.
....................
...................
"Honor and Fidelity"
End Notes Index
Formation of the Regiment
World War I
World War II
Post War Period
The Korean War : 1950
The Korean War : 1951
The Korean War : 1952
The Battle for Outpost Kelly (September !952)
The Battle for Jackson Heights (October 1952)
The Reasons for Failure
Aftermath : Courtmartial and Reconstitution
Home Page
Formation of the Regiment
[1] Participation of Puerto Ricans in the Armed Services with Emphasis on World War I, World War II, and the Korean War, Headquarters Antilles Command, July 1965, Section II, p. 1. US Army Center of Military History, Fort McNair, Washington D.C.
[2] Ibid, p. 2.
World War I
[3] Ibid.
[4] James A. Sawicki, Infantry Regiments of the US Army (Dumfries, Virginia: Wyvern Publishers, 1981).
[5] Participation of Puerto Ricans in the Armed Services, Section I, p. 1.
[6] Order of Battle of the U.S. Land Forces in the World War (1917-1919), (Washington D.C.: US Army Center of Military History, 1988) Volume 3, Part I, Zone of the Interior: Organization and Activities of the War Department, pp. 81, 83, 85.
[7] “A Brief Summary of the Vital Statistics of the U.S. Army During the World War,” Military Surgeon, August 1922.
[8] Participation of Puerto Ricans in the Armed Services, Section II, p. 1.
World War II
[9] Ibid, p. 1.
[10] Stetson Conn et. al., United States in World War II. The Western Hemisphere. Guarding the United States and Its Outposts, (Washington D.C.: US Army Center of Military History, 1989), p. 350.
[11] Ibid. p. 440.
[12] Participation of Puerto Ricans in the Armed Services , Section II, pp. 2-3.
[13] “60th Anniversary United States Army in Puerto Rico,” The Sentinel. U.S. Army Forces Antilles and MDPR, 12 December 1958, p. 4-B, Puerto Rican National Guard Museum, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
[14] Jose Angel Norat, Guardia Nacional de Puerto Rico Historia y Tradiciones. Cinco Centurias en Guardia (San Juan, Puerto Rico: Puerto Rican National Guard, 1987), p. 135.
[15] Participation of Puerto Ricans in the Armed Services, Section I, p. 4
[16] Jose Norat Martinez, Historia del Regimento 65 de Infanteria (San Juan, Puerto Rico: 1992), p. 55.
[17] “Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Carlos Betances-Ramierz, An Autobiography, July 27, 2000,” p. 5. Copy in the possession of the author. The purpose of the experiments was to assess the number of casualties that could be expected in the event of Japanese use of mustard gas against U.S. Army troops. Several men were burned, including Betances-Ramirez, while in the attack of a fortified position in the jungle. One man was hospitalized. The volunteers tested several types of impregnated clothing as well as boots and hoods for a month on San Jose Island in Panama.
[18] Participation of Puerto Ricans in the Armed Services, Section I, p. 2.
[19] Ibid. Enclosure 2, p. 4.
[20] See Antilles Department Historical Studies. Section VI. The Puerto Rican Induction Program and The Use of Puerto Rican Troops (Fort Brooke, Puerto Rico: Historical Division Adjutant General’s Office, U.S. Army Forces Antilles, April 1948); John Drake Bristor, The Utilization of Citizens of US Territories and Possessions in the Armed Forces, Thesis, Armed Forces Staff College, 3 June 1949. US Army Military History Institute.
Post War Period
[21] The 504th Field Artillery Battalion, 531st Engineer Company, and 18th Mechanized Cavalry Squadron were Puerto Rican formations.
[22] Bristor, The Utilization of Citizens of US Territories and Possessions in the Armed Forces , p. 48.
[23] Headquarters, United States Armed Forces Antilles Command, Letter ANTAG 312, 15 October 1952; Letter, Brigadier General Edwin L. Sibert, Commanding General Antilles Command to Commander, 65th Infantry Regiment, 17 May 1950.
[24] STM-30, Strength of the Army (Department of the Army 1 October 1950).
The Korean War : 1950
[25] Participation of Puerto Ricans in the Armed Services, Section II, p. 6.
[26] Ibid.
[27] An infantry regiment was authorized 157 officers, 26 warrant officers and 3,614 men at the time.
[28] Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Carl H. Griffin, 65th Infantry Regiment, Third Infantry Division, Korean War Survey, US Army Military History Institute, Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania; Combat Leadership in Korea: Brigadier General (Retired) William W. Harris Interview with Clay Blair, undated, US Army Military History Institute.
[29] Brigadier General (Retired) William W. Harris, Puerto Rico’s Fighting 65th U.S. Infantry. From San Juan to Chorwan (San Rafael, California: Presideo Press, 1980), p. 43.
[30] Combat Leadership in Korea: Brigadier General (Retired) William W. Harris Interview with Clay Blair, US Army Military History Institute.
[31] Ibid. Harris was West Point class of 1930.
[32] The division, which would have had a strength of 18,000 personnel and would have consisted of the 65th Infantry Regiment and the two National Guard Regiments, the 295th and 296th. See “Letter from Luis MuÔoz Marin, Office of the Governor, La Fortaleza, San Juan, Puerto Rico to the Honorable Oscar L. Chapman, Secretary of the Interior, Washington D.C., July 18, 1950,” Office of the Governor, Record Group 96-20, Box 1444, Court Martial Cases of Puerto Rican Soldiers, General Archives of Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico. See also “A Joint Resolution of the Insular Legislature Puerto Rico ____1950,” undated, in the same packet.
[33] Colonel William W. Culp, Training and Future Utilization of Insular Puerto Rican Military Manpower in the US Army, p. 22, Individual Study, US Army War College, 12 March 1953, US Army Military History Institute, Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania.
[34] Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Carl H. Griffin, 65th Infantry Regiment, Third Infantry Division, Korean War Survey, US Army Military History Institute.
[35] Command Report, 2nd Infantry Division, September 1950, Record Group 407, Box 2450, NARA, Washington D.C.: Command Report, 3rd Infantry Division, November 1950, Record Group 407, Box 2880, NARA.
[36] Command Report, IX Corps, September-October 1950, Record Group 407, Box 1760, NARA; Command Report, 2nd Infantry Division, September 1950, Record Group 407, Box 429, NARA; Command Report, 3rd Infantry Division, November 1950, Record Group 407, Box 2880, NARA.
[37] Command Reports, IX Corps, September-October 1950, Record Group 407, Boxes 1760-1761, NARA; Command Report, 2nd Infantry Division, October 1950, Record Group 407, Box 2450, NARA; Command Report, 3rd Infantry Division, November 1950, Record Group 407, Box 2880, NARA; Command Report, 65th Infantry Regiment, November 1950, Record Group 407, Box 2886, NARA.
[38] General Douglas MacArthur, Commander in Chief United Nations Command, Tokyo, Japan to Headquarters US Army Forces Antilles and Military District of Puerto Rico, Fort Brooke, Puerto Rico, undated, Record Group 96-20 Office of the Governor of Puerto Rico, Box 1444 Court Martial Cases of Puerto Rican Soldiers, General Archives of Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
[39] Command Reports, X Corps, November –December 1950, Record Group 407, Boxes 1977, 1983, NARA; Command Report, 3rd infantry Division, December 1950, Record Group 407, Box 2881, NARA; Command Reports, 65th Infantry Regiment, December 1950, January 1951, Record Group 407, Box 2888, 2960 NARA. This includes 36 KIA, 86 WIA, 17 MIA and 212 non-battle casualties..
The Korean War : 1951
[40] On the morning of January 29th, the 65th was counterattacked by an estimated 800 enemy. The attack was repulsed and the regiment suffered 34 casualties. On January 31 the regiment launched a concerted attack against enemy fortified positions north of Pojong-ni. See Command Report, 65th Infantry Regiment, January 1950, Record Group 407, Box 2960, NARA..
[41] General Douglas MacArthur, General Headquarters, Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers, Office of the Supreme Commande, Tokyo, Japan r to Mr. Eugene Wright, Puerto Rico News Service, San Juan, Puerto Rico, 12 February 1951, Record Group 96-20 Office of the Governor, File 005.21 T, Box 1444 Court Martial Cases of Puerto Rican Soldiers, General Archives of Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
[42] Captain Max W. Dolcater, 3rd Infantry Division in Korea (Tokyo: Toppan Printing Company, 1953), p. 159.
[43] Ibid, p. 170.
[44] Participation of Puerto Ricans in the Armed Services, Section II, p. 9; Command Reports, 65th Infantry Regiment, January – December 1951, Record Group 407, Boxes 2960-2969, NARA.
[45] “Staff Briefing Minutes, 2000 Hours 18 September 1951,” Command Report, 3rd Infantry Division, September 1951, Record Group 407, Box 2917, NARA.
[46] Dolcater, 3rd Infantry Division in Korea, p. 253; 65th Infantry Flamethrowers Drive Chinese from Hill,” Army Times Veterans Edition, 10 November 1951, p. 11.
[47] Command Report, 65th Infantry Regiment, December 1951, Record Group 407, Box 3043, NARA.
[48] Dolcater, 3rd Infantry Division in Korea, pp. 159, 169, 253, 378, 387-389.
[49] LTC (Retired) Carl H. Griffin, Korean War Survey, US Army Military History Institute. Griffin’s conversation with Mead took place in February 1951; “Letter from Colonel Childs to Clay Blair, November 12, 1984,” The Clay and Joan Blair Collection – The Forgotten War, Box 44, Infantry Units, 3rd Division, 7th Division, 65th Infantry Folder, Military History Institute.
[50] Captain Manuel Fernandez-Duran, MD, 65th Infantry Regiment, Third Infantry Division, Korean War Survey, US Army Military History Institute.
The Korean War : 1952
[51] “65th Infantry Regiment General Orders 1950-1951,” Record Group 338, Box 355, NARA; Register of Graduates and Former Cadets 1802-1980 (New York: Association of Graduates, United States Military Academy, 1980).
[52] Both Gibson and Lindsey had served in the 9th Infantry Division in 1941 as infantry regiment Service Company commanders. See Historical and Pictorial Review of the Ninth Division United States Army Fort Bragg, North Carolina 1941 (Army and Navy Publishing Company 1942), Volume I, 39th Infantry, p. 70;Volume II, 47th Infantry, p. 67.
[53] “Cordero, Juan C,” Official National Guard Register (Army) 1951 (Washington D.C.: National Guard Bureau, 1951), p. 212: Norat, “General de Division Juan Cesar Cordero Davila (1958 – 1965),” Guardia Nacional de Puerto Rico, pp. 476-479; Letter from Colonel Juan Cesar Cordero to Commanding General, US Army Forces Antilles, Fort Brooke, Puerto Rico, 20 November 1951,File 30, Box 77, James A. Van Fleet Papers, George C. Marshall Library, Lexington, Virginia.
[54] Letter from General J. Lawton Collins to General Matthew B. Ridgway, 4 January 1952, File 30, Box 77, James A. Van Fleet Papers.
[55] Letter from General J. Lawton Collins to General Matthew B. Ridgway, 4 January 1952; Correspondence, General M. B. Ridgway to General J. L. Collins, 14 January 1952; Correspondence, General M. B. Ridgway to General James A. Van Fleet, 14 January 1952, File 30, Box 77, James A. Van Fleet Papers.
[56] Letter from Lieutenant General John W. O’Daniel to General James A. Van Fleet, 17 January 1952, File 17, Box 17, James A. Van Fleet Papers. Enclosed were copies of the letters from Generals Collins and Ridgeway regarding Colonel Cordero-Davila. This appears to have been a cover to accommodate Collins and Ridgway while saving Lindsey’s career. Lindsey’s career, however, appears to have never recovered from his administrative relief as commander of the 65th.
The Battle for Outpost Kelly ( September 1952)
[57] “Autumn Operations (September-October 1952),” The History of the United Nations Forces in the Korean War (Seoul: The Ministry of Defense, The Republic of Korea, 1976), Volume V. The United States Forces in the Korea War July 1951 to July 1953, pp. 359-361.
[58] Letter “Outpost Kelly,” Colonel (Retired) Duquesne A. Wolf to Lieutenant Colonel Gilberto Villahermosa, US Army Center of Military History, 7 July 2000.
[59] Correspondence, Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Carlos Betances-Ramirez to Lieutenant Colonel Gilberto Villahermosa, July 4, 2000. Copy in author’s possession.
[60] Casualties included 4 KIA, 20 WIA and 58 MIA. See “S-2 Journal, 19 September 1952, 1545 hours, Entry 501,” Command Report, 65th Infantry Regiment, September 1952.
[61] Casualties included 1 KIA, 12 WIA and 20 MIA. See “2nd Battalion S-3 Journal, 20 September 1952,” Command Report, 65th Infantry Regiment, September 1952.
[62] “Unit Report No. 709, 201800 to 211800 September 1952,” Command Report, 65th Infantry Regiment, September 1952.
[63] “Reorganization of the 3rd Infantry Division, Headquarters 3rd Infantry Division, 8 November 1952,” Command Report, 3rd Infantry Division, October 1952, Record Group 407, Box 2997, NARA.
[64] “Unit Report No 712, 231800 to 241800 September 1952,” Command Report, 65th Infantry Regiment, September 1952.
[65] Command Report, 65th Infantry Regiment, September 1952.
[66] “Letter from Lieutenant General Paul W. Kendall to General James Van Fleet, Headquarters, I Corps, 18 September 1952,” File 38, Box 87, James Van Fleet Papers.
[67] “Message 291300Z September 1952 from General Van Fleet to General Mark W. Clark, Record Group 500 Eighth Army Adjutant General Section Security Classified Correspondence 1952, Box 832, File 335.18, NARA.
[68] “Correspondence, Lieutenant General Paul W. Kendall to General James Van Fleet, Headquarters I Corps, 30 September 1952,” File 9, Box 87, James Van Fleet Papers.
[69] “Message 301405Z September 1952, Lieutenant General James Van Fleet to General Mark W. Clark,” Record Group 500, Box 832.
[70] Cordero was not the only regimental commander relieved in 1952. In June Colonel Frank R. Maerdian had been relieved from command of the 160th Infantry Regiment for exhibiting a lack of forcefulness and initiative and failing to promptly and aggressively pursue courses of action directed by the commander of the 40th Infantry Division. See “Memorandum, Commanding General 40th Infantry Division to Commanding General IX Corps, Subject: Reassignment of Regimental Commander, 15 June 1952, Record Group 407, Box 4157, NARA.
The Battle for Jackson Heights (October 1952)
[71] “Brigadier General Chester Braddock DeGavre,” Department of the Defense Office of Public Information News Branch, 14 August 1958, U.S. Army Center of Military History. See also Official Army Register 1952 (Department of the Army, 1952). During World War II DeGavre served as the Chief of Staff of the 1st Airborne Task Force and participated in the campaigns of Rome-Arno and Southern France. After the war he had served in the Department of the Army G-4, followed by an assignment as the assistant G-1 of X Corps in Korea.
[72] Command Report, 3rd Infantry Division, October 1952, Record Group 407, Entry 429, Box 2997, NARA.
[73] “2nd Battalion Staff Journal, 7 – 8 October 1952,“ “Unit Reports 728, 731-739, 101800 to 211800 October,” Command Report, 65th Infantry Regiment, October 1952, Record Group 407, Box 3049, NARA; Major George D. Jackson, “The Battle for Jackson Heights, Sworn Statement,” 16 February 1960, p. 3.
[74] Combat Leadership in Korea: Brigadier General (Retired) Chester B. DeGavre Interview with Clay Blair, US Army Military History Institute.
[75] Lieutenant Colonel Carlos Betances-Ramirez, “Analysis and Comments on the Third Division’s Staff Study dated 8 November 1952,” 12 September 1998, p. 9. Copy in the author’s possession; Major Silvestre E. Ortiz, Letter to Mr. Eliseo Combas-Guerra, 30 October 1952. Copy in author’s possession; Major George D. Jackson, “The Battle for Jackson Heights, Sworn Statement,” 16 February 1960, p. 3.
[76] The History of the United Nations Forces in the Korean War (Seoul, South Korea: The Ministry of National Defense of the Republic of Korea, 1 December 1972), Volume I, p. 244.
[77] FM 7-40 Infantry Regiment, p. 234.
[78] According to Walter Hermes, Stars and Stripes named the hill after Captain Jackson. See Walter Hermes, Truce Tent and Fighting Front (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Army Center of Military History, 1966), p. 307. Today Jackson Heights is located just north of the Military Demarcation Line.
[79] Major George D. Jackson, “The Battle for Jackson Heights, Sworn Statement,” 16 February 1960. Copy in possession of the author.
[80] The enemy had 16 battalions of artillery, totaling 162 guns, positioned opposite the 3rd Infantry Division. See Command Report, 3rd Infantry Division, October 1952, Record Group 407, Box 2997, NARA.
[81] Major George D. Jackson, “The Battle for Jackson Heights, Sworn Statement.” According to Jackson, some of the US casualties, especially among the Mortar Platoon, may have been the result of US artillery fire.
[82] “2nd Batalion Staff Journal, 27 October 1952, 2115 hours, Entry No. 43,” Command Report, 65th Infantry Regiment, October 1952. Casualties included 3 KIA and 11 WIA.
[83] Major George D. Jackson, “The Battle for Jackson Heights, Sworn Statement.” Jackson comments that this was at the height of the ammunition shortage in Korea.
[84] “2nd Battalion Staff Journal, 28 October 1952, 0100 hours, Entry No. 3,” Command Report, 65th Infantry Regiment, October 1952. The company returned top the main defensive line with 70 personnel. See also Major George D. Jackson, “The Battle for Jackson Heights, Sworn Statement.”
[85] Lieutenant Carlos Betances-Ramirez to Colonel Lopez-Duprey, 4 November 1952. Copy in the author’s possession. Colonel Lopez-Duprey was the Deputy Commander of the Puerto Rican National Guard during the Korean War. Betances’ account was written shortly after Jackson Heights; “Interview with Colonel (Retired) Willis D. Cronkhite, October 17, 1996,” p. 5. This interview was done by Cronkhite’s son. Copy in the author’s posssession. Cronkhite, the Company F commander, remembers Betances-Ramirez telling him his company would return to the main defensive line after the attack while Company A, commander by 1st Lieutenant John Porterfield, would remain on the position.
[86] “2nd Battalion Staff Journal, 28 October 1952, 0955 hours, Entry No. 32,” Command Report, 65th Infantry Regiment, October 1952.
[87] “S2/S3 Journal, 28 October 1952, 1115 hours,” Command Report, 65th Infantry Regiment, October 1952. Company A reported 5 KIA and 6 WIA. Company B reported 1 KIA and 5 WIA. In addition to the 10 KIA and 12 WIA inflicted on the enemy by the two companies, US artillery and mortar fire inflicted another estimated 10 KIA and 25 WIA.
[88] Colonel (Retired) Gerald A. Wilcomb, Korean War Memoirs, January 9, 1997, p. 7. Copy in author’s possession. Wilcomb was the Company F Field Artillery forward observer. According to his statement, the men began to leave the position under the guise of assisting the wounded almost as soon as the position was taken.
[89] “I noticed troops now going down the hill in small groups and some singly,” remembers Colonel Wilcomb. “I could see some strung out in the valley below heading south.” See Colonel (Retired) Gerald A. Wilcomb, Korean War Memoirs, p. 8.
[90] “Informal Discussion Between Colonel DeGavre and Captain Jackson on Jackson Heights,” Command Report, 65th Infantry Regiment, October 1952.
[91] Command Report, 65th Infantry Regiment, October 1952.
[92] “Unit Reports No. 743-748, 241800 to 301800 October 1952,” Command Report, 65th Infantry Regiment, October 1952.
[93] “Unit Reports, 747-749, 281800 to 311800 October 1952,” Command Report, 65th Infantry Regiment, October 1952. Of those in the division stockade, 12 were from Company A, 76 were from Company C and 32 were from Company F.
[94] Command Report, 3rd Infantry Division, November 1952, Record Group 407, Box 2997, NARA.
The Reasons for Failure
[95] Army Field Forces Combat Observer Team No. 7, Far Eastern Command, October – November 1952, Infantry, Record Group 337 Army Field Forces Combat Arms Advisory Group, Box 88, NARA.
[96] See, for example, “Letter from Major General John W. O’Daniel, Office of the Commanding General, Headquarters I Corps to Lieutenant General James A. Van Fleet, Commanding General, Eighth Army, 29 July 1951,” File 7, Box 71, James A. Van Fleet Papers. For Van Fleet’s response, see “Letter from General James A. Van Fleet, Commanding General Eighth Army, to Major General John W. O’Daniel, Commanding General, I Corps, 2 August 1951,” File 7, Box 71, James A. Van Fleet Papers. “To over burden troops with too much extra armament in this difficult terrain will result either in the loss of mobility or the loss of the weapons if the position is overrun,” wrote Van Fleet. “At the present time we do not have sufficient quantities of weapons to permit any appreciable augmentation without jeopardizing our ability to make normal routine replacement.”
[97] “Actual Strength as of 1800 1 September 1952,” Command Report, 3rd Infantry Division, September 1952, Record Group 407, Box 2995 , NARA. In comparison, the 7th Infantry Regiment had 130 officers on hand and the 15th Infantry Regiment had 143.
[98] Ibid.
[99] Command Report, 65th Infantry Regiment, October 1952. Again, the bulk were from the rifle and weapons companies.
[100] Interview with General Van Fleet, U.S. News and World Report, vol. XXXII, No. 13 (March 28, 1952). Cited in Hermes, Truce Tent and Fighting Front, p. 186.
[101] Hermes, Truce Tent and Fighting Front, p. 187.
[102] Ibid, pp. 186-187, 199.
[103] Command Reports for the infantry regiments, January – December 1952, Record Group 407, NARA.
[104] General J. Lawton Collins to General Mark W. Clark, 20 August 1952, File 29, Box 84, James A. Van Fleet Papers.
[105] See “Comments on ‘Truce Tent and Fighting Front” OCMH, 1966,” from Major General (Retired) Haydon L. Boatner to Adjutant General, Department of the Army, 31 January 1967. Boatner, who served in Korea from 1951-1952 with the 2nd Infantry Division and then at Koje-Do during the riots by Communist Chinese and North Korean prisoner, contends in an enclosure “Bloody and Heart Break Ridges” that the rotation policy in Korea increased casualties in infantry units in Korea.
[106] Command Reports, 65th Infantry Regiment, January – December 1952, Record Group 407, Boxes 3043-3050, NARA.
[107] Luis Muñoz Marin, Governor, La Fortaleza, San Juan Puerto Rico to the Honorable Oscar L. Chapman, Secretary of the Interior, Washington D.C., 9 April 1951, Record Group 96-20 Office of the Governor, File 005.21 T, Box 1444 Court Martial Cases of Puerto Rican Soldiers, General Archives of Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico. The 296th Infantry Regiment of the Puerto Rican National Guard would have replaced the 65th. It was Federalized on 11 August 1950. See Nurat, Guardia Nacional de Puerto Rico, p. 110. Puerto Rico also had available a second National Guard Regiment available, the 295th, although it was not Federalized for Korea. See “Letter from Mason Barr, Chief Caribbean Division, United States Department of Interior, Office of the Territories to the Honorable Luis Muñoz Marin, Governor of Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico, November 29, 1950,” Office of the Governor, Record Group 96-20, Box 1444 Court Martial Cases of Puerto Rican Soldiers, General Archives of Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
[108] See, for example, Lessons from Korea (Fort Benning, Georgia: The Infantry School, 1954). According to the report, commanders in Korea affirmed the soundness of Army tactical doctrine but admitted to many deficiencies in applying it. “The faulty techniques in using the doctrine,” notes the report, “ can be laid to an imperfect understanding of its intent.”
[109] “Army Field Forces Combat Observer Team No. 7, Far Eastern Command,” October – November 1952.
[110] General J. Lawton Collins to General James A. Van Fleet, 4 November 1952, File 18, Box 68, James A. Van Fleet Papers. Collins comments were based on conversations with senior officers returning from Korea as well as Army Field Forces Observer Team reports; “Lessons Learned on Hill 598,” Command Report, 31st Infantry Regiment, Record Group 407, Box 3346, NARA. According to the report: “It is not tactically sound to attack on a small sector of the enemy fortified defensive line without exerting pressure in adjacent areas of the front. The enemy was able to concentrate all his fire power and available resources in the Hill 598 and SNIPER’S RIDGE area.”; General J. Lawton Collins, “Don’t Forget the Fundamentals,” Infantry School Quarterly, January 1953, pp. 10-11.
[111] Letter from Major General A. J. H. Cassels, Commander 1st Commonwealth Division to General James A. Van Fleet, Commanding General Eighth Army, 8 July 1952, File 7, Box 68, James A Van Fleet Papers. “I would like to refer to your order,” writes General Cassels, “in which you instructed all divisions to capture a prisoner every three days and in which you authorized divisions to use up to battalion raids to achive this.”
[112] 1st Commonwealth Division Periodic Report, 15 October 1951 – 15 February 1952. AD 314//11/3, New Zealand Archives. Cited in Jeffrey Grey, The Commonwealth armies and the Korean War. (Manchester: Manchester University 1988), p. 139.
[113] “Memorandum by Maj Gen Cassesl, GOC 1 COMWEL DIV on subject of CAPTURE OF ENEMY PW, undated, attached to letter to General Van Fleet dated 8 July 1952.
[114] Command Report, 31st Infantry Regiment, January 1953, Record Group 407, Box 3390, NARA. The 31st suffered 164 casualties, including 13 KIA, 143 WIA and 8 MIA, during the month of January conducting raids and combat patrols with the sole mission of capturing a single enemy prisoner. Of these 113 casualties, including 7 KIA, 101 WIA and 5 MIA, were suffered conducting raids. The regimental commander wrote: “These actions to capture prisoners resulted in no prisoners captured by us and gave the enemy eight (8) MIA’s, half of whom may be presumed to be WIA and captured.”
[115] “Message from CG AFFE Adv to DEPTAR, EX 40441, 100310Z April 1953,” Army Field Forces Central Files 1953, Record Group 338, Box 27, NARA.
[116] FM 7-40 The Infantry Regiment (Washington D.C.: Department of the Army, January 1950), pp. 253, 256.
[117] Ibid.p. 257. Doctrine called for an outpost line 800 to 2,000 yards forward of the main line of resistance.
[118] “Letter from Colonel Carlos Betances-Ramirez to Rene Colonel Lopez-Duprey, 4 November 1952”; Norat, Guardia Nacional de Puerto Rico, p. 597. In 3rd Infantry Division this authority was taken away from the commander on the spot after Outpost Kelly and delegated to the division commander.
[119] Major Robert A. Doughty, “The Evolution of US Army Tactical Doctrine, 1946-1976,” Leavenworth Papers, No. 1, August 1979, p. 11.
[120] Command Reports, 65th Infantry Regiment, September-October 1952.
[121] Command Reports, 65th Infantry Regiment, January – December 1952.
[122] The average infantry regiment in Korea suffered 804 battle casualties a month. See regimental command reports, January – December 1952, Record Group 407, NARA..
[123] Conrad Crane, American Airpower Strategy in Korea 1950-1953 (University Press of Kansas, 2000), pp. 128-129.
[124] Ibid.
[125] Hermes, Truce Tent and Fighting Front, pp. 224-230; “The Ammunition Shortage,” The Sinews of War: Army Logistics 1775-1953 (Washington D.C.: US Army Center of Military History, 1966), pp. 630-634; “Ammunition Problem,” The History of the United Nations Forces in the Korean War, (The Republic of Korea: The Ministry of National Defense, 1976), pp. 293-297.
[126] Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Carlos Betances-Ramirez to Lieutenant Colonel Gilberto Villahermosa, US Army Center of Military History, June 30 2000. Copy in author’s possession. Betances-Ramirez goes on to note that even rifle ammunition was short at one time, an assertion supported by other Korean War veterans in their Korean War Surveys.
[127] Command Report Eighth Army, May 1953, pp. 55-56. Cited in Hermes, p. 509f.
[128] “The Fighting, Waiting Eighth Army,” Time, December 22, 1952, p. 21.
[129] General James A. Van Fleet to Lieutenant General Willis D. Crittenberger, 28 September 1952, File 22, Box 86, James A. Van Fleet Papers.
[130] In a letter to Colonel Hugh H. Wilson, Dulaney was complimentary of the regiment and Colonel Cordero. Wilson provided a copy to the Governor of Puerto Rico. See “Letter from Luis Muñoz Marin, Office of the Governor, La Fortaleza, San Juan, Puerto Rico to Colonel Hugh M. Wilson, Caribe Motors Corporation, San Juan, Puerto Rico, September 22, 1952,” Record Group 96-20 Office of the Governor, Box 534 Letters of the Governor, Puerto Rico General Archives, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
[131] General James A. Van Fleet to Lieutenant General John W. O’Daniel, 20 October 1952, File 7, Box 71, James A. Van Fleet Papers.
[132] Lieutenant General John W. O’Daniel to General James A. Van Fleet, 17 November 1952, File 7, Box 71, James A. Van Fleet Papers.
[133] Lieutenant Colonel Carlos Betances-Ramirez, “Analysis and Comments on the Third Division’s Staff Study dated 8 November 1952,” 12 September 1998, p. 9. Copy in the author’s possession. Major Silvestre E. Ortiz, Letter to Mr. Eliseo Combas-Guerra, 30 October 1952. Copy in author’s possession; Major George D. Jackson, “The Battle for Jackson Heights, Sworn Statement,” 16 February 1960, p. 3; Lieutenant Colonel Carlose Betances-Ramirez to Lieutenant Colonel Gilberto Villahermosa, US Army Center of Military History, June 30, 2000.
[134] Lieutenant General Paul W. Kendall to General James A. Van Fleet, 18 September 1952, File 38, Box 87, James A. Van Fleet Papers.
[135] Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Carlos Betances-Ramirez to Lieutenant Colonel Gilberto Villahermosa, US Army Center of Military History, June 30, 2000.
[136] Major George D. Jackson, “The Battle for Jackson Heights, Sworn Statement.”
[137] Of the personnel convicted, 28 (including one officer) were from the 1st Battalion, 27 were from the 2nd Battalion and 37 were from the 3rd Battalion. The remainder were acquited.
[138] “General Denies G.I.’s Showed Cowardice,” New York Times, January 30, 1953, p. 2.
[139] Ibid.
[140] Command Report, 3rd Infantry Division, September 1952.
[141] See “15th Infantry Regiment, Regimental S-2/S-3 Staff Journal, 1055 hours, 6 November 1952,” Command Report, 3rd Infantry Division, November 1952, Record Group 407, Box 3001, NARA; Command Report, 3rd Infantry Division, November 1952, Record Group 407, Box 3001, NARA.
[142] Letter from General James A. Van Fleet to Major General Thomas J. Cross, 31 December 1952, Box 68, File 26, James A. Van Fleet Papers.
[143] Letter from General James A. Van Fleet to Lieutenant General John W. O’Daniel, 20 October 1952; Letter from Lieutenant General John W. O’Daniel to General James A. Van Fleet, 17 November 1952, File 17, Box 71, James A. Van Fleet Papers; “O’Daniel, John Wilson, Lt. Gen.” Generals of the Army, April 1953, p. 21.
[144] Dolcater, Editor, 3d Infantry Division in Korea, pp. 373-394.
[145] “New Policy for Puerto Rican Troops,” Army Navy Air Force Journal, 20 October 1951, p. 232.
[146] “Recommendations,” Command Report, 65th Infantry Regiment, September 1951, Record Group 407, Box 2967, NARA. The then-Regimental Commander, Colonel Erwin O. Gibson, wrote: “It is recommended that more experienced Puerto Rican Non-Commissioned Officers be assigned to the 65th Infantry Regiment. This [unit] is limited to Puerto Rican enlisted personnel and although enlisted replacements have been fairly adequate, there have been practically no NCO replacements. This has placed a terrific strain on this regiment in attempting to maintain a proper or even minimum level of experienced NCOs.”
[147] “Recommendations,” Command Report, 65th Infantry Regiment, September 1952, Record Group 407, Box 3049, NARA.
[148] Ibid.
[149] “Recommendations,” Command Report, 65th Infantry Regiment, January 1953, Record Group 407, Box 3079, NARA. “It is recommended, as it had been for the past several months, that the maximum effort be made to increase the number of effective NCOs in the regiment,” wrote the regimental commander. “In preparation of defensive positions including digging, constructing bunkers, policing and installing wire, the absence of the effective NCO was the greatest handicap.”
[150] Hermes, Truce Tent and Fighting Front, p. 303.
[151] Warren Franklyn, “Puerto Ricans Vow Changing Hill’s Name,” United Press, September 28, 1952.
[152] Command Report, 3rd Infantry Division, September 1952, Record Group 407, Box 2995, NARA.
[153] Letter from Colonel (Retired) Walter B. Clark to Lieutenant Colonel Gilberto Villahermosa, 17 June 2000. Copy in the author’s possession. Clark, a 1951 graduate of the Citadel, arrived in Korea in February 1952, shortly after Cordero took command.
[154] Ibid.
[155] 1st Lieutenant George Bjotvedt, 1st Battalion, 65th Infantry Regiment, Third Infantry Division, Korean War Survey, US Army Military History Institute; Major George D. Jackson, “Manpower in the 65th Infantry Regiment, 16 February 1960”; Correspondence, Colonel (Retired) George D. Jackson to Lieutenant Colonel Gilberto Villahermosa, US Army Center of Military History, 3 June 2000.
[156] Brigadier General (Retired) Chester B. DeGavre, Interview with Clay Blair, undated, US Army Military History Institute, Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania. DeGavre’s assessment of Cordero as a “Political” commander is supported by other officers in the regiment.
[157] Major George D. Jackson, “The Battle for Jackson Heights, Sworn Statement.”
[158] A Study of the Employment and Effectiveness of the Artillery with the Eighth Army During the Period October 1952 – July 1953, p. 40, January 1954, Record Group 338, Records of the Headquarters, United States Army, Pacific Military Office, Box 99, NARA.
[159] Charles R. Shrader, Communist Logistics in the Korean War (Greenwood Press, 1995), p. 196. This study is based primarily on declassified documentation of NKPA and CCF logistical activities assembled by UNC intelligence agencies during the immediately following combat operations in Korea 1950-1953.
[160] Ibid. p. 197.
[161] Ibid.
[162] A Study of the Employment and Effectiveness of the Artillery With the Eighth Army, p. 39.
[163] Ibid, p. 40.
Aftermath : Courtmartial and Reconstitution
[164] Correspondence from Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Betances-Ramirez to Lieutenant Colonel Gilberto Villahermosa, US Army Center of Military History, July 24, 2000. Copy in possession of the author.
[165] “United States vs. First Lieutenant Juan E. Guzman,” Headquarters 3rd Infantry Division, 23 November 1952,” Court Martial 359333, National Records Center, Suitland, Maryland.
[166] Correspondence from Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Betances-Ramirez to Lieutenant Colonel Gilberto Villahermosa, US Army Center of Military History, July 24, 2000.
[167] ”Daily Journal, Staff Judge Advocate, 7 December 1952,” Command Report, 3rd Infantry Division, December 1952, Record Group 407, Box 3004, NARA.
[168] “Daily Journal, Staff Judge Advocate, 10 December 1952,” Command Report, 3rd Infantry Division, December 1952, Record Group 407, Box 3004, NARA.
[169] “Daily Journal, Staff Judge Advocate, 15 December 1952,” Command Report, 3rd Infantry Division, December 1952, Record Group 407, Box 3004 , NARA.
[170] “Daily Journal, Staff Judge Advocate, 26 December 1952, Command Report, 3rd Infantry Division, December 1952, Record Group 407, Box 3004, NARA.
[171] See, for example, Lindesay Parrott, “88 U.S. Soldiers Convicted of Quitting Battle in Korea,” New York Times, January 25, 1953, p. 1. According to the article, Army sources announced that one officer and eighty-seven men of the 65th Infantry Regiment had been court-martialed and sentenced from six months to ten years in prision. According to that story, only one man received the “extreme” sentence of ten years. On 26 January 1953 the 3rd Infantry Division noted that 92 – not 88 – men had been court-martialed. “The convicted men have been given six months to ten years in prison, and in most cases, dishonorable discharges.” See “Korea Trial Involves 92,” New York Times, January 26, 1953, p. 2. See also “Army Tells Story of Troops Who Ran,” New York Times, January 28, 1953, p. 2.
[172] See, for example, “Puerto Rican Press Asks Army Inquiry,” New York Times, 27 January 1953, p. 3; “Special to the New York Times,” New York Times, January 28, 1953, p. 2.
[173] US Congress, House of Representatives, Committee on Armed Services, 82nd Congress, “Operation Smack,” February 3, 1953, p. 43.
[174] Ibid, p. 44.
[175] “No Sabian ingles soldados boricuas sometidos a Corte,” El Mundo, July 14, 1953.
[176] Letter from Major General George W. Smyth, Commanding General, Headquarters 3rd Infantry Division to Commanding General IX US Corps, 8 November 1952,” File 9, Box 87, James A. Van Fleet Papers.
[177] John S. D. Eisenhower, Strictly Personal (New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc.: 1974), p, 148.
[178] Ibid.
[179] “Reorganization of the 3rd Infantry Division,” Command Report, 3rd Infantry Division, November 1952.
[180] Letter from Lieutenant General, Commanding General, IX Corps to Commanding General Eighth Army, 10 November 1952, File 9, Box 87, James A. Van Fleet Papers.
[181] Ibid.
[182] Letter from General James A. Van Fleet, Commanding, Eighth United States Army, 14 November 1952 to Department of the Army,” File 9, Box 87, James A. Van Fleet Papers.
[183] Ibid.
[184] Ibid.
[185] Command Report, 65th Infantry Regiment, February 1953, Record Group 407, Box 3080, NARA: Command Report, 65th Infantry Regiment, March 1953, Record Group 407, Box 3081, NARA. The ratio of exchange is approximately 2 Puerto Ricans to 1 Continental soldier with the exception of XVI Corps which receives 369 Puerto Rican personnel and reassigns none of its personnel to the regiment.
[186] Captain Edward C. Williamson, Captain Pierce W. Briscow, 1st Lieutenant John Newha, 1st Lieutenant Martin Blumenson, Bloody Ridge, August-September 1951, 2nd Division (Military History Section, Eighth United States Forces Army Korea (EUSAK), United States Army Forces Far East, undated), US Army Center of Military History, Ft. McNair, Washington D.C.
[187] Command Report, 2nd Infantry Division, July. Command Report, 2nd Infantry Division, July 1952, Record Group 407, Box 2838, NARA. See also the Sworn Affadavit by Lieutenant Colonel Ralph D. Burns in the same file.
[188] Ibid.
[189] Command Report, 65th Infantry Regiment, May 1953, Record Group 407, Box 3081, NARA.
[190] Command Report, 65th Infantry Regiment, June 1953, Record Group 407, Box 3081, NARA.
[191] Ibid.
[192] Command Report, 65th Infantry Regiment, July 1953, Record Group 407, Box 3081, NARA.
[193] Ibid.
[194] Lieutenant Colonel Teodore Vidal, Military Aide to the Governor, “Participacion PuertorriqueÔo en La Segunda Guerra Mundial y en el Conflicto de Corea,” undated, Office of the Governor, Record Group 96-20, Box 1444, Court Martial Cases of Puerto Rican Soldiers, General Archives of Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico; Participation of Puerto Ricans in the Armed Services, p.
[195] Norat, Guardia Nacional de Puerto Rico Historia, p. 139.
[196] Author’s Notes, Lajas Veterans Association Meeting, 30 July 2000, Lajas, Puerto Rico.
....................
...................
"Honor and Fidelity"
The 65th Infantry Regiment in Korea 1950 - 1954
Official Army Report on the 65th Infantry Regiment in the Korean War
by LTC Gilberto Villahermosa - September 2000
U.S. Army Center of Military History
End Notes Index
Formation of the Regiment
World War I
World War II
Post War Period
The Korean War : 1950
The Korean War : 1951
The Korean War : 1952
The Battle for Outpost Kelly (September !952)
The Battle for Jackson Heights (October 1952)
The Reasons for Failure
Aftermath : Courtmartial and Reconstitution
Home Page
Formation of the Regiment
[1] Participation of Puerto Ricans in the Armed Services with Emphasis on World War I, World War II, and the Korean War, Headquarters Antilles Command, July 1965, Section II, p. 1. US Army Center of Military History, Fort McNair, Washington D.C.
[2] Ibid, p. 2.
World War I
[3] Ibid.
[4] James A. Sawicki, Infantry Regiments of the US Army (Dumfries, Virginia: Wyvern Publishers, 1981).
[5] Participation of Puerto Ricans in the Armed Services, Section I, p. 1.
[6] Order of Battle of the U.S. Land Forces in the World War (1917-1919), (Washington D.C.: US Army Center of Military History, 1988) Volume 3, Part I, Zone of the Interior: Organization and Activities of the War Department, pp. 81, 83, 85.
[7] “A Brief Summary of the Vital Statistics of the U.S. Army During the World War,” Military Surgeon, August 1922.
[8] Participation of Puerto Ricans in the Armed Services, Section II, p. 1.
World War II
[9] Ibid, p. 1.
[10] Stetson Conn et. al., United States in World War II. The Western Hemisphere. Guarding the United States and Its Outposts, (Washington D.C.: US Army Center of Military History, 1989), p. 350.
[11] Ibid. p. 440.
[12] Participation of Puerto Ricans in the Armed Services , Section II, pp. 2-3.
[13] “60th Anniversary United States Army in Puerto Rico,” The Sentinel. U.S. Army Forces Antilles and MDPR, 12 December 1958, p. 4-B, Puerto Rican National Guard Museum, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
[14] Jose Angel Norat, Guardia Nacional de Puerto Rico Historia y Tradiciones. Cinco Centurias en Guardia (San Juan, Puerto Rico: Puerto Rican National Guard, 1987), p. 135.
[15] Participation of Puerto Ricans in the Armed Services, Section I, p. 4
[16] Jose Norat Martinez, Historia del Regimento 65 de Infanteria (San Juan, Puerto Rico: 1992), p. 55.
[17] “Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Carlos Betances-Ramierz, An Autobiography, July 27, 2000,” p. 5. Copy in the possession of the author. The purpose of the experiments was to assess the number of casualties that could be expected in the event of Japanese use of mustard gas against U.S. Army troops. Several men were burned, including Betances-Ramirez, while in the attack of a fortified position in the jungle. One man was hospitalized. The volunteers tested several types of impregnated clothing as well as boots and hoods for a month on San Jose Island in Panama.
[18] Participation of Puerto Ricans in the Armed Services, Section I, p. 2.
[19] Ibid. Enclosure 2, p. 4.
[20] See Antilles Department Historical Studies. Section VI. The Puerto Rican Induction Program and The Use of Puerto Rican Troops (Fort Brooke, Puerto Rico: Historical Division Adjutant General’s Office, U.S. Army Forces Antilles, April 1948); John Drake Bristor, The Utilization of Citizens of US Territories and Possessions in the Armed Forces, Thesis, Armed Forces Staff College, 3 June 1949. US Army Military History Institute.
Post War Period
[21] The 504th Field Artillery Battalion, 531st Engineer Company, and 18th Mechanized Cavalry Squadron were Puerto Rican formations.
[22] Bristor, The Utilization of Citizens of US Territories and Possessions in the Armed Forces , p. 48.
[23] Headquarters, United States Armed Forces Antilles Command, Letter ANTAG 312, 15 October 1952; Letter, Brigadier General Edwin L. Sibert, Commanding General Antilles Command to Commander, 65th Infantry Regiment, 17 May 1950.
[24] STM-30, Strength of the Army (Department of the Army 1 October 1950).
The Korean War : 1950
[25] Participation of Puerto Ricans in the Armed Services, Section II, p. 6.
[26] Ibid.
[27] An infantry regiment was authorized 157 officers, 26 warrant officers and 3,614 men at the time.
[28] Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Carl H. Griffin, 65th Infantry Regiment, Third Infantry Division, Korean War Survey, US Army Military History Institute, Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania; Combat Leadership in Korea: Brigadier General (Retired) William W. Harris Interview with Clay Blair, undated, US Army Military History Institute.
[29] Brigadier General (Retired) William W. Harris, Puerto Rico’s Fighting 65th U.S. Infantry. From San Juan to Chorwan (San Rafael, California: Presideo Press, 1980), p. 43.
[30] Combat Leadership in Korea: Brigadier General (Retired) William W. Harris Interview with Clay Blair, US Army Military History Institute.
[31] Ibid. Harris was West Point class of 1930.
[32] The division, which would have had a strength of 18,000 personnel and would have consisted of the 65th Infantry Regiment and the two National Guard Regiments, the 295th and 296th. See “Letter from Luis MuÔoz Marin, Office of the Governor, La Fortaleza, San Juan, Puerto Rico to the Honorable Oscar L. Chapman, Secretary of the Interior, Washington D.C., July 18, 1950,” Office of the Governor, Record Group 96-20, Box 1444, Court Martial Cases of Puerto Rican Soldiers, General Archives of Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico. See also “A Joint Resolution of the Insular Legislature Puerto Rico ____1950,” undated, in the same packet.
[33] Colonel William W. Culp, Training and Future Utilization of Insular Puerto Rican Military Manpower in the US Army, p. 22, Individual Study, US Army War College, 12 March 1953, US Army Military History Institute, Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania.
[34] Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Carl H. Griffin, 65th Infantry Regiment, Third Infantry Division, Korean War Survey, US Army Military History Institute.
[35] Command Report, 2nd Infantry Division, September 1950, Record Group 407, Box 2450, NARA, Washington D.C.: Command Report, 3rd Infantry Division, November 1950, Record Group 407, Box 2880, NARA.
[36] Command Report, IX Corps, September-October 1950, Record Group 407, Box 1760, NARA; Command Report, 2nd Infantry Division, September 1950, Record Group 407, Box 429, NARA; Command Report, 3rd Infantry Division, November 1950, Record Group 407, Box 2880, NARA.
[37] Command Reports, IX Corps, September-October 1950, Record Group 407, Boxes 1760-1761, NARA; Command Report, 2nd Infantry Division, October 1950, Record Group 407, Box 2450, NARA; Command Report, 3rd Infantry Division, November 1950, Record Group 407, Box 2880, NARA; Command Report, 65th Infantry Regiment, November 1950, Record Group 407, Box 2886, NARA.
[38] General Douglas MacArthur, Commander in Chief United Nations Command, Tokyo, Japan to Headquarters US Army Forces Antilles and Military District of Puerto Rico, Fort Brooke, Puerto Rico, undated, Record Group 96-20 Office of the Governor of Puerto Rico, Box 1444 Court Martial Cases of Puerto Rican Soldiers, General Archives of Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
[39] Command Reports, X Corps, November –December 1950, Record Group 407, Boxes 1977, 1983, NARA; Command Report, 3rd infantry Division, December 1950, Record Group 407, Box 2881, NARA; Command Reports, 65th Infantry Regiment, December 1950, January 1951, Record Group 407, Box 2888, 2960 NARA. This includes 36 KIA, 86 WIA, 17 MIA and 212 non-battle casualties..
The Korean War : 1951
[40] On the morning of January 29th, the 65th was counterattacked by an estimated 800 enemy. The attack was repulsed and the regiment suffered 34 casualties. On January 31 the regiment launched a concerted attack against enemy fortified positions north of Pojong-ni. See Command Report, 65th Infantry Regiment, January 1950, Record Group 407, Box 2960, NARA..
[41] General Douglas MacArthur, General Headquarters, Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers, Office of the Supreme Commande, Tokyo, Japan r to Mr. Eugene Wright, Puerto Rico News Service, San Juan, Puerto Rico, 12 February 1951, Record Group 96-20 Office of the Governor, File 005.21 T, Box 1444 Court Martial Cases of Puerto Rican Soldiers, General Archives of Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
[42] Captain Max W. Dolcater, 3rd Infantry Division in Korea (Tokyo: Toppan Printing Company, 1953), p. 159.
[43] Ibid, p. 170.
[44] Participation of Puerto Ricans in the Armed Services, Section II, p. 9; Command Reports, 65th Infantry Regiment, January – December 1951, Record Group 407, Boxes 2960-2969, NARA.
[45] “Staff Briefing Minutes, 2000 Hours 18 September 1951,” Command Report, 3rd Infantry Division, September 1951, Record Group 407, Box 2917, NARA.
[46] Dolcater, 3rd Infantry Division in Korea, p. 253; 65th Infantry Flamethrowers Drive Chinese from Hill,” Army Times Veterans Edition, 10 November 1951, p. 11.
[47] Command Report, 65th Infantry Regiment, December 1951, Record Group 407, Box 3043, NARA.
[48] Dolcater, 3rd Infantry Division in Korea, pp. 159, 169, 253, 378, 387-389.
[49] LTC (Retired) Carl H. Griffin, Korean War Survey, US Army Military History Institute. Griffin’s conversation with Mead took place in February 1951; “Letter from Colonel Childs to Clay Blair, November 12, 1984,” The Clay and Joan Blair Collection – The Forgotten War, Box 44, Infantry Units, 3rd Division, 7th Division, 65th Infantry Folder, Military History Institute.
[50] Captain Manuel Fernandez-Duran, MD, 65th Infantry Regiment, Third Infantry Division, Korean War Survey, US Army Military History Institute.
The Korean War : 1952
[51] “65th Infantry Regiment General Orders 1950-1951,” Record Group 338, Box 355, NARA; Register of Graduates and Former Cadets 1802-1980 (New York: Association of Graduates, United States Military Academy, 1980).
[52] Both Gibson and Lindsey had served in the 9th Infantry Division in 1941 as infantry regiment Service Company commanders. See Historical and Pictorial Review of the Ninth Division United States Army Fort Bragg, North Carolina 1941 (Army and Navy Publishing Company 1942), Volume I, 39th Infantry, p. 70;Volume II, 47th Infantry, p. 67.
[53] “Cordero, Juan C,” Official National Guard Register (Army) 1951 (Washington D.C.: National Guard Bureau, 1951), p. 212: Norat, “General de Division Juan Cesar Cordero Davila (1958 – 1965),” Guardia Nacional de Puerto Rico, pp. 476-479; Letter from Colonel Juan Cesar Cordero to Commanding General, US Army Forces Antilles, Fort Brooke, Puerto Rico, 20 November 1951,File 30, Box 77, James A. Van Fleet Papers, George C. Marshall Library, Lexington, Virginia.
[54] Letter from General J. Lawton Collins to General Matthew B. Ridgway, 4 January 1952, File 30, Box 77, James A. Van Fleet Papers.
[55] Letter from General J. Lawton Collins to General Matthew B. Ridgway, 4 January 1952; Correspondence, General M. B. Ridgway to General J. L. Collins, 14 January 1952; Correspondence, General M. B. Ridgway to General James A. Van Fleet, 14 January 1952, File 30, Box 77, James A. Van Fleet Papers.
[56] Letter from Lieutenant General John W. O’Daniel to General James A. Van Fleet, 17 January 1952, File 17, Box 17, James A. Van Fleet Papers. Enclosed were copies of the letters from Generals Collins and Ridgeway regarding Colonel Cordero-Davila. This appears to have been a cover to accommodate Collins and Ridgway while saving Lindsey’s career. Lindsey’s career, however, appears to have never recovered from his administrative relief as commander of the 65th.
The Battle for Outpost Kelly ( September 1952)
[57] “Autumn Operations (September-October 1952),” The History of the United Nations Forces in the Korean War (Seoul: The Ministry of Defense, The Republic of Korea, 1976), Volume V. The United States Forces in the Korea War July 1951 to July 1953, pp. 359-361.
[58] Letter “Outpost Kelly,” Colonel (Retired) Duquesne A. Wolf to Lieutenant Colonel Gilberto Villahermosa, US Army Center of Military History, 7 July 2000.
[59] Correspondence, Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Carlos Betances-Ramirez to Lieutenant Colonel Gilberto Villahermosa, July 4, 2000. Copy in author’s possession.
[60] Casualties included 4 KIA, 20 WIA and 58 MIA. See “S-2 Journal, 19 September 1952, 1545 hours, Entry 501,” Command Report, 65th Infantry Regiment, September 1952.
[61] Casualties included 1 KIA, 12 WIA and 20 MIA. See “2nd Battalion S-3 Journal, 20 September 1952,” Command Report, 65th Infantry Regiment, September 1952.
[62] “Unit Report No. 709, 201800 to 211800 September 1952,” Command Report, 65th Infantry Regiment, September 1952.
[63] “Reorganization of the 3rd Infantry Division, Headquarters 3rd Infantry Division, 8 November 1952,” Command Report, 3rd Infantry Division, October 1952, Record Group 407, Box 2997, NARA.
[64] “Unit Report No 712, 231800 to 241800 September 1952,” Command Report, 65th Infantry Regiment, September 1952.
[65] Command Report, 65th Infantry Regiment, September 1952.
[66] “Letter from Lieutenant General Paul W. Kendall to General James Van Fleet, Headquarters, I Corps, 18 September 1952,” File 38, Box 87, James Van Fleet Papers.
[67] “Message 291300Z September 1952 from General Van Fleet to General Mark W. Clark, Record Group 500 Eighth Army Adjutant General Section Security Classified Correspondence 1952, Box 832, File 335.18, NARA.
[68] “Correspondence, Lieutenant General Paul W. Kendall to General James Van Fleet, Headquarters I Corps, 30 September 1952,” File 9, Box 87, James Van Fleet Papers.
[69] “Message 301405Z September 1952, Lieutenant General James Van Fleet to General Mark W. Clark,” Record Group 500, Box 832.
[70] Cordero was not the only regimental commander relieved in 1952. In June Colonel Frank R. Maerdian had been relieved from command of the 160th Infantry Regiment for exhibiting a lack of forcefulness and initiative and failing to promptly and aggressively pursue courses of action directed by the commander of the 40th Infantry Division. See “Memorandum, Commanding General 40th Infantry Division to Commanding General IX Corps, Subject: Reassignment of Regimental Commander, 15 June 1952, Record Group 407, Box 4157, NARA.
The Battle for Jackson Heights (October 1952)
[71] “Brigadier General Chester Braddock DeGavre,” Department of the Defense Office of Public Information News Branch, 14 August 1958, U.S. Army Center of Military History. See also Official Army Register 1952 (Department of the Army, 1952). During World War II DeGavre served as the Chief of Staff of the 1st Airborne Task Force and participated in the campaigns of Rome-Arno and Southern France. After the war he had served in the Department of the Army G-4, followed by an assignment as the assistant G-1 of X Corps in Korea.
[72] Command Report, 3rd Infantry Division, October 1952, Record Group 407, Entry 429, Box 2997, NARA.
[73] “2nd Battalion Staff Journal, 7 – 8 October 1952,“ “Unit Reports 728, 731-739, 101800 to 211800 October,” Command Report, 65th Infantry Regiment, October 1952, Record Group 407, Box 3049, NARA; Major George D. Jackson, “The Battle for Jackson Heights, Sworn Statement,” 16 February 1960, p. 3.
[74] Combat Leadership in Korea: Brigadier General (Retired) Chester B. DeGavre Interview with Clay Blair, US Army Military History Institute.
[75] Lieutenant Colonel Carlos Betances-Ramirez, “Analysis and Comments on the Third Division’s Staff Study dated 8 November 1952,” 12 September 1998, p. 9. Copy in the author’s possession; Major Silvestre E. Ortiz, Letter to Mr. Eliseo Combas-Guerra, 30 October 1952. Copy in author’s possession; Major George D. Jackson, “The Battle for Jackson Heights, Sworn Statement,” 16 February 1960, p. 3.
[76] The History of the United Nations Forces in the Korean War (Seoul, South Korea: The Ministry of National Defense of the Republic of Korea, 1 December 1972), Volume I, p. 244.
[77] FM 7-40 Infantry Regiment, p. 234.
[78] According to Walter Hermes, Stars and Stripes named the hill after Captain Jackson. See Walter Hermes, Truce Tent and Fighting Front (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Army Center of Military History, 1966), p. 307. Today Jackson Heights is located just north of the Military Demarcation Line.
[79] Major George D. Jackson, “The Battle for Jackson Heights, Sworn Statement,” 16 February 1960. Copy in possession of the author.
[80] The enemy had 16 battalions of artillery, totaling 162 guns, positioned opposite the 3rd Infantry Division. See Command Report, 3rd Infantry Division, October 1952, Record Group 407, Box 2997, NARA.
[81] Major George D. Jackson, “The Battle for Jackson Heights, Sworn Statement.” According to Jackson, some of the US casualties, especially among the Mortar Platoon, may have been the result of US artillery fire.
[82] “2nd Batalion Staff Journal, 27 October 1952, 2115 hours, Entry No. 43,” Command Report, 65th Infantry Regiment, October 1952. Casualties included 3 KIA and 11 WIA.
[83] Major George D. Jackson, “The Battle for Jackson Heights, Sworn Statement.” Jackson comments that this was at the height of the ammunition shortage in Korea.
[84] “2nd Battalion Staff Journal, 28 October 1952, 0100 hours, Entry No. 3,” Command Report, 65th Infantry Regiment, October 1952. The company returned top the main defensive line with 70 personnel. See also Major George D. Jackson, “The Battle for Jackson Heights, Sworn Statement.”
[85] Lieutenant Carlos Betances-Ramirez to Colonel Lopez-Duprey, 4 November 1952. Copy in the author’s possession. Colonel Lopez-Duprey was the Deputy Commander of the Puerto Rican National Guard during the Korean War. Betances’ account was written shortly after Jackson Heights; “Interview with Colonel (Retired) Willis D. Cronkhite, October 17, 1996,” p. 5. This interview was done by Cronkhite’s son. Copy in the author’s posssession. Cronkhite, the Company F commander, remembers Betances-Ramirez telling him his company would return to the main defensive line after the attack while Company A, commander by 1st Lieutenant John Porterfield, would remain on the position.
[86] “2nd Battalion Staff Journal, 28 October 1952, 0955 hours, Entry No. 32,” Command Report, 65th Infantry Regiment, October 1952.
[87] “S2/S3 Journal, 28 October 1952, 1115 hours,” Command Report, 65th Infantry Regiment, October 1952. Company A reported 5 KIA and 6 WIA. Company B reported 1 KIA and 5 WIA. In addition to the 10 KIA and 12 WIA inflicted on the enemy by the two companies, US artillery and mortar fire inflicted another estimated 10 KIA and 25 WIA.
[88] Colonel (Retired) Gerald A. Wilcomb, Korean War Memoirs, January 9, 1997, p. 7. Copy in author’s possession. Wilcomb was the Company F Field Artillery forward observer. According to his statement, the men began to leave the position under the guise of assisting the wounded almost as soon as the position was taken.
[89] “I noticed troops now going down the hill in small groups and some singly,” remembers Colonel Wilcomb. “I could see some strung out in the valley below heading south.” See Colonel (Retired) Gerald A. Wilcomb, Korean War Memoirs, p. 8.
[90] “Informal Discussion Between Colonel DeGavre and Captain Jackson on Jackson Heights,” Command Report, 65th Infantry Regiment, October 1952.
[91] Command Report, 65th Infantry Regiment, October 1952.
[92] “Unit Reports No. 743-748, 241800 to 301800 October 1952,” Command Report, 65th Infantry Regiment, October 1952.
[93] “Unit Reports, 747-749, 281800 to 311800 October 1952,” Command Report, 65th Infantry Regiment, October 1952. Of those in the division stockade, 12 were from Company A, 76 were from Company C and 32 were from Company F.
[94] Command Report, 3rd Infantry Division, November 1952, Record Group 407, Box 2997, NARA.
The Reasons for Failure
[95] Army Field Forces Combat Observer Team No. 7, Far Eastern Command, October – November 1952, Infantry, Record Group 337 Army Field Forces Combat Arms Advisory Group, Box 88, NARA.
[96] See, for example, “Letter from Major General John W. O’Daniel, Office of the Commanding General, Headquarters I Corps to Lieutenant General James A. Van Fleet, Commanding General, Eighth Army, 29 July 1951,” File 7, Box 71, James A. Van Fleet Papers. For Van Fleet’s response, see “Letter from General James A. Van Fleet, Commanding General Eighth Army, to Major General John W. O’Daniel, Commanding General, I Corps, 2 August 1951,” File 7, Box 71, James A. Van Fleet Papers. “To over burden troops with too much extra armament in this difficult terrain will result either in the loss of mobility or the loss of the weapons if the position is overrun,” wrote Van Fleet. “At the present time we do not have sufficient quantities of weapons to permit any appreciable augmentation without jeopardizing our ability to make normal routine replacement.”
[97] “Actual Strength as of 1800 1 September 1952,” Command Report, 3rd Infantry Division, September 1952, Record Group 407, Box 2995 , NARA. In comparison, the 7th Infantry Regiment had 130 officers on hand and the 15th Infantry Regiment had 143.
[98] Ibid.
[99] Command Report, 65th Infantry Regiment, October 1952. Again, the bulk were from the rifle and weapons companies.
[100] Interview with General Van Fleet, U.S. News and World Report, vol. XXXII, No. 13 (March 28, 1952). Cited in Hermes, Truce Tent and Fighting Front, p. 186.
[101] Hermes, Truce Tent and Fighting Front, p. 187.
[102] Ibid, pp. 186-187, 199.
[103] Command Reports for the infantry regiments, January – December 1952, Record Group 407, NARA.
[104] General J. Lawton Collins to General Mark W. Clark, 20 August 1952, File 29, Box 84, James A. Van Fleet Papers.
[105] See “Comments on ‘Truce Tent and Fighting Front” OCMH, 1966,” from Major General (Retired) Haydon L. Boatner to Adjutant General, Department of the Army, 31 January 1967. Boatner, who served in Korea from 1951-1952 with the 2nd Infantry Division and then at Koje-Do during the riots by Communist Chinese and North Korean prisoner, contends in an enclosure “Bloody and Heart Break Ridges” that the rotation policy in Korea increased casualties in infantry units in Korea.
[106] Command Reports, 65th Infantry Regiment, January – December 1952, Record Group 407, Boxes 3043-3050, NARA.
[107] Luis Muñoz Marin, Governor, La Fortaleza, San Juan Puerto Rico to the Honorable Oscar L. Chapman, Secretary of the Interior, Washington D.C., 9 April 1951, Record Group 96-20 Office of the Governor, File 005.21 T, Box 1444 Court Martial Cases of Puerto Rican Soldiers, General Archives of Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico. The 296th Infantry Regiment of the Puerto Rican National Guard would have replaced the 65th. It was Federalized on 11 August 1950. See Nurat, Guardia Nacional de Puerto Rico, p. 110. Puerto Rico also had available a second National Guard Regiment available, the 295th, although it was not Federalized for Korea. See “Letter from Mason Barr, Chief Caribbean Division, United States Department of Interior, Office of the Territories to the Honorable Luis Muñoz Marin, Governor of Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico, November 29, 1950,” Office of the Governor, Record Group 96-20, Box 1444 Court Martial Cases of Puerto Rican Soldiers, General Archives of Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
[108] See, for example, Lessons from Korea (Fort Benning, Georgia: The Infantry School, 1954). According to the report, commanders in Korea affirmed the soundness of Army tactical doctrine but admitted to many deficiencies in applying it. “The faulty techniques in using the doctrine,” notes the report, “ can be laid to an imperfect understanding of its intent.”
[109] “Army Field Forces Combat Observer Team No. 7, Far Eastern Command,” October – November 1952.
[110] General J. Lawton Collins to General James A. Van Fleet, 4 November 1952, File 18, Box 68, James A. Van Fleet Papers. Collins comments were based on conversations with senior officers returning from Korea as well as Army Field Forces Observer Team reports; “Lessons Learned on Hill 598,” Command Report, 31st Infantry Regiment, Record Group 407, Box 3346, NARA. According to the report: “It is not tactically sound to attack on a small sector of the enemy fortified defensive line without exerting pressure in adjacent areas of the front. The enemy was able to concentrate all his fire power and available resources in the Hill 598 and SNIPER’S RIDGE area.”; General J. Lawton Collins, “Don’t Forget the Fundamentals,” Infantry School Quarterly, January 1953, pp. 10-11.
[111] Letter from Major General A. J. H. Cassels, Commander 1st Commonwealth Division to General James A. Van Fleet, Commanding General Eighth Army, 8 July 1952, File 7, Box 68, James A Van Fleet Papers. “I would like to refer to your order,” writes General Cassels, “in which you instructed all divisions to capture a prisoner every three days and in which you authorized divisions to use up to battalion raids to achive this.”
[112] 1st Commonwealth Division Periodic Report, 15 October 1951 – 15 February 1952. AD 314//11/3, New Zealand Archives. Cited in Jeffrey Grey, The Commonwealth armies and the Korean War. (Manchester: Manchester University 1988), p. 139.
[113] “Memorandum by Maj Gen Cassesl, GOC 1 COMWEL DIV on subject of CAPTURE OF ENEMY PW, undated, attached to letter to General Van Fleet dated 8 July 1952.
[114] Command Report, 31st Infantry Regiment, January 1953, Record Group 407, Box 3390, NARA. The 31st suffered 164 casualties, including 13 KIA, 143 WIA and 8 MIA, during the month of January conducting raids and combat patrols with the sole mission of capturing a single enemy prisoner. Of these 113 casualties, including 7 KIA, 101 WIA and 5 MIA, were suffered conducting raids. The regimental commander wrote: “These actions to capture prisoners resulted in no prisoners captured by us and gave the enemy eight (8) MIA’s, half of whom may be presumed to be WIA and captured.”
[115] “Message from CG AFFE Adv to DEPTAR, EX 40441, 100310Z April 1953,” Army Field Forces Central Files 1953, Record Group 338, Box 27, NARA.
[116] FM 7-40 The Infantry Regiment (Washington D.C.: Department of the Army, January 1950), pp. 253, 256.
[117] Ibid.p. 257. Doctrine called for an outpost line 800 to 2,000 yards forward of the main line of resistance.
[118] “Letter from Colonel Carlos Betances-Ramirez to Rene Colonel Lopez-Duprey, 4 November 1952”; Norat, Guardia Nacional de Puerto Rico, p. 597. In 3rd Infantry Division this authority was taken away from the commander on the spot after Outpost Kelly and delegated to the division commander.
[119] Major Robert A. Doughty, “The Evolution of US Army Tactical Doctrine, 1946-1976,” Leavenworth Papers, No. 1, August 1979, p. 11.
[120] Command Reports, 65th Infantry Regiment, September-October 1952.
[121] Command Reports, 65th Infantry Regiment, January – December 1952.
[122] The average infantry regiment in Korea suffered 804 battle casualties a month. See regimental command reports, January – December 1952, Record Group 407, NARA..
[123] Conrad Crane, American Airpower Strategy in Korea 1950-1953 (University Press of Kansas, 2000), pp. 128-129.
[124] Ibid.
[125] Hermes, Truce Tent and Fighting Front, pp. 224-230; “The Ammunition Shortage,” The Sinews of War: Army Logistics 1775-1953 (Washington D.C.: US Army Center of Military History, 1966), pp. 630-634; “Ammunition Problem,” The History of the United Nations Forces in the Korean War, (The Republic of Korea: The Ministry of National Defense, 1976), pp. 293-297.
[126] Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Carlos Betances-Ramirez to Lieutenant Colonel Gilberto Villahermosa, US Army Center of Military History, June 30 2000. Copy in author’s possession. Betances-Ramirez goes on to note that even rifle ammunition was short at one time, an assertion supported by other Korean War veterans in their Korean War Surveys.
[127] Command Report Eighth Army, May 1953, pp. 55-56. Cited in Hermes, p. 509f.
[128] “The Fighting, Waiting Eighth Army,” Time, December 22, 1952, p. 21.
[129] General James A. Van Fleet to Lieutenant General Willis D. Crittenberger, 28 September 1952, File 22, Box 86, James A. Van Fleet Papers.
[130] In a letter to Colonel Hugh H. Wilson, Dulaney was complimentary of the regiment and Colonel Cordero. Wilson provided a copy to the Governor of Puerto Rico. See “Letter from Luis Muñoz Marin, Office of the Governor, La Fortaleza, San Juan, Puerto Rico to Colonel Hugh M. Wilson, Caribe Motors Corporation, San Juan, Puerto Rico, September 22, 1952,” Record Group 96-20 Office of the Governor, Box 534 Letters of the Governor, Puerto Rico General Archives, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
[131] General James A. Van Fleet to Lieutenant General John W. O’Daniel, 20 October 1952, File 7, Box 71, James A. Van Fleet Papers.
[132] Lieutenant General John W. O’Daniel to General James A. Van Fleet, 17 November 1952, File 7, Box 71, James A. Van Fleet Papers.
[133] Lieutenant Colonel Carlos Betances-Ramirez, “Analysis and Comments on the Third Division’s Staff Study dated 8 November 1952,” 12 September 1998, p. 9. Copy in the author’s possession. Major Silvestre E. Ortiz, Letter to Mr. Eliseo Combas-Guerra, 30 October 1952. Copy in author’s possession; Major George D. Jackson, “The Battle for Jackson Heights, Sworn Statement,” 16 February 1960, p. 3; Lieutenant Colonel Carlose Betances-Ramirez to Lieutenant Colonel Gilberto Villahermosa, US Army Center of Military History, June 30, 2000.
[134] Lieutenant General Paul W. Kendall to General James A. Van Fleet, 18 September 1952, File 38, Box 87, James A. Van Fleet Papers.
[135] Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Carlos Betances-Ramirez to Lieutenant Colonel Gilberto Villahermosa, US Army Center of Military History, June 30, 2000.
[136] Major George D. Jackson, “The Battle for Jackson Heights, Sworn Statement.”
[137] Of the personnel convicted, 28 (including one officer) were from the 1st Battalion, 27 were from the 2nd Battalion and 37 were from the 3rd Battalion. The remainder were acquited.
[138] “General Denies G.I.’s Showed Cowardice,” New York Times, January 30, 1953, p. 2.
[139] Ibid.
[140] Command Report, 3rd Infantry Division, September 1952.
[141] See “15th Infantry Regiment, Regimental S-2/S-3 Staff Journal, 1055 hours, 6 November 1952,” Command Report, 3rd Infantry Division, November 1952, Record Group 407, Box 3001, NARA; Command Report, 3rd Infantry Division, November 1952, Record Group 407, Box 3001, NARA.
[142] Letter from General James A. Van Fleet to Major General Thomas J. Cross, 31 December 1952, Box 68, File 26, James A. Van Fleet Papers.
[143] Letter from General James A. Van Fleet to Lieutenant General John W. O’Daniel, 20 October 1952; Letter from Lieutenant General John W. O’Daniel to General James A. Van Fleet, 17 November 1952, File 17, Box 71, James A. Van Fleet Papers; “O’Daniel, John Wilson, Lt. Gen.” Generals of the Army, April 1953, p. 21.
[144] Dolcater, Editor, 3d Infantry Division in Korea, pp. 373-394.
[145] “New Policy for Puerto Rican Troops,” Army Navy Air Force Journal, 20 October 1951, p. 232.
[146] “Recommendations,” Command Report, 65th Infantry Regiment, September 1951, Record Group 407, Box 2967, NARA. The then-Regimental Commander, Colonel Erwin O. Gibson, wrote: “It is recommended that more experienced Puerto Rican Non-Commissioned Officers be assigned to the 65th Infantry Regiment. This [unit] is limited to Puerto Rican enlisted personnel and although enlisted replacements have been fairly adequate, there have been practically no NCO replacements. This has placed a terrific strain on this regiment in attempting to maintain a proper or even minimum level of experienced NCOs.”
[147] “Recommendations,” Command Report, 65th Infantry Regiment, September 1952, Record Group 407, Box 3049, NARA.
[148] Ibid.
[149] “Recommendations,” Command Report, 65th Infantry Regiment, January 1953, Record Group 407, Box 3079, NARA. “It is recommended, as it had been for the past several months, that the maximum effort be made to increase the number of effective NCOs in the regiment,” wrote the regimental commander. “In preparation of defensive positions including digging, constructing bunkers, policing and installing wire, the absence of the effective NCO was the greatest handicap.”
[150] Hermes, Truce Tent and Fighting Front, p. 303.
[151] Warren Franklyn, “Puerto Ricans Vow Changing Hill’s Name,” United Press, September 28, 1952.
[152] Command Report, 3rd Infantry Division, September 1952, Record Group 407, Box 2995, NARA.
[153] Letter from Colonel (Retired) Walter B. Clark to Lieutenant Colonel Gilberto Villahermosa, 17 June 2000. Copy in the author’s possession. Clark, a 1951 graduate of the Citadel, arrived in Korea in February 1952, shortly after Cordero took command.
[154] Ibid.
[155] 1st Lieutenant George Bjotvedt, 1st Battalion, 65th Infantry Regiment, Third Infantry Division, Korean War Survey, US Army Military History Institute; Major George D. Jackson, “Manpower in the 65th Infantry Regiment, 16 February 1960”; Correspondence, Colonel (Retired) George D. Jackson to Lieutenant Colonel Gilberto Villahermosa, US Army Center of Military History, 3 June 2000.
[156] Brigadier General (Retired) Chester B. DeGavre, Interview with Clay Blair, undated, US Army Military History Institute, Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania. DeGavre’s assessment of Cordero as a “Political” commander is supported by other officers in the regiment.
[157] Major George D. Jackson, “The Battle for Jackson Heights, Sworn Statement.”
[158] A Study of the Employment and Effectiveness of the Artillery with the Eighth Army During the Period October 1952 – July 1953, p. 40, January 1954, Record Group 338, Records of the Headquarters, United States Army, Pacific Military Office, Box 99, NARA.
[159] Charles R. Shrader, Communist Logistics in the Korean War (Greenwood Press, 1995), p. 196. This study is based primarily on declassified documentation of NKPA and CCF logistical activities assembled by UNC intelligence agencies during the immediately following combat operations in Korea 1950-1953.
[160] Ibid. p. 197.
[161] Ibid.
[162] A Study of the Employment and Effectiveness of the Artillery With the Eighth Army, p. 39.
[163] Ibid, p. 40.
Aftermath : Courtmartial and Reconstitution
[164] Correspondence from Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Betances-Ramirez to Lieutenant Colonel Gilberto Villahermosa, US Army Center of Military History, July 24, 2000. Copy in possession of the author.
[165] “United States vs. First Lieutenant Juan E. Guzman,” Headquarters 3rd Infantry Division, 23 November 1952,” Court Martial 359333, National Records Center, Suitland, Maryland.
[166] Correspondence from Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Betances-Ramirez to Lieutenant Colonel Gilberto Villahermosa, US Army Center of Military History, July 24, 2000.
[167] ”Daily Journal, Staff Judge Advocate, 7 December 1952,” Command Report, 3rd Infantry Division, December 1952, Record Group 407, Box 3004, NARA.
[168] “Daily Journal, Staff Judge Advocate, 10 December 1952,” Command Report, 3rd Infantry Division, December 1952, Record Group 407, Box 3004, NARA.
[169] “Daily Journal, Staff Judge Advocate, 15 December 1952,” Command Report, 3rd Infantry Division, December 1952, Record Group 407, Box 3004 , NARA.
[170] “Daily Journal, Staff Judge Advocate, 26 December 1952, Command Report, 3rd Infantry Division, December 1952, Record Group 407, Box 3004, NARA.
[171] See, for example, Lindesay Parrott, “88 U.S. Soldiers Convicted of Quitting Battle in Korea,” New York Times, January 25, 1953, p. 1. According to the article, Army sources announced that one officer and eighty-seven men of the 65th Infantry Regiment had been court-martialed and sentenced from six months to ten years in prision. According to that story, only one man received the “extreme” sentence of ten years. On 26 January 1953 the 3rd Infantry Division noted that 92 – not 88 – men had been court-martialed. “The convicted men have been given six months to ten years in prison, and in most cases, dishonorable discharges.” See “Korea Trial Involves 92,” New York Times, January 26, 1953, p. 2. See also “Army Tells Story of Troops Who Ran,” New York Times, January 28, 1953, p. 2.
[172] See, for example, “Puerto Rican Press Asks Army Inquiry,” New York Times, 27 January 1953, p. 3; “Special to the New York Times,” New York Times, January 28, 1953, p. 2.
[173] US Congress, House of Representatives, Committee on Armed Services, 82nd Congress, “Operation Smack,” February 3, 1953, p. 43.
[174] Ibid, p. 44.
[175] “No Sabian ingles soldados boricuas sometidos a Corte,” El Mundo, July 14, 1953.
[176] Letter from Major General George W. Smyth, Commanding General, Headquarters 3rd Infantry Division to Commanding General IX US Corps, 8 November 1952,” File 9, Box 87, James A. Van Fleet Papers.
[177] John S. D. Eisenhower, Strictly Personal (New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc.: 1974), p, 148.
[178] Ibid.
[179] “Reorganization of the 3rd Infantry Division,” Command Report, 3rd Infantry Division, November 1952.
[180] Letter from Lieutenant General, Commanding General, IX Corps to Commanding General Eighth Army, 10 November 1952, File 9, Box 87, James A. Van Fleet Papers.
[181] Ibid.
[182] Letter from General James A. Van Fleet, Commanding, Eighth United States Army, 14 November 1952 to Department of the Army,” File 9, Box 87, James A. Van Fleet Papers.
[183] Ibid.
[184] Ibid.
[185] Command Report, 65th Infantry Regiment, February 1953, Record Group 407, Box 3080, NARA: Command Report, 65th Infantry Regiment, March 1953, Record Group 407, Box 3081, NARA. The ratio of exchange is approximately 2 Puerto Ricans to 1 Continental soldier with the exception of XVI Corps which receives 369 Puerto Rican personnel and reassigns none of its personnel to the regiment.
[186] Captain Edward C. Williamson, Captain Pierce W. Briscow, 1st Lieutenant John Newha, 1st Lieutenant Martin Blumenson, Bloody Ridge, August-September 1951, 2nd Division (Military History Section, Eighth United States Forces Army Korea (EUSAK), United States Army Forces Far East, undated), US Army Center of Military History, Ft. McNair, Washington D.C.
[187] Command Report, 2nd Infantry Division, July. Command Report, 2nd Infantry Division, July 1952, Record Group 407, Box 2838, NARA. See also the Sworn Affadavit by Lieutenant Colonel Ralph D. Burns in the same file.
[188] Ibid.
[189] Command Report, 65th Infantry Regiment, May 1953, Record Group 407, Box 3081, NARA.
[190] Command Report, 65th Infantry Regiment, June 1953, Record Group 407, Box 3081, NARA.
[191] Ibid.
[192] Command Report, 65th Infantry Regiment, July 1953, Record Group 407, Box 3081, NARA.
[193] Ibid.
[194] Lieutenant Colonel Teodore Vidal, Military Aide to the Governor, “Participacion PuertorriqueÔo en La Segunda Guerra Mundial y en el Conflicto de Corea,” undated, Office of the Governor, Record Group 96-20, Box 1444, Court Martial Cases of Puerto Rican Soldiers, General Archives of Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico; Participation of Puerto Ricans in the Armed Services, p.
[195] Norat, Guardia Nacional de Puerto Rico Historia, p. 139.
[196] Author’s Notes, Lajas Veterans Association Meeting, 30 July 2000, Lajas, Puerto Rico.
