Retreat, Hell!

New York: Pocket Books - Simon & Schuster Inc., 1989. Light Creasing on Front, Rear Covers, Spine; Front, Rear Covers, Spine Lightly Chipped; Spine Slightly Cocked. The Epic Story of The 1st Marines in Korea. SUB-TITLE: We're Just Attacking in Another Direction. CONTENTS: Introduction 1. Cable 925 2. Operation Yo-Yo 3. A New Enemy 4. The Reservoir 5. Yudam-ni 6. North Ridge 7. Charlie Arrives 8. Retreat, Hell! 9. A Night of Fire 10. Hell Fire Valley 11. On to Koto-ri 12. The Sea and Safety; Postscript. SYNOPSIS: June 25, 1950: North Korean troops crossed the thirty-eighth parallel into South Korea. Within ninety days the U.S. had assembled the 1st Marine Division-for Korea and all-out war. Young kids and retreads from World War II, they stormed the beach at Inchon and pushed back the North Korean People's Army. One of history's great feats of arms had begun. Charged with seizing the Chosin Reservoir in North Korea, they advanced through treacherous mountain passes - into the teeth of seven well-armed Chinese regiments. Surrounded by an enemy that wasn't supposed to be there, savaged by brutal Arctic weather conditions, for forty bloody days they inflicted heavy casualties, striking back with rifles, machine guns, grenades, bayonets and everything they had in the most violent small-unit fighting in the history of American warfare. In their own words, here are the never-before-told stories of the 1st Marines: their heroic fight through enemy forces to the Sea of Japan - bringing with them most of their dead and all of their wounded - and their incredible triumph of courage, sacrifice and valour. Jim Wilson was drafted and served with the army in Korea. He has been with the Los Angeles Times for twenty-five years. To interview the veterans of the 1st Marines, Mr. Wilson traveled more than five thousand miles, and he has recorded their compelling stories in Retreat, Hell! Lt. John Yancey: An outspoken, hard-fighting marine, he'd won the Navy Cross at Guadalcanal in World War II. Now he was called to lead a platoon in one more war. "Yancey never said, 'We'll take that hill,'" recalled one of the men he commanded. "He said, 'Follow me up the hill . . . '" PFC Robert Johnson: On November 27, 1950, he was the "point" who led the marines into position outside Yudam-ni. It was a battle no one expected-and hard to fathom when it was over. "I couldn't believe the number of bodies that were there. There were Chinese as far as the eye could see, just nothing but frozen bodies . . . " Pvt. Stanley Robinson: A brig rat and a fearless fighter, he was pulled from his platoon to ride shotgun for the regimental commander. But when the situation got desperate on Hill 1282, he rose from his cot in the aid station and trudged on frostbitten feet to help his old platoon . . . Capt. William E. Barber: he led a company of 222 men at the marines' vital position on Toktong Pass. Surrounded by Chinese, holding out against incredible odds for five days and nights, Fox Company stood its ground. Wounded in action, Barber hobbled, crawled, walked with the help of others, and was carried on a stretcher between positions as he checked his lines . . . Lt. Col. Douglas B. Drysdale: He was commander of the British Royal Marines in Korea, whose crack commandos combined with two U.S. relief companies to break through to the Marines trapped at Hagaru. He led a convoy of 922 men, 141 vehicles, and 29 tanks, ordered to run the gauntlet between the equivalent of three Chinese regiments, dug in on both sides of the road . . . Cpl. Jerry Maill: Fire controller for the British 81mm mortar platoon, he made it into Hagaru lying on the hood of a truck firing a .30-caliber machine gun at enemy troops. "The order had been clear: Break through at all costs. We were determined that somebody would, even if it was only one man . . . ". First Thus 1st Printing. Mass Market Paperback. Very Good. Illus. by Mort Engel. 12mo - over 6¾" - 7¾" tall.