Edward L. Rowny
G-4, X Corps
Q ..
When X Corps began to move north again, how long did you continue to work as
X Corps engineer?
A ..
I remained Corps engineer for only a week or so. Shortly after I returned to Korea
the Corps G-4 was killed. For the next six months or so, I was the X Corps
logistician. After that, when my one-year tour was up, I volunteered for a second
year and joined the 2d Infantry Division.
Q ..
By the first of June had the X Corps pushed north again?
A ..
Yes, X Corps pushed up north considerably. My job as logistician was a critical
one since we had difficulty moving supplies forward. We built supply depots as
we went forward and built airfields wherever we could find a suitable piece of flat
land. At that time we were still bringing in a sizable portion of our supplies from
Japan by air, dropping much of it by parachute. Air dropping was a costly way
of bringing in supplies and many supplies were destroyed or scattered about. The
supplies had to be picked up and the parachutes folded and returned. As a result,
we tried to build airfields so we could land the aircraft rather than air drop the
supplies.
Q ..
Were there any particular problems that you ran into as the corps logistician?
A ..
These were no particular problems but a great number of ordinary ones. Keeping
several divisions resupplied in an area where there were few roads was quite a
challenge. This was also the time when the Army decided to multiply the daily
amount of artillery fire by a factor of 2 or 3. The infantry welcomed the extra
firepower, but we had difficulty getting the ammunition up to the guns.
Q ..
What caused you to change jobs and move from X Corps to the 2d Division?
A
In the first place, I had a great amount of experience as an infantry battalion
commander and a regimental task force commander when I was in General
Almond's division in Italy. In the second place, there were few infantry officers
who came up to General Almond's standards.
Infantry officers assigned to Korea were either too old or poorly qualified. As a
result, many commanders were relieved, making for a shortage of infantry
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