Engineer Memoirs
10:30 the commanding general called to ask if I had taken the hill. I told him it
was too foggy to attack. "Damn it," he said, "I need that hill. The troops in the
lower hills are taking a beating? At 11 a.m. it was still foggy and I postponed the
attack once more-this time to 12 noon. The commanding general was highly
annoyed. He ordered me to take the hill by noon or he would relieve me.
Just before noon the fog lifted and we began putting down a murderous barrage of
fire from the six fire bases. It was something the Chinese did not expect; it
completely unnerved them and put them in a state of shock. We walked the fires
forward with the troops following close behind. When the troops were 100 yards
from the top, we put down a 10-minute heavy barrage of fire. When we lifted the
fires, the i n f a n t r y rushed forward and took the mountaintop.
To me, the best part of the operation was that while there were numerous Chinese
killed and wounded, our troops did not suffer a single fatality. Some of our men,
of course, were wounded, but there was not a single soldier killed. The Chinese,
on the other hand, suffered close to 200 killed. The attack was a great success
because we had put down large amounts of fire in a place where the Chinese didn't
think it could be done. By hugging our fires closely, and then charging up the
hilltop immediately following a final heavy barrage of mortar and rocket fires, we
took Hill 1215. Once the hill fell, the troops on the lower terrain were able to
move forward. I consider commanding this highly successful operation to be the
high point of my military career.
As his executive, Mildren used me for the most part to make certain he had good
logistical support for the regiment. This allowed him to devote his energies to
commanding the regiment without having to worry about the mundane but essential
job of providing the regiment logistical support. In Korea, logistics often took
priority over tactics; the availability of supplies determined what could and what
could not be done.
Q ..
I gather that you next became the chief of staff of the 2d Division?
The job as chief of staff was a temporary one until the officer designated for the
A
job arrived. I was chosen because I knew the local scene and had field experience.
It was an interesting job because I could see the big picture and become familiar
with the division's goals and plans. Also, I got to know the commanding general,
Major General Robert Young; the deputy assistant division commander, Brigadier
General Hayden Boatner; and the rest of the staff quite well. This proved
invaluable to me later when I became a regimental commander.
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