Korea: Death of Task Force Drysdale

[2RHPZ]

Death of Task Force Drysdale

On a grim November night in 1950, the Chinese attacked and attacked -- until all that was left was a string of Americans and British enclaves, each group fighting on its own.

By Eric Hammel


The Royal Marines and George Company delivered a spirited attack with the aid of the tanks and close air support. The tanks seemed to account for several Chinese strongpoints. In time, however, Sanders lost radio contact with Drysdale and had to stop firing. When Sanders looked back to see how the convoy was faring, he was surprised to see that it had fallen far behind. Ahead, he could not even spot Baker/31, which had advanced out of range, beyond the tanks. Sanders queried headquarters and was ordered to proceed slowly up the MSR with the remainder of his company: an attached tank platoon would follow in this tracks. As soon as the major PLA strongpoint on the ridge overlooking the MSR just north of Koto-ri had been cleared, the Marines moved down the roadway and climbed aboard trucks, while 41 Commando deployed between the roadway and the skyline to screen the first elements of the long column of vehicles. It was a misty day and snow flurries whipped into the faces of the troops each time they dismounted from their vehicles to return fire. Marine Vought F4U-4 Corsairs were on station overhead, but the shifting mists and the closeness of the jumbled terrain forced many of the fighter-bombers to pull up before they could get close enough to their targets. Progress on the roadway was agonizingly slow. In the vanguard, Peckham maneuvered Baker/31 with great care. Behind, Captain Carl Sitter’s George Company maneuvered against numerous Chinese infantrymen who had been driven briefly to ground by Peckham’s company. As Baker/31’s vanguard inched forward in the column lead, Drysdale’s native aggressiveness, according to many survivors, got the better of his judgment. Peckham may have been concluding an exemplary advance against serious odds, but he was too methodical for Drysdale. It was well past noon and Peckham was directing the loading of the lead platoon’s trucks following the reduction of yet another roadside strongpoint when a tank surged past him. The next vehicle was a jeep bearing Drysdale, who yelled above the din, “Let’s move forward!” Peckham demurred—he had wounded men on his hands and would not advance until they had been seen safely away. Drysdale responded with a smiling “Tally Ho!” and took off, drawing 41 Commando, all the tanks and Captain Sitter’s George Company in his wake. It wasn’t long before the extensive column was slowed by a massive traffic jam, and many “soft” vehicles were easy pickings for PLA mortars on the heights. The convoy was soon fragmented by stalled vehicles and the smoking remains of burning trucks and jeeps. Many men were killed or wounded.

historynet.com (http://historynet.com/mh/bl-drysdale/)

[Tim Nice But Dim]

Great article. If I may add a related link…


41 Independent Commando RM, commanded by Lt. Col. D.B. Drysdale, was formed on 16th August 1950 at Bickleigh Camp. Initially the unit comprised three separate groups; volunteers from UK establishments who were flown out by BOAC to Japan in plain clothes; some volunteer sailors and marines from the British Pacific Fleet, these were already in training when the UK contingent arrived and formed a rifle section known as the Fleet Volunteers; and a reinforcement draft destined for 3 Commando Brigade, aboard the troopship Devonshire, which was diverted to Japan by air via the Philippines.

From – “41 Independent Commando R.M. Korea 1950-1952” (http://www.rt66.com/~korteng/SmallArms/41RMCpub.htm)

[KB]

Part of the USMC contingent of TF Drysdale, Col. Sitter passed away a few years ago. He had an interesting life.

Carl Leonard Sitter was born in Syracuse, Missouri in 1922. In his early years the family moved to Pueblo, Colorado to follow work. Carl's father was a steelworker, and found steady employment in Pueblo's steel mill. Carl grew up in the city that would one day be named the "Home Of Heroes" by the United States Congress, never suspecting that one day he would be part of the reason for that title. He was typical as a lad, an only child who learned the value of hard work and a good education. In his youth he delivered newspapers for the Pueblo Star Journal (now the Pueblo Chieftain). In his high school years he studied hard, graduating from Pueblo's Central High School in 1940. (Four years earlier Bill Crawford, who would receive the Medal of Honor during World War II had graduated from the same school.)

As a teen, Carl Sitter was tough...not mean...just a kid who developed a character as strong and hard as the steel his father smelted every day. By his own admission, he didn't think much about God, certainly not becoming a minister. In fact, it was the Marine Corps that challenged and beckoned the new graduate like a seductress. "It was," he said, "the first of my THREE careers." It was that career that took him to the "brink of Hell" and taught him the importance of God. Carl's grandfather was a Presbyterian minister, and Carl had grown up in church...only to drift away for a time.

As a young officer and leader of Marines in combat, the lessons of those early days in Church and the words of his grandfather began to take on a new importance. In the Pacific, Lieutenant Sitter found himself leading other young men into battle, their lives under his command. "That's when I started getting close to God," he recently said in an interview for his hometown newspaper. It was also when he learned the importance of protecting the heart, for it was the pistol covering his heart that saved his life at Guam. His faith...and his 45...enabled him to return home to build a life with his wife in Pueblo.

Six years later, Captain Carl Sitter returned to "Hell", only this time "hell froze over." On the frigid road to the Chosin Reservoir in North Korea, Captain Sitter faced the greatest challenges of his life to date. During his most trying hours, Carl Sitter remembered the importance of his personal faith. He also remembered the importance of protecting the heart. Throughout his entire tour of duty in Korea, Captain Carl Sitter always wore a 45 caliber pistol holstered over his left shoulder. It was no "John Wayne" gesture, it was the result of a lesson learned earlier at Guam when such a pistol had saved his life.

The battle at the Chosin Reservoir of North Korea in the days following Thanksgiving Day, 1950 was one of the most bitter and difficult trials in American history. Captain Sitter and his fellow Marines faced the coldest winter in a century, surrounded by a well supplied Chinese Communist force that outnumbered them more than 10 to 1. Through it all, Captain Sitter held his force of young Marines together and taught them to fight, and survive, with pride. During two of their darkest days, one young Marine observed the helplessness of the company's situation and ask, "What are we going to do?"

"What are you gonna do?" Captain Sitter growled. "You're gonna fight, damn it! You gotta fight or we aren't getting out of here. It get that simple."

Stephen Olmstead who would eventually rise to the rank of Lieutenant General, was a young private under Captain Sitter's command. "Carl Sitter was just one hell of an inspiration to us at a time when we were really in big trouble." he said during a recent interview. "His skills, his leadership and his inspiration are the reasons that a lot of us are still alive today." Two days of intense fighting on East Hill outside of Hagru-ri are cited in the citation for Carl Sitter's Medal of Honor. Those two days reflected only a portion of the week of hell Captain Sitter and his company survived. And when the job was done, Captain Sitter, wounded repeatedly, led his battered company back out of the Chosin Reservoir. In all, he would wear four Purple Hearts, as well as the ever-present pistol to protect his own heart.

More than thirty years in the Corps, then a "second career" in the Virginia Department of Social Services should have been enough to convince any man that he had done his "fair share" of duty for God, Country and fellow man. Carl Sitter retired in 1985 at the age of 63, but Carl Sitter was simply retiring from his second career...not from his life of service. Never forgotten were the lessons he had learned as a boy from his minister grandfather, or the importance he placed upon protecting the heart. Carl Sitter chose to replace the worn leather holster of a 45 caliber pistol, with a leather-bound copy of God's Word.

After years of lay-ministry in his home church at Shady Grove United Methodist Church, Carl Sitter determined to return to college. And so he did, in 1998 at the age of 75. From time to time Carl would call, and inevitably the subject would turn to school and studies, I having returned to College late in life myself. We would share each other's concerns for the upcoming tests, talk about how hard it was to keep up with the "younger kids", and share our hopes and dreams for the future. At times I had to laugh at our conversations. We actually SOUNDED like a couple young kids. By January, 2000 we would both share our sighs of relief that we almost had it made. Carl sent me a wonderful, two-page article the Richmond Times-Dispatch had done about him graduating from college at age 77.

In March, Carl's former classmate at Central High School and fellow Medal of Honor recipient Bill Crawford passed away. Carl flew home from Richmond for the funeral. Afterwards we visited, again talking about school...and finally...getting serious about graduation. I would graduate on April 28th at age 50, Carl on May 28th at age 77. I had spent my early youth in ministry, Carl now taking that same dream into his own future. Before he returned home, he stopped by to see the large 8-foot statue slated for dedication here on September 23, 2000. A humble man, he almost seemed embarassed. But as he looked up at the tall image of a young Marine officer, a 45-caliber pistol holstered over the heart, you could sense his pride in both service to Country as well as to God.