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Article: 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. (Korean War).(battle of Pork Chop Hill, Korean War )
- Article from:
- VFW Magazine
- Article date:
- April 1, 2003
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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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, ...