On Dec. 6, 1950, the 5th and 7th Marine regiments started their famed advance to the rear (Marines never retreat) from Chosin Reservoir in northeast Korea near the Chinese border to Hungnam, South Korea. They carried their dead and wounded in temperatures that hovered around 35 degrees below zero. The feat is celebrated in the Corps to this day, but it's an otherwise little known event in a widely ignored war.
Last week, Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James T. Conway dedicated a monument at Camp Pendleton in California to the Chosin Reservoir campaign, in which the Marines faced more than 100,000 Chinese troops and took more than 4,000 casualties.
Conway said while "Korea is often a forgotten war that many consider a police action, . . . we in the Marine Corps don't see it that way. We see it as a tremendous bright spot in our legacy."
If you want to learn more about this bit of Marine legacy, check out "The Chosin Few" documentary, which started to hit the movie theaters last week. It's directed by Brian Iglesias, a Marine Iraq combat veteran.
Semper Fidelis.
Bob Brewin
Bob Brewin joined Government Executive in April 2007, bringing with him more than 20 years of experience as a journalist focusing on defense issues and technology. Bob covers the world of defense and information technology for Nextgov, and is the author of the “What’s Brewin” blog.
JOIN THE DISCUSSION
By using this service you agree not to post material that is obscene, harassing, defamatory, or otherwise objectionable. Although Nextgov does not monitor comments posted to this site (and has no obligation to), it reserves the right to delete, edit, or move any material that it deems to be in violation of this rule.