Combat on `the chop': as truce talks at Panmunjom dragged on "with all the speed of a stiff concrete mix" in April 1953, two 7th Infantry Division regiments waged a vicious struggle to hold, and then retake, a 255-yard hill in west-central Korea. After 45 hours and brutal losses, GIs finally declared victory

VFW Magazine, April, 2003 by Tim Dyhouse

By mid-April 1953, the Korean War had been reduced to a series of sporadic, fiercely violent fights for non-descript hills near the 38th Parallel. Strategy was aimed at grabbing land to bolster negotiating positions during armistice talks at Panmunjom. Winning the war--for either side--was no longer an option.

As talks wore on, Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) eyed Hill 255, better known as Pork Chop Hill.

S.L.A. Marshall, in his 1956 classic Pork Chop Hill, described it: "A solidly revetted rifle trench encircled it at the military crest, providing wall and some roof cover, which served for defense in any direction. Sandbagged and heavily timbered, fire-slotted bunkers were tied into the trench line at approximately 30yard intervals. They gave troops protection while affording observation and command of the slope."

Defending the hill were 96 GIs comprising the 1st and 3rd platoons, E Co., 2nd Bn., 31st Regt. Shortly after 7:30 p.m. on April 16, the 3rd Platoon sent out 20 soldiers to man 10 "listening posts" in trenches and foxholes on the north slope of Pork Chop Hill.

At 10:50 p.m., the CCF opened up a 10-minute artillery attack as two of its infantry companies crept up the slopes.

"When the barrage lifted, they were already there, on top of everybody," said Charles Brooks, a squad leader with E Co. "We looked out and saw Chinese all over the hill. It was eleven o'clock at night but everything was all lit up [by flares, artillery, mortars and searchlights]. It was as bright out there as a football stadium at night."

By midnight, the CCF had overrun the summit, which left isolated pockets of U.S. troops scattered on the hill. Most of E Company's 1st Platoon had been wiped out. Chaos and confusion, as well as lack of water, ammunition and communication, bedeviled the defenders.

"We fired until we ran out of ammo or the barrels of our weapons melted," said Sgt. 1st Class Jerl Wooddell of the 1st Plt., E Co., 31st Inf. "The Chinks overran our positions, and we got into hand-to-hand combat in the trenches."

U.S. Infantry Counterattacks

At 2 a.m. on April 17, a platoon from L Co., 31st Inf. Regt., made an attempt to reach E Co.'s command post on the hill.

"They were hit by the Chinese," said Sgt. Samuel K. Maxwell, a medic with 1st Plt., K Co., 31st Inf. Regt. "I remember retrieving three bodies the day after the battle."

Two hours later, 135 men of K Co. [led by Lt. Joe Clemons, who was portrayed by Gregory Peck in the 1959 film Pork Chop Hill] and two platoons (62 men) from L Co. ascended Pork Chop. The GIs fought their way to E Co.'s command post by 8 a.m. They joined the five GIs there, but paid a high cost: L Co. had only 10 of its original 62 men and K Co. had 18 killed and 71 wounded. In the meantime, the CCF added three more companies to the fight.

At around 8:30 a.m., G Co., 17th Regt., started up Pork Chop. By 3 p.m., the unit had lost half its men and left the hill. At this point in the battle, U.S. 8th Army commanders had decided the hill was too important to abandon, which would have given the Chinese a victory to tout at the armistice talks. More GIs were committed to the fight.

"Our mission was to construct field fortifications on the hill and to dig out the collapsed trench system," said Master Sgt. Richard J. Astrup, A Co., 13th Engineer Bn., 17th Inf. Regt. "During the course of the battle we were relieved as engineers and reverted to infantry. In fact, just about every unit in the 7th Division was reassigned as infantry."

At 9:30 p.m., F Co., 17th Regt., began moving up the hill and were almost immediately hit by CCF artillery. U.S. artillery retaliated, scattering CCF reinforcements. The CCF responded with yet another infantry company.

Artillery Barrages a Record

At 1 a.m. on April 18, with U.S. troops holding only 5% of the hill, E Co., 17th Regt., advanced, trying to drive the Chinese away from the 25 beleaguered GIs still defending E Co., 31st Regiment's command post.

"The Chinese broke into the command post at 0200 hours, firing Tommy guns and grenades" Korean War vet William Hothan said. "They were killed, but all our men in the command post were wounded. At 0230, Chinese artillery hit and caved in the command post and their infantry began closing in on us."

For the next 15 hours, U.S. and Chinese forces fought each other. The battle swung as each side added reinforcements (the CCF called in a company at around 4:30 a.m., while A Co., 17th Regt., joined the fight about 6 a.m.). Finally, at around 6 p.m., the GIs drove the CCF off the hill for good.

One characteristic of the battle was the huge amount of artillery barrages--from both sides--that pummeled Pork Chop. On the U.S. side, nine artillery battalions from the 2nd and 7th divisions fired 115,004 rounds on the hill, which many military historians believe is a record for such a small front. The barrages pinned down soldiers, preventing either side from advancing successfully.

"Pork Chop was a reinforced platoon forward position," Astrup said. "It was not meant to harbor a company of infantry, much less a battalion plus support units. The hill was literally covered with parts of bodies"