company was organized several days later . The 3rd Ranger Infantry Company ( Airborne ) was organized on 9 October 1950 , assuming the lineage of A Company of the 3rd Ranger Battalion . It had an initial strength of 135 enlisted men and five officer s . The unit was formally activated on 25 October 1950 at Fort Benning . It was placed under command of Captain Jesse Tidwell and executive officer Captain Bob Channon . The Rangers trained extensively in reconnaissance , long - range patrols , motorized scouting , setting up roadblock s , land navigation , camouflage , concealment , and adjusting indirect fire . They undertook frequent live fire exercise s , many at night , simulating raids , ambushes and infiltrations . The Rangers trained 60 hours per week and ran each day and frequently held speed marches , which were considered traditions for Ranger training from World War II . The training for the numbered companies included much of the program used by second lieutenant Ralph Puckett to train the Eighth Army Ranger Company . In spite of a 30 percent dropout rate , most of the men completed the course and graduated 15 November 1950 . While the 1st , 2nd and 4th Ranger Company each embarked for Korea shortly after their training was complete , the 3rd Ranger Company was retained at Fort Benning , to train the next cycle of Rangers , the 5th , 6th , 7th and 8th Ranger Company . This proved beneficial to the 3rd Company , as it was given cold - weather training alongside the 5th and 8th companies at Fort Carson , Colorado , after the training cycle was complete ; the Ranger units already in Korea had not received this training and were thus unprepared for the Korean winter . The 3rd Company also received additional training which better prepared it for combat , including tactics of the People ' s Volunteer Army , which the other companies had learned in battle and tracer designation of targets during night attacks . They also received a 57mm Recoilless Rifle section , and were trained to be their own forward observer s for artillery . In March 1951 , the 3rd , 5th , and 8th Companies sailed for Korea , a trip which was fraught with frequent discipline problems as the Rangers continuously got into fights with U . S . Marines on board the troopship while " en route " . After the trip , they spent most of the month in Yokohama , Japan training and preparing for the front lines . Bloody Nose Ridge . The Rangers sailed for Korea on 24 March , passing Pusan and arriving at Inchon on 31 March . There , it separated from its sister companies and was attached to the US 3rd Infantry Division near the Imjin River , where the division was engaged in an intense battle with Chinese forces , attempting to push them further north . The 3rd Ranger Company entered action on 11 April , part of a tank - infantry task force conducting aggressive reconnaissance in a wide valley near the river . Encountering a village , 1st and 2nd Platoons cleared the village and killed two Chinese stragglers . Covered by tanks , the platoons then moved to the high ground around the village , later known as " Bloody Nose Ridge . " Tidwell and Channon split the company into two forces which attempted to move along the ridge . Channon ' s force , on the east ridge , was ambushed by a company of Chinese infantry as it attempted to move up . In the ensuing confusion , Channon was wounded and evacuated on the supporting tanks , leaving his two platoons alone and facing the Chinese force . Tidwell ' s platoons were also held up by Chinese fire , and with all of the company radiotelephone operators wounded and equipment not working , the Ranger elements were unable to communicate with one another or their artillery support . Channon was eventually able to return to his men , ordering them to attack the ridge to push the Chinese off . Channon ' s force advanced across paddy land while under attack from three Chinese machine gun positions and mortar fire . Once at the base of the ridge , they encountered additional Chinese resistance in trenches that necessitated tank support . The rangers then fought entrenched Chinese troops at grenade range , and , after intense fighting , they were able to push the Chinese off the ridge . Eventually a bayonet charge , coupled with the tanks moving into supporting positions , forced the Chinese troops to retreat . Four Rangers were killed and 32 wounded in this first engagement . The company then advanced up the valley under sniper and artillery fire until it located and destroyed a Chinese communications and supply center at the end , before returning to 3rd Infantry Division lines . In all , they had killed over 100 Chinese in this fight , and the division commanders considered the mission a success in spite of the high casualty count . In this action , the Rangers adopted a new motto , " Die Bastard , die ! " Imjin River missions . Despite suffering over 50 percent casualties by this time and with few reinforcements , 3rd Ranger Company remained on the line , and was used as a reconnaissance element for the division . As the 3rd Infantry Division advanced , pressing gains from the Chinese , the company was used to guard a vital bridge over the Hantan River . It then massed with several combat engineer s and other division elements to form Task Force Rogers . The task force then probed north searching for Chinese concentrations , but did not encounter any Chinese troops . On 19 April , the Chinese conducted a counteroffensive in the 3rd Infantry Division sector , first striking to the east , followed by a feint that struck near the Rangers ' position . The task force was assigned to rescue a group of five 3rd Division tanks that had been disabled inside Chinese territory . Advancing , they suppressed a Chinese ambush before the Chinese could attack , and advanced under mortar attack and took the hills surrounding the tanks . They then returned the stranded tanks to UN lines at a cost of two wounded . On 22 April , the Rangers , tanks and engineers conducted another probe of the Chinese positions , to ensure they could not launch a surprise attack on nearby Republic of Korea Army formations . Encountering two Chinese companies dug in at a hill with one route of attack , Tidwell ordered a surprise attack on the hill , which was successful in pushing Chinese forces off the outlying fortifications . It then moved to reinforce the British 29th Infantry Brigade , which was cut off on Hill 235 after ROK troops folded under attack . After two days of intense fighting and foot marching , the Rangers moved to relieve the British troops , despite itself being at only 67 percent strength . Encountering heavy resistance , they were initially unable to break through Chinese formations to relieve the British . Chinese forces counterattacked , destroying a 3rd Infantry Division tank column sent to assist the Rangers and attacking the 3rd Ranger Company from three sides , as they dug into a hill . Though the Rangers eventually were forced to withdraw , the defense of the Rangers , the US 3rd Division and the British 29th Brigade had broken the momentum of the Chinese offensive . Target acquisition unit . The 3rd Infantry Division then moved to the offensive , in early May 1951 they were used to scout for Chinese concentrations and then call in artillery to destroy them . These actions have been viewed by historians as one of few instances where Rangers in Korea were effectively employed , used as a stealthy infiltration force for terrain too difficult for conventional units . On 11 May , with Chinese forces slackening their offensive , 3rd Ranger Company was recalled to Kimpo Airfield for parachute proficiency training , above the objections of the 3rd Infantry Division commanders who considered the company invaluable . The company spent several weeks in division reserve , and undertook various missions such as convoy security and guarding command posts , as well as surveillance and visiting patrols behind the front lines . In one of these rearguard actions , the Rangers evacuated a rundown village only to have one member of the unit , Corporal Dave Rauls , captured by three Chinese infiltrators . By 17 June , the company was returned to the front and operated again as a target acquisition unit . Paired with 3rd Infantry Division ' s reconnaissance company , an artillery battery and a forward air control party , they became known as " Task Force Ferret . " Positioned ahead of the main division positions , the unit was also placed to warn the rest of the lines should the Chinese attack . By this time , however , the front lines in the battle had begun to largely stabilize , and as both armies fortified stationary positions , the Rangers infiltration abilities became unusable . Final mission and disbandment . In July , the division was holding on the " Iron Triangle , " strategically important and defensible ground . In an attempt to strengthen its forces , the 3rd Infantry Division evacuated hills 682 and 717 at the southern base of the triangle , positioning the Rangers to appear as if they were still manned the hills . After eight days of patrols , Tidwell ordered an aggressive patrol to strike Chinese positions . Over three nights , they ambushed four Chinese patrols , causing several casualties and suffering few of their own . On 10 July , the U . S . Army ordered the deactivation of all of its Ranger companies . The Army noted that the Ranger companies were only an exercise directed by The Pentagon which was complete . The 3rd Ranger Company was deactivated on 1 August 1951 in Korea . Like many of the other Ranger units , most of the Ranger veterans were folded into the 187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team , where their airborne skills could be used . Still , Operation Tomahawk was the last airborne jump of the war . Awards and decorations . The 3rd Ranger Infantry Company was awarded three campaign streamer s and two unit citations for its service in the Korean War . In 1953 , the unit was again designated A Company of the 3rd Battalion , 75th Ranger Regiment , that unit carries on the 3rd Ranger Company ' s lineage .