Fall of 2007, James Crow’s Story provided by his Oroville nephew,
Eric L. Zancanella Lieutenant Colonel (Ret) Transportation Corps,
U. S. Army Reserves
James Crow’s story continued:
Mid September 1950 the 1st Marine Division landed behind
enemy lines at Inchon to counter-invade territory captured by North
Korea. The next day U.S. Marines took the city of Inchon, followed
by the ROK Marines fighting mop-up action. The 1st Marine
Division then moved south to retake Seoul, South Korea’s capitol,
from the enemy. These two operations helped break up the North Korean
invasion, and sent the over-extended North Korean forces fighting
a retreat towards their own country. During the Inchon-Seoul operation,
medical units of the 1st Division cared for 2,844 casualties
from 15 September to 07 October 1950. James Crow probably arrived
during the Seoul operation, or just in time for the upcoming landing
at Wonsan.
The Seoul operation concluded, the 1st Marine Division was withdrawn
to prepare for a landing to help take Wonsan, the principal seaport
on North Korea’s east coast, but the enemy fell back from the advancing
South Koreans before the landing took place. The 1st Division landed
anyway 26 October 1950, and Marine elements were trucked northward
in early November to the Hamhung-Hungnam area of North Korea. Here,
as in most operations, the military dealt constantly with fleeing
civilian refugees on the main supply routes. In the outlying hills
around Wonsan were remains of three North Korean divisions still
willing to fight. These remnants initiated attacks against a battalion
of the 1st U.S. Marine Regiment at Kojo, south of Wonsan, on 27
October. Several USMC units, including Colonel Lewis "Chesty" Puller's
1st Marine Regiment, and James Crow’s ROK Marines, were temporarily
assigned the mission 28 October 1950 to maintain security of the
Main Supply Route in the Kosong-Wonsan area.
Major units of the U.N. Command were now moving northward up the
Korean peninsula to defeat Communist forces and reunite the two
Koreas. The U.S. Eighth Army maneuvered up the west side of the
peninsula, while the X Corps forces, including the main portion
of the 1st Marine Division, continued up the east side.
(To be continued)
Oroville Mercury February 1953
Editorial by Dan L. Beebe
A Word For Secrecy When We’re Pitted Against the Reds in Battle
Secrecy Helps.
The spectacle of a newspaperman, particularly the Mercury editor,
speaking a word in favor of secrecy will be astonishing to many,
but here goes. Secretary Dulles, when he went before the foreign
relations subcommittee on far eastern affairs, refused to talk at
all unless assured his testimony would be kept secret. There was
quite an uproar on the part of certain senators, and reporters on
the scene are making a fuss about it. Yet Dulles was right, in our
opinion. President Eisenhower has pledged himself to take the initiative
away from Stalin, and in this he is backed by Dulles. They are going
to have an aggressive foreign policy, designed to keep Stalin and
his bandit gang guessing. How can this be done if Dulles tells the
plans to the senators and the senators tell the plans to the reporters
and they are published? When it comes to our plans for Korea and
Europe, the least said by government men the better for the present.
It isn’t at all necessary that the members of the senate foreign
relations committee be kept informed; certainly not if they cannot
demonstrate that they can keep a secret. There is a vital reason
behind this that will be appreciated by the parents of every young
man in Korea or destined there. If we signal our punches in advance,
then the enemy will be prepared to counter them and loss of life
will be unnecessarily high.
Honcut boy Enters Training In Texas Camp Wolters Tex.
Pvt. Beuford Lee Burns, son of Mr. and Mrs. Dewey Burns of Honcut
Calif., has arrived at this infantry replacement training center
to begin his basic training as an infantryman. He has been assigned
to a battalion stressing rifle.
Stu’s Notes: Things are really coming together now on our Veterans
Memorial. The Butte County Supervisors and staff are really working
hard to get it all together. It has been a long time coming but
the light is not dim anymore at the end of the tunnel. It’s bright.
I know I’ve had my hopes up many times before but this is for real.
In the past the City of Oroville and Feather River Recreation and
Parks District have contributed State park and RDA funds and soon,
when every body signs on the many dotted lines, the people of Butte
County will have the property to build a Veterans Memorial that
will be unbelievable and so long overdue. Hopefully the other communities
of Butte County will come forward to help. A nice check recently
came from the Community Foundation of Richvale.
Dan L. Beebe was an Editor ahead of his time, I have read a lot
of his Editorials now and it amazes me how he looked into the future.
In Vietnam it seems every thing we did or were going to do was on
the nightly news. Some of the stuff people got away with would have
been treasonous in WWI or WWII.