A Foxhole View: Personal Accounts of Hawaii's Korean War Veterans

Part III: 1952: Trench Warfare and Hilltop Battles

Part III 1952 | Trench Warfare and Hilltop Battles After the battles of Bloody Ridge and Heartbreak Ridge in the fall of 1951, the character of the Korean War changed dramatically . Mindful of the peace talks and the tremendous casualties suffered , both sides were content with improving their frontline fortifications and extending their outpost lines of resistance.An almost continuous trench line existed near the 38th parallel, extending from the east coast to the west coast of Korea. Casualties on both sides mounted, however, as pitched battles were fought on fortified hilltops north of Munsan-ni, Yokokk-chon Valley west of Chorwon, and Iron Triangle, and in the vicinity of Punchbowl. 185 January 1952 Sfc. Clarence Young George Company, 5th RCT Pyoktong, POW Camp 5, North Korea It was cold and men died on a daily basis but they weren’t buried every day. The dead would be put in a shack until it could not hold any more, and when the weather permitted, a burial detail would take the bodies beyond the compound and bury them.Their bodies would be completely stiff because of the cold. The ground was so hard that we couldn’t dig more than a foot or so and had to scrape whatever loose soil we could find to completely cover the bodies. We didn’t need much to cover the bodies because those that died were mostly skin and bones. There were no fat dead men. January 1952 Pvt. Alan Takamiyashiro Hawaiian Infantry Training Center Wahiawa, Territory of Hawaii Most of us were assigned to FECOM when we returned from our two weeks of furlough. A few were assigned to ZI or EUCOM and a few went to Officers Candidate School. A day later we were loaded on trucks and taken to Pier 39 in Honolulu , where we boarded the USNS General Hase.There were more than 400 of us on ship when we set sail. Camp Drake, Japan We arrived at Yokohama, Japan, eleven days later and were taken to Camp Drake for processing. Camp Drake was full of GIs either waiting to go to Korea or waiting to be sent home. We didn’t sail for Pusan, Korea, but were taken to the port of Inchon on the west coast of Korea. Because of the severe tide changes of 35 feet or so, we had to wait for the tide to rise and then were transferred to flatbottom assault boats, which took us to shore. February 1952 Pvt. Alan Takamiyashiro Chunchon, South Korea At Chunchon I found out that I was assigned to George Company, 31st Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division.There were a number of local 1952 | Trench Warfare and Hilltop Battles 187 boys from Hawaii, but Harry Tanaka and I were the only ones assigned to George Company. We stayed at Chunchon a couple of days and then were put on trucks again and headed for the front line where George Company was dug in. After a couple of hours we knew we were nearing the front because we could hear the distant sounds of artillery fire. I was getting nervous. Kumwha, North Korea It was in the afternoon when we were dropped off at the company rear, which was located at the base of a ridge. A guide led us to where George Company was dug in but not until after having to climb over two ridges and getting wet in a rice paddy.On the way we passed several litter teams carrying dead men to the company rear. Hey, I told myself, this is for real. I hope I don’t end up like one of them. An officer greeted us and then turned us over to a sergeant who assigned us to platoons. I went to the 3d Platoon and was put in a rifle squad. Tanaka was assigned to another platoon. I went to the squad’s bunker,where half of the squad was resting.They were all haoles.At first they thought I was a South Korean soldier until I told them that I was from Hawaii. Later I got to meet the other men in the squad.They, too, were all haoles. I was the only local boy in the squad. March 1952 Pvt. Robert Fernandez 65th Company, 60th Battalion, HITC Schofield Barracks, Territory of Hawaii Our training at the Hawaiian Infantry Center was in full swing.The use of the M-1...