Daily Vignette for 26 November -- the Chosin Reservoir

[wcg]

On November 26th 1950, troops from the People's Republic of China launched a massive counterattack in North Korea against South Korean and United Nations forces that had crossed north of the 38th parallel, precipating the battle of the Ch'ongch'on River and the battle of Chosin Reservoir, ending any hopes of a quick end to the conflict

Comments

[tsjafo]

My father's tale was not complete and was told piece at a time over the years. He didn't talk to many folks about his wartime experiences, par for the course for most veterans.

My father passed on in 1993 so my recollections of his story aren't as sharp as they could be.

I remember him explaining how spread out they were, not nearly enough people to hold the ground they were expected to cover. How cold it was. He said the weight of the attack against them took them by surprise. He talked about falling back and being surrounded, his hope when Task Force Faith broke through to relieve them, his dismay when Lt Col Faith was killed, along with most of their other other officers. He told of some soldiers dropping their weapons and fleeing across the frozen reservoir.

My father talked once about soldiers surrendering. One of my brothers made the statement he would never surrender. Dad asked what he would do when you ran out of ammo, the sun came up and you found yourself staring at a squad of Chinese, their rifles pointing at you? Although he never admitted being captured, but we all believed he was. The Chinese did let some of their prisoners go. He did say he walked across the reservoir to escape.