Key point: Many lives were lost as the two sides slugged it out over small patches of land. These battles raged even as the diplomats tried to find a truce.

Peering intently through a telescope, General Lemuel C. Shepherd, the commandant of the Marine Corps, scanned the shell-pocked Korean terrain in front of his position. Shepherd had made a special visit to the Korean front lines to obtain a firsthand view of the Main of Line of Resistance (MLR) his Marines were defending. In the early spring of 1952, under orders from the U.S. Eighth Army in Korea, the entire 25,000-man 1st Marine Division had moved from the east-central sector of the country to the western part of I Corps to man positions along the extreme left flank of an area called the Jamestown Line. In early March the Marines, joined by the attached 1st Korean Mari­ne Corps, completed the move. Maj. Gen. John T. Selden, 1st Marine Division commander, now had 32 miles of harsh country to defend.

The Hook

Shepherd, for his part, was concerned about the leathernecks’ difficult assignment. In front of their positions was a small speck of land protruding beyond the MLR like a huge thumb. This seemingly insignificant feature, called the Hook by those who had to defend it, dominated the approach to the vital Samichon Valley. The landscape surrounding the Hook was a defender’s nightmare—steep, rugged hills inundated the countryside. If the Chinese managed to break through the Marines’ lines, they could march unhindered all the way to Seoul, the capital of South Korea. As poor a military position as the Hook was, the Marines had no alternative but to occupy it. In enemy hands, the consequences would be catastrophic. Chinese occupation of the Hook would afford a corridor for the enemy to outflank the right flank and reach the Imjin River. This in turn would not only cut off the Marines from the adjacent 1st Commonwealth Division, but also probably render the entire United Nations position beyond the Imjin untenable.

Read More: Warefare History Network

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Puller was born in June 1898 in West Point, Virginia, to parents Matthew and Martha. His father was a grocer but sadly died when Puller was just ten years old. It has been said that the fatherless boy would while away many childhood hours listening to tales of derring-do from old campaigners from the American Civil War.

That conflict had ended in 1865 – not much more than 30 years before Puller was born – so there was every chance that the impressionable young lad met veterans who had actually participated in the war. Indeed, legendary Confederate General “Stonewall” Jackson was apparently a particular hero of the youngster’s.

In 1916, the teenage Puller was eager to see some action for himself and to generate some war stories of his own. The young Virginian attempted to enlist in the U.S. Army so that he could play his part in the Border War with Mexico. Alas, he was too young to join on his own say-so and his widowed mother refused to give the required permission. And so Puller’s first attempt to get into active service was thwarted, but it would not stay that way for long.

—————– STORY LINK: https://www.nollygrio.com —————–

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U.S. Marines with 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division (MARDIV) conduct Patrol and Assault operations during the 2018 Super Squad Competition at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California, Aug. 27, 2018. The competition tests the Marines in a broad spectrum of infantry related skills to include offensive and defensive operations, patrolling techniques, and combat marksmanship, to determine the best squad within 1st MARDIV. (U.S. Marine Corps video by Lance Cpl. Preston J. Hightower)

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