Originally Posted by
Paul S.
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.
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 Colors
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.
PM
