On Hallowed Ground : The Last Battle for Pork Chop Hill

by McWilliams, Bill

• ISBN13: 9781591144809
• ISBN10: 1591144809
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2003-10-01
• Publisher: Naval Inst Pr

Summary

"Evoking all the powerful emotions of a bitter, bloody, and stalemated Korean War, Bill McWilliams takes readers into the trenches and bunkers of Pork Chop Hill with the men of the 7th Infantry Division's 17th and 32rd Regiments as they withstand repeated assaults by the Chinese in July 1953. Individual accounts of small victories and defeats, fear and valor bring alive the final battle for the hill. While a popular movie starring Gregory Peck made Pork Chop Hill a public legend, only one other book has been written about the subject, and it focuses on earlier assaults. This book includes the untold stories of the riflemen, machine gunners, forward observers, sergeants, platoon leaders, and medics whose heroic efforts helped hold the hill and produced two Medals of Honor and ten Distinguished Service Crosses, some awarded posthumously." "The author succeeds both at giving the reader a feeling of being in the midst of the fighting and at stepping back to view the bigger picture. He blends official documents, personal letters, interviews, oral histories, and other sources to acquaint readers with the first three years of the war and prior assaults on Pork Chop, and he highlights the contributions made by combat support units and others to the mission. As the narrative progresses he makes the whys of battlefield decisions evident by examining the influence of national policies, protracted truce negotiations, a fledgling South Korean democracy, and the evolving American military policy of active defense, providing painful lessons for America's future struggles. Published in cooperation with the Association of the United States Army, this book pays tribute to the greatest testing ground of U.S. soldiers' resolve since Valley Forge."--BOOK JACKET.

Table of Contents

Foreword	xi
Acknowledgments	xv
1 The First Half: A War of Maneuver	1	(32)
2 To Hold the Hills	33	(28)
3 The Fall of Old Baldy: Danger on the Left Flank	61	(29)
4 Upping the Ante	90	(35)
5 Rebuilding	125	(36)
6 Calm before the Storm	161	(41)
7 Signs of Trouble	202	(24)
8 The Beginning	226	(44)
9 Holding Tight	270	(43)
10 Battalion Counterattack	313	(35)
11 Three Companies and a Platoon	348	(35)
12 Final Decisions and Surprises	383	(39)
13 Aftermath	422	(37)
Notes	459	(16)
Bibliography	475	(6)
Index	481