For those who know all or part of this story first-hand it may serve as a reminder of a dirty experience which had few equals in the past and, God willing, none in the future. For those who know of Korea only through the press and radio, it is but a glimpse of the actions behind the bitter hardship and fleeting moments of triumph which characterized the war which was once called a "police action."
The story begins on 17 July 1950. A lumbering naval transport, the USNS M. M. Patrick was steaming west out of Seattle, hull-down, bound for Pusan, Korea. The Second Infantry Division was going to war again.
The heavily laden transport was the vanguard of a fleet of ships. In little more than a month from 17 July, the entire Indianhead Division would have reached its destination. Aboard the first ship were the advance elements, men and equipment of the 9th Regimental Combat Team (RCT), the 2d Reconnaissance Company and the 2d Quartermaster Company.
The following day the USNS General C. G. Morton set sail in the wake of the Patrick. Down in the holds, in the troop quarters and on the decks were the supplies and soldiers of the 3d Bn, 9th RCT; 15th FA Bn; and additional elements of the Reconnaissance and Quartermaster companies.
Other ships followed daily-the California Victory, the Sultan, Funston, Freeman, Darby, Towle, Monmacson, Arcadia, New World, Linfield, Elko, Greely, Stewart, Robinhead, Mitchell, Joplin, Rutgers, Wake Forest and finally, the Collins.
It wasn't easy, getting this great Division to sea. But superhuman effort, cooperation from every service, arm and agency made it possible. Just ten days before the Patrick set sail for the Far East, the Second Infantry Division had been following the ways of all Army divisions during the days of peace-training, maneuvers and rou tine military duties. And then from Washington came word to the Commanding General, Major General Laurence R. Keiser—"The Second Infantry Division had been alerted for movement in the near future to the Far East Command."
At 1000 hours, 9 July, the Division and the world were notified of the urgent alert.
The happenings that took place between that time and 20 August when the entire Division had arrived in Korea will not soon be forgotten by those who took part.
Many officers and men were on leave when the alert was received. Others were at school or enroute to new assignments. A number of men were due for discharge in the near future; some had received orders but had not yet cleared Ft. Lewis, home of the Division.
Telegrams poured out of Ft. Lewis by the hundreds—"Your leave canceled. Report this station immediately. Unit alerted for early overseas shipment." Wires were sent to the various service schools recalling all Second Division officers and men. Answering messages flocked in—"Two officers, 13 enlisted men your command attending courses this station. Will depart and arrive your station soonest."
A call for replacements went out. Five thousand men were needed to bring the Division up to strength. The availability of shipping became of utmost importance. Speed was essential.
At the request of General Keiser, key officers of the division who had received transfer orders prior to the alert were retained, the orders canceled.
Telephone wires hummed between Ft. Lewis, Sixth Army Headquarters in San Francisco and Washington. Shortages in men and equipment were compiled and requisitions went out.
Interpreters were required. Equipment was in need of repair and replacement. Tanks and ammunition were called in from the Yakima firing ranges. Packing and crating were requested from the engineers. Doctors were needed to bring the medical units up to strength. Teams of instructors to teach Second Division personnel the operation of the new 3.5 inch rocket launcher were flown from Ft. Benning Loading plans were drawn up. Shipping was diverted from scheduled runs, priority was to apply to the Infantry Regiment Combat Teams.
Army depots throughout the nation opened their doors to the Second Infantry so that shortages could be filled.
On 10 July, Colonel Charles C. Sloane Jr, commanding officer of the 9th Infantry Regiment, initiated formation of the 9th Regimental Combat Team which was to be the first to leave. On 12 July, with Colonel Sloane retaining command of the Regiment, Colonel John G. Hill assumed command of the RCT.
It was necessary to transfer men whose enlistments were due to expire and so the order went out sending them to the 4th RCT and the 6006th Army Service Unit at Ft. Lewis. Replacements diverted from the pipeline to the Far East began to arrive but their numbers were not nearly sufficient.
The answers to the calls for help began to come in as the days progressed. With newly arrived equipment more than 1,000 signal items w ere rehabilitated and twenty percent of the division signal equipment was replaced. Each of the three regimental combat teams was equipped with a thirty day supply of expendable signal items.
The 2d Signal Company sent wire, radio and photo teams to accompany each of the RCTs.
The Division medical units checked shot records for Division personnel and administered smallpox, typhoid, tetnus, cholera and typhus injections. In addition, the Division Surgeon's office inspected each ship to be used and stocked it with serum for anyone who might have missed his shots.
Transportation personnel loaded eleven cargo and ten personnel ships in nineteen days. It was a tremendous task. Tonnage, space requirements and number of personnel had to be calculated. Ships had to be ordered, loading plans made. A shortage of longshoremen slowed the loading at first but was soon overcome. Busses had to be chartered to move men from Division to dockside.
Division Finance processed 31,500 allotment applications that month. Seventeen thousand, five hundred advance payments were made to help officers and men settle financial obligations. More than 14,000 pay records were sent to higher offices after the alert was received.
The 2d Military Police Company, after being brought to wartime strength, organized control platoons to accompany each of the RCT's. Garrison prisoners were released. Training for wartime duties was undertaken and continued until the last moment before departure.
Division Special Services sent out requests for magazines, games, cards, writing paper and other recreational material to be used aboard ship.
The Staff Judge Advocate cleared 335 courts martial cases from the books by 25 July. The division stockade population was reduced from 275 to 115. The SJA also gave legal assistance to 5,000 replacements who arrived at the division during the preparation for movement.
And as each element of the division technical and special services prepared for movement, the infantrymen, artillerymen, tankers, recon troops and engineers were training, processing and packing, getting set for movement and inevitable combat.
In Korea, the hastily committed 24th, 25th, and 1st Cavalry Divisions together with ROK Army units were being hard-pressed and driven back. Help was needed badly.
On 17 July, the advance guard of powerful help was at sea. It was the Second Infantry Division, born of war in France in 1917. It had accumulated nine battle stars in two World Wars. In the first war the entire division had been decorated with the Croix de Guerre by the French government. In World War 11 it was twice cited by the Belgian government. More than 6,000 of its members, past and present, had won individual awards. The men who sailed from their homeland to Korea on 17 July 1950 and the men who were to follow them were to add new glories to the history of the "Second to None" Division.
Even as the first ships carrying the Second Division steamed from Tacoma and Seattle, an advance party under the assistant division commander, Brigadier General Joseph S. Bradley, was planning to fly to Tokyo. Plans were to be made to stage the Division in Japan; for at the time the advance party winged away from McCord Field it was still believed that a staging period would be required. This sentiment was reflected in the thinking of many of the officers as evidenced by a statement in the official history of the Division—"Contrary to the belief of the officers, most enlisted men were convinced that the Division would be committed as soon as it arrived in the Far East."
The advance party arrived in Tokyo on 25 July and set up temporary headquarters. The members toured camp sites the division units were to occupy. On the following day equipment requirements were presented to General Headquarters. Then, on 27 July, their plans w ere changed. A message from the Commander in Chief, Far East Command, was directed to all elements of the division—"Desire entire Second Infantry Division be routed direct Pusan, Korea. Upon arrival assigned Eighth United States Army in Korea."
The journal of the Advance Party had this entry on 28 July: "Plans for Second Division (-9th RCT ) to stage at Yokohama area canceled. Entire Second Division to 'go in' at Pusan, Korea."
A plane bearing the advance party sighted the shores of Korea at 1015 on 29 July but bad weather forced it to return to Japan. Another trip was begun later in the morning. At 1320, 29 July 50, the first members of the 2d Infantry Division set foot on Korea soil. The spot was an airport 17 miles Northwest of Pusan.
Less than 48 hours away, the USNS Patrick plowed steadily forward toward Pusan, leading a great column of ships, the last of which had not yet left Tacoma.
As the advance party was arriving at Pusan, the last few ships were being readied for loading back in Washington. On that day, 29 July, the SS Rutger put to sea with equipment of the 72d Tank Battalion, 2d Engineer Battalion ( - ), 2d Signal Company ( - ) and elements of 2d MP Company. Aboard the SS Joplin went cargo of the 38th RCT and 72d Tank Battalion. Only four troop ships remained, the Greeley, Stewart, Collins and Mitchell.
Replacements, who had begun flowing into the Division, were scheduled to be placed on the last ship. Their arrival brought the Division up to almost 100% of its authorized strength. The status of equipment and supplies was improved to such a point that with the exception of a few nationally unavailable items the Division was almost 100% strength in all ordnance items.
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