July 7-8, 1950 - Chonan, South Korea

July 7-8, 1950 - Chonan, South Korea 

Desperately trying to slow down the North Korean Army onslaught as it continued to move deep into South Korea, the understength, poorly equipped 34th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division - about 2 000 men - was sent to intercept a 12,000 man enemy division, supported by T-34 tanks, at Chonan.

The 34th, at the cost of about 300 casualties (including over 100 killed and 80 captured), managed to delay the NorKs for about a day and a half.  The Regiment's 3rd Battalion was rendered all but ineffective in the struggle.

During the action near Chonan, Korea, the 3rd Battalion, had been surrounded by superior enemy forces which then launched a tank and infantry attack. 

1LT James C. Little voluntarily took command of a 2.36 inch rocket launching team and a rifle grenade launcher. With these inadequate weapons, he destroyed two of the enemy tanks. 

Noticing that a platoon, which was operating without an officer, was preparing to prematurely withdraw from its position, Little organized the men and placed them in firing positions where they were able to inflict severe casualties on the enemy.

 When the order was given to withdraw, he picked up an M-1 rifle and personally destroyed a machine-gun position which was holding up the movement. He moved from place to place, ensuring that all men withdrew in an orderly and effective manner. 

Throughout the entire action, he displayed a complete disregard for his own safety and repeatedly exposed himself to intense enemy fire. By his gallant action, casualties were held to a minimum and the battalion was able to retain its effectiveness as a fighting unit. Little received the Distinguished Service Cross for his actions that day.

This was the third of several battles (i.e. Osan) where heavily outnumbered, poorly trained, badly equipped US units were driven back down the Korean Peninsula until reaching the "Pusan Perimeter", a defense line circling around that port city.  

The lax military training, discipline, and standards for US troops (in place since the end of WWII), showed in the poor performance by many of the younger troops.

"A people (America) that does not prepare to fight should then be morally prepared to surrender.  To fail to prepare soldiers and civilians for limited, bloody ground action, and then engage in it, is folly verging on the criminal."

(T.R. Fehrenbach, historian, author, Korean War  veteran, in "This Kind of War")