US Marines in the Korean War PCN 10600000100_19 - Marine Corps

National Archives Photo (USMC) 127-N-A159018
Marine TSgt John Pierce gives some North Korean soldiers phosphorus grenade into the bunker's entrance.
hiding in a bunker a warm reception as he throws a white
categories per month of combat in
1950 (1,557) than it did in 1951
(747) or 1952 (712), but there is no
convincing evidence that the division
inflicted more casualties upon
the enemy in 1950 (per month of
combat) than it did in 1951, only
that its battles had been more dramatic
and photogenic.
In an official sense, the 1st
Marine Division in 1951 received
the same recognition as its 1950predecessor,
the award of a
Presidential Unit Citation "for
extraordinary heroism in action
against enemy aggressor forces in
Korea." There are, however, no
battles in the citation, no identified
geographic locations like Hill 902
or Taeu-san and Taeam-san
Mountains or Yoke Ridge or
Kanmubong Ridge. The only geographic
location mentioned is the
Punchbowl and some vague terrain
"north of the Hwachon
Reservoir." The citation gives only
three sets of dates: 21-26 April, 16
May-30 June, and 11-25 September
1951. There is no book like
Andrew Geer's The New Breed to
honor the 1951 Marines, no collection
of memorable photographs by
David Douglas Duncan to freeze
the fatigue and horror of war on
the faces of young men turned old
in a matter of days in December
1950. The same faces could have
been found on Hill 924 or Hill 812
if anyone had looked.
In addition to adding to the her-
474
itage of heroism in the second year
of the Korean War, the 1st Marine
Division and the 1st Marine Aircraft
Wing made history for its introduction
of the transport helicopter to
American ground operations. In
January 1951, the Landing Force
Tactics and Techniques Board,
Marine Landing Force Development
Center, approved the first
doctrinal study of vertical envelopment
in Employment of Assault
Transport Helicopters. When the
first operational squadron, HMR-
161, was formed, its original name
was "Marine Assault Helicopter
Squadron 161" until Marine aviation
bureaucrats protested that
they and the Navy thought the
more comprehensive designator of