July-August - Air Defense Artillery

Silver Star
MASTER SERGEANT ROBERT W. SWEENEY,
a member of Bollery D, 82nd AAA AW Bo.
(SP), 2nd Infontry Division, displayed gol.
lantry in action ogainst on armed enemy on
12 February 1951 in the vicinity of Hoktam-ni,
Korea. On that dote, in the absence of an
offICer, he assumed command of on antiair~
croft firing vehicle and led a convoy through
an enemy roadblock. Despite the heavy enemy
small arms, machine gun and mortar fire, he
maintained an extremely exposed position on
the outside of the armored vehicle in order
to fire the forward .30 caliber machine gun,
and direct the fire of the 40mm guns. When
the 40mm guns could not be depressed for
enough to fire on two enemy machine gun
positions, he calmly remained in position and,
with his .30 caliber machine gun, succeeded
in destroying the enemy positions. The gallant
and inspiring actions of Sergeant Sweeney
reflect great credit upon himself and the
military service. x x x louisiana.
600 rounds of caliber .50 expended.
1700 An 1\,119in the K Company
area destroyed enemy machine
gun above railroad tunnel
which had been firing at
vehicle while men ate hot A
ration. One round expended.
One portion of the action deserves
more than a passing mention. In their
efforts to firmly reestablish the perimeter
position which they had lost the preceding
night, the 3rd Battalion launched
a counterattack which kept contact with
the enemy all during the day. At about
1600 K Company made a bayonet charge
on dug-in enemy along the foot of hill
229. Covering that attack, 2d Lt. B. W.
Faulkner dismounted his oO'un
crew and
began systematically clearing the remaining
enemy by rifle fire and bayonet action.
His crews were reinforced by K
Company personnel and the enemy
thrusts were completely cleared before
darkness. For this action Lt. Faulkner
has been awarded the Silver Star.
During the daylight hours and continuing
into the night of February 14-15
air drops of rations, gasoline and ammunition
were made to the force. These
drops included 40mm and caliber .50
ammunition for B Battery.
High velocity artillery fire was received
during the night of February 14-
15. It started about 1930 hours in the
K Company area, and was promptly
returned by an M 19 in that area. The
piece, probably an SU-76, was not eliminated
by 40mm fire, but it was forced to
pull back. Each time the weapon reopened
fire, it was answered by the
JULY-AUGUST, 1951
~ 119, which prevented any accurate firing.
Action in the K Company area,
generally that area guarding the approaches
from the trestle and tunnel,
was heavy all night. Considerable smallarms,
automatic-weapons and mortar fire
was received. The two B Batten' vehicles
accounted for three enemy machine-gun
positions and 75 enemy troops were exterminated
after 150 rounds of 40mm
and 4,500 rounds of caliber .50 ammunition
were e.\:pended. Efforts similar to
those employed the previous night to
knock out an enemy mortar were
thwarted by 1\1 Company's mortars
which hit it first.
At about 2200 hours, an AAA vehicle
in the 1st Battalion (north), area of the
perimeter was hit by a projectile; a high
velocity weapon (probably another SU-
76). It was hit at the base of the turret
and at almost the same time the vehicle
received a direct hit from a light mortar.
One man was wounded and the turret
was jammed beyond immediate repair.
AT the request of the French Battalion,
a hundred rounds of 40mm were
fired from an M 19 in the battery command
post area at targets on hill 248
with excellent results. This fire was
initially laid by compass. The action took
place at 2200 hours. At 2400 hours Co!.
Du Michele (French Artillery Officer),
requested more fire. Another hundred
rounds were fired. \Vhile engaged in this
mission the M 19 received machine-gun
fire from hill 397 which was in the opposite
direction. Traversing the guns, the
1\ 119 engaged in a brief but fierce fire
fight and destroyed two enemy machinegun
positions. In addition to the machine-gun
fire described above, enemy
small-arms and mortar fire was received
in the command post area all night.
Other significant actions which occurred
during the night were enemy engagements
near artillery positions. Journal
extracts relate the story as follows:
0030 15 February: The M16 near
B/503rd FA reported that
weapons in the perimeter near
him had been knocked out
and personnel on the perimeter
were withdrawing under
pressure. This was the only
weapon without a radio. The
squad leader was ordered to
sever wire communications
and place himself under the
command of an artillerv officer
from the unit he was supporting.
Following those orders
and moving to support a
friendly coun terattack, the
1\116 was run off the narrow
road into a ditch. Under
heavy fire of all types, the
crew sought cover near the vehicle
and engaged the enemy
with small arms, leaving one
man in the vehicle with grenades
prepared to destroy the
weapon on order.
0100 The 1\116 near C/37th FA
neutralized an enemv machine-gun
position, expending
1,000 rounds.
0210 Firing in conjunction with
4.2 mortars, the M16 near
C/37th FA assisted in silencing
a high velocity weapon
near hill 248 and later destroyed
a machine-gun position
in the same area.
0600 Still under heavy fire of all
to types, the M 16 in the ditch in
0830 the B/503rd FA area was recovered
by an M4 tank under
the direction of Corporal Fisher,
the squad leader. The FA
battery area had been evacuated
except for some of the
wounded. \Vhile the remainder
of the crew carried ammunition
to tanks in the area,
Silver Star
MASTER SERGEANT FRANK J. MAGUIRE,
a member of Battery D, 82nd AAA AW Bn.
(SP), 2nd Infantry Division, displayed gallon.
try in action against an armed enemy on 12
February 1951 in the vicinity of Hoengsang,
Korea. Sergeant Maguire's battery, in ve.
hicular column, was withdrawing through a
series of hostile fireblacks. When the vehicle
in which he was riding was destroyed by
enemy fire, he was ordered to proceed
through the hills on foot, to safety, Under
cover of darkness, Sergeant Maguire and a
comrade became separated from the main
group and, at daylight, joined a small group
of Republic of Korea soldiers. When the
group was subjected to enemy fire from the
high ground on its right flank, Sergeant Maguire
immediately organized the men and
led them in an assault on the enemy position.
Under his fearless leadership the group ago
gressively charged the enemy forcing them
to break and run, abandoning two machine
guns, two rocket launchers and a large
amount of ammunition. He directed the fire
of the machine guns upon the enemy and
inflicted heavy casualties upon them as they
fled. He then led his men back to the rood
and joined a friendly convoy that was moving
.. south. The gallantry displayed by Sergeant
Maguire reflects great credit upon himself and
the military service. x x x Washington.
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