1st Cav Korea
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1st Cav Korea
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2nd guy is hanging onto 2 slings, how common was that?
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- Korean War Casualties
- 3,811 Killed in Action
- 12,086 Wounded in Action
- Korean War Honors
- 8 Medal of Honor recipients:
- 5th Cavalry Regiment: Lloyd L. Burke (28 October 1951), Samuel S. Coursen (12 December 1950), and Robert M. McGovern (30 January 1951).
- 8th Cavalry Regiment: Tibor Rubin (23 July 1950, to 20 April 1953), James L. Stone (21 November and 22 November 1952) Bryant E. Womack (12 March 1952) (9 October 1950) Robert H. Young
- 16th Reconnaissance Company: Gordon M. Craig (10 September 1950).
I mean no disrespect to a great unit, but they were the subject of the mocking song "Bugout Boogie" after the Chinese attack that cut the Marines off at Chosin. It was sung to the popular Hank Snow tune "Movin' On."
"A million Ch*nks comin' down the pass
Playin' the burp gun boogie on a doggie's a$$
They're movin' on, they'll soon be gone."
"Listen to the patter of running feet,
It's the old First Cav in full retreat,
They're movin' on, they'll soon be gone."
I read that also and chose not to disrespect those that lost their lives, there were plenty that did noble and honorable deeds. I always think of "Command Failure" when routs and un-organized retreats occur, the real leaders had not been identified or in a position to avoid catastrophy, negligence and sad to say cowardice from above infects the healthy who are looking for the way to win.Quote:
Originally Posted by bob seijas
A Vietnam era 1st Cav Vet told me that the story behind the 'horse they never rode, the road they never crossed and the colour is the reason why' ridicule he had endured was 'The Chosen Incident'. He said the Cav units at the Chosen were made up of recently called up reservists and new recruits who had no real, recent training and no previous or very limited combat experience who had been put in the line without any 'toughening up' and with inexperienced junior (Coy/Plt) officers. He said that the 1st Cav was stripped of its colours and stayed in Korea (with no US home base) as punishment for its failure to hold the line at the Chosen. He said the Cav won its colours back in Vietnam.
The accuracy of his account is a matter for research.
Could be the second G.I. is carrying the camara mans carbine so he can get some pics.....Frank
Here is some research I located to hopefully give the 1st Cav rank and file some support. The narrative below was found at Cavalry. Additionally I located info from The Center of Military History for the USArmy. According to that site no unit ever lost it's colors. of ColorsQuote:
Originally Posted by Paul S.
On several occasions now, while I was wearing the 1st Cavalry patch I have had complete strangers come up to me and say something like this; "1st Cav, huh, that patch, the horse head is for the horse they couldn't ride, the stripe for the river they couldn't cross, etc.." You get the idea! Well, needless to say, on each occasion it took all I had to keep from knocking that individual on his ***. It really takes a set of brass b---- to come up to someone, especially a veteran and say something like that. I do not know what I will do if I hear that crap again. I may be calling on my fellow troopers to come bail me out of jail!
Have you ever heard the term "Steeped in tradition"? Well some think this is, and do I have a news flash for them, here is my condensed version! It seems the old wives' tale goes like this; The reason the Cav. was still stationed in Korea was because of alleged cowardice and that the Division lost its colors in some obscure battle and could not return State-side until it regained its colors. Well, the bottom line is this, no element of the 1st Cavalry Division ever lost its' colors! Here is the real deal; From the Office of the Chief of Military History in Washington DC, "Official Army records contain no record of any unit in the United States Army that lost its colors to the enemy during the Korean War." If you would like the whole story on this, Click Here for 2 attachments (scans from the Ft. Hood, TX. First Cavalry Division Museum) of the data sheets on this.
Now please, lets put this to rest once and for all!! - jm -
****************************The 1st Cav was indeed over-matched in the Chosin campaign. The commanding officer of the 1st Cavalry General Walton Harris Walker, informed by MacArthur's headquarters that the Chinese would not intervene, did not insure that his troops maintained watchful security. Due to a lack of coordination between Walker, General Edward Almond, Commander of the X Corps, and MacArthur's headquarters in Tokyo, a gap had opened between Eighth Army and X Corps as they moved close to the Chinese border. Eventually, the weather had turned savagely cold, and most American units had no training and inadequate equipment for the bitter temperatures. On December 23, 1950, Walker was killed in a traffic accident, when Walker's command jeep collided with a civilian truck at high speed as he inspected positions north of Seoul. Walker was posthumously promoted to 4 star rank after his death, the M41 Walker Bulldog tank is named after him, hardly someone who's command lost their colors would be so honored.
Both Bob and Paul recalled accounts that damage the reputation and honor of the 1st Cavalry Division. I realize Bob meant no disrespect, but without giving equal treatment to their great accomplishments or verifying that they deserved such ridicule is unfair to any member of that Division. Paul recounted what he was told, and I'm sure soldiers kept such tales going for decades much as the navy has scuttle-buck. So I did check a few sources and hope others keep an open mind as to what was more likely to have occurred. I will still stand by my previous statement that the command structure failed the troops, I will retract and apologize for suggesting any cowardice on the part of the command, negligence I still hold as my opinion. Give the men the right equipment, training, support and above all leadership and you will have honor even if defeated.
For a very good detailed account of the 1st Cav in Korea, read "This Kind of War" by T.R. Fehrenbach. Gives the overview of the war at every level, filled with eyewitness accounts. There are some very moving sections in it, especially the chapter on the Glosters.
The Cav was not the only unit to be overwhelmed by the massive surprise Chinese attacks in late 1950, and it was hardly their fault. MacArthur was whipping and driving his army north to end the war by Christmas as he had promised the press. The units were strung out and well ahead of their support because Mac insisted they keep advancing and assured them that the PNK army was beaten. They were told that the Chinese prisoners they began to take were only rear guard elements that would fall back with the PNKs as they retreated. The commanders could not resist the direct orders from headquarters, so they ignored their better judgement and obeyed. Only the Marines hesitated and slowed up until support could catch up, and MacArthur even hinted at cowardice on their part for doing so. It was disgraceful and a monumental intelligence failure (both military and mental) that cost thousands of lives.
I cast no aspersions whatsoever on the Cav, I mentioned the song because it was an interesting historical fact and common knowledge at the time.
During the Korean War, there were disparaging rumors about the 1st Cavalry Division's fighting abilities, including a folk song of the time called "The Bug-Out Ballad."[6] It was also rumored that the series of engagements that gave rise to the song were due (at least partly) of the myth that the Division lost its unit colors.[7] Other Army and Marine units disparagingly described the division shoulder insignia as representing 'The horse they never rode, the river they never crossed, and the yellow speaks for itself'. Another version goes: "The shield they never carried, the horse they never rode, the bridge they never crossed, the line they never held, and the yellow is the reason why." The incident that apparently gave rise to this rumor appears to be the Battle of Unsan which took place on November 1-2, 1950 at Unsan, Korea. In that battle, the 8th Cavalry regiment, a component of the 1st Cavalry Division, was pushed back from positions in and around the town of Unsan by superior forces of the Chinese forces. The regiment was severely battered, experiencing heavy casualties and losing a considerable amount of equipment. This was one of the first major Chinese operations in the Korean War and, like the Changjin (Chosin) Reservoir Battle of this same period, it took the United Nations Command by surprise. Considering the circumstances, the 8th Cavalry regiment fought well, and it has never been criticized for its conduct in this operation
The Battle of Unsan (Korean: 운산군 전투), also known as the Battle of Yunshan (Chinese: 云山战斗; pinyin: Yún Shān Zhàn Dòu), was a series of engagements of the Korean War that took place from 25 October to 4 November 1950 near Unsan, North Pyongan province in present-day North Korea. As part of the Chinese First Phase Campaign, the People's Republic of China's People's Volunteer Army made repeated attacks against the Republic of Korea 1st Infantry Division near Unsan beginning on 25 October, in an attempt to take advancing United Nations forces by surprise. In an accidental first encounter with the United States military during the Korean War,[7] the Chinese 39th Corps attacked the unprepared US 8th Cavalry Regiment in Unsan on 1 November, resulting in one of the most devastating US losses of the Korean War.
But we have been here before:
10-065 Garand Picture of the Day - Korea December 1950
#277 Garand Picture of the Day - Japan
Thanks for the clarification on the 1st Cav's history. I know they were one the highest decorated units in Vietnam and had a long and proud combat record there.
A little side story. One of the 1st Cav units was passing through on a unit move and RON'd at our base camp. Rivallry between us and them required a little "decoration" of equipment. As the sun came up we discovered nice, bright yellow CAV patches stencilled on anything they could get to that wasn't physically occupied or guarded. It took them a little longer to discover all their aircraft had our big red rat (our red kangaroo marking) stencilled on them.
I still have a waste basket that sports a "red rat" courtesy of an Aussie F-111 crew that used the simulator at Mountain Home AFB and raided our offices before they left in the 80's.:lol:
Thaine