1953 - The Korean War, the Frozen Chosin, and HD

Following the end of World War II, the Korean Peninsula was divided at the 38th Parallel Latitude into two occupation zones, one administered by the Soviets and one administered by the US. By 1948, there were two distinct nations in Korea, both claiming sovereignty over the whole peninsula. In the North, Kim Il-sung (no relation) led the socialist regime. In the South, Syngman Rhee was in charge of the capitalist government.

The Korean War began on June 25, 1950 when the army of North Korea invaded South Korea. At that time, Hugh Sheffield had been in the US Navy, active duty for two years.

The North Korean army swept through South Korea and until the United Nations interceded (really it was the USA. 90% of the military was from the US), the war looked like it would end quickly and Kim Il-sung (no relation) would control the whole Korean Peninsula.

Even with US military intervention, we struggled in the small bit of land we controlled until Gen. Douglas MacArthur planned a successful campaign where he landed UN (90% US) forces at Inchon, far north of where the North Korean Army was fighting. That was a turning point of the war as the NK Army began withdrawing and the SK Army + the UN (US) began pursuing. 

By October, 1950, the SK Army, and the UN/US forces had reached the Chosin

Reservoir with little to no resistance from the NK Army. The Chosin Reservoir is just south of the Yalu River, the border with Communist China.

Seemingly out of nowhere in November of 1950 120,000 Chinese soldiers moved to surround the 30,000 UN forces. It was freezing cold (hence the nickname "Frozen Chosin), the Chinese were relentless in their attacks and it was determined that the UN forces needed to head to the coast for evacuation, which they did, through the Chinese army. 

What follows I learned in 2019, 69 years after the event. Granted, I was not alive at the time, but still, he waited 69 years to tell me?! Please! As Hugh told me about it, there was no drama, just a father telling his son a story. I was incredulous, having read the history of the Frozen Chosin, to find out that my dad had played a part in rescuing those men, the Marines, specifically.

It is at this point that Hugh Sheffield enters the picture. In Japan, where he happened to be in December of 1950, US Navy pilots were ordered onto 8 PBY amphibious aircraft to pick up as many US Marines as possible at a place called Hungnam. They ran missions back and forth from Japan and Hangnam until the Marines were all evacuated. Most were taken by ship, some went by PBY flown by Hugh and the other Navy pilots. They had to get the Marines out as quickly as they could because the Chinese Army was all around them. So Hugh Sheffield was a part of the fighting evacuation of the Marines from Chosin. Pretty cool.

Read up on the Chosin Reservoir and the fighting evacuation. Lots of books have been written about it. It's very famous and helped build the Marines mystique.