Marine Corps Korea Volume 1

Chosin Reservoir

Sgt Grit,
My Dad, Retired SgtMaj John Swindle was in Korea from Aug 2, 1950 to Dec 4, 1950. He was in A-Battery 1st Bn 11th Mar Div. He was wounded on the 4th of Dec 1950 at the Chosin Reservoir and received the Purple Heart. I'm including a photo of him, from a book called "This is War" by David Douglas Duncan. My Dad is the Marine in the center looking down. I'm real proud of my Dad.

Donna Swindle
Proud daughter of Chosin Reservoir-Korea Vet

Hector A. Cafferata School Ground Breaking

Students, teachers Chosin Few Members, and Hector A. Cafferata MOH, attending.

Wally

Just sharing some pics...

I was in the Corps from 91-98, and in '03 I joined the Army Reserve, and in '05, I went active duty Army and got shipped off to Korea. Well, I'm out of the Army now due to a torn up knee, but I really miss the "good ol' days." They didn't have digital cameras when I was in Okinawa, but I didn't blow my chance when I got to Korea. I knew the tight relationship and history between the USMC and the ROK Marine Corps, and when our KATUSA's (Korean Augmentation To U. S. Army) learned that I had served in the Corps, I got alot of attention. I learned that even though the Korean people are peace-minded and tend to shy away from military actions, they have an intense pride in the ROK Marines. There's ROKMC souvenir stores everywhere, and every one I visited had ROKMC veterans hanging around swapping stories. Sound familiar?

ANyway, I went on a DMZ tour and toured the Korean War Museum while I was there, and I have probably over 1,000 pictures on my computer from my year there. Here's three that I like alot. The first one is at OP Dora, overlooking the DMZ and into North Korea. The other two are in the Korean War Museum in the ROKMC Memorial Room.

Just as a bit of info, military service in South Korea is mandatory, but they have a choice as to where they want to go. Most young men just want to do their two years in the ROK Army and go back to college. But service in the ROK Marine Corps is strictly voluntary, and their boot camp is as tough as Parris Island (only 5 times colder in the winter). Another thing: ROK Marines consider US Marines their brothers...they also celebrate November 10th. Must be a Marine thing...

Robert Johns Jr.
Lawton, OK

June 21, 1951

Sgt Grit. A friend on mine gave me this Post Card from USAA. It is a Memorial Service held after the Bn came off line. Each time we would come back to a Reserve Area we would hold a Service for all the Marines we lost in the last engagements.

I would guess that the Marines at Present Arms were the Squad or Fire Team Leaders representing the KIA. I did not know if you would like it and maybe add it to your News Letter or a filler for one of your Catalogs .

Semper Fi.
Floyd D. Newkirk, Wpns.Co. 1st Bn 1st Reg Korea 51-52

PI Graduation

PI graduation, April 1953, with most scheduled for Korea, but since that ended a few months later, never knew what happened to anyone. A couple of us, reluctantly, sent to Montford Point, Supply School and then off to fight the paper wars. Got out at the end of my tour, and because of my training at Supply School----NOT!----I put 40 in Law Enforcement.

J. E. M.

Yesterday

Camp LeJeune (2nd Mar. Div) - 1949 - cleaning my BAR - lost it on forward slope of a hill March 2, 1951 courtesy incoming mortar fire. Went over the wall at Inchon Sept. 15, 1950 ... served under Lewis "Chesty" Puller at Hagaru at the reservoir. This aside: just prior to the Inchon landing my fire team leader Cpl Boyer, who had served under Puller in WW2, gathered us one evening in the cafeteria of the ship - says "Well children, it goes this way, the 7th got Litzenberg, the 5th got Murray ... and we got Puller." Noticing the puzzled looks, he tossed in " Puller will enter with a death wish, and will take as many of us with him that he can."

At the makeshift airstrip at Hagaru the man would stand in clear view of the nearby hills and scan the area ... maybe not a death wish but surely the fearless warrior he is portrayed as.
George Elsasser - 1949-52 - discharged a buck sergeant.

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