“It is hereby declared to be the policy of the President that there shall be equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed services without regard to race, color, religion or national origin. This policy shall be put into effect as rapidly as possible, having due regard to the time required to effectuate any necessary changes without impairing efficiency or morale.”
—Executive Order 99813
[2 Dec 1950] RECORDS OF EVENTS SECTION
Reld fr asgmt 3d Army to 6th Army with station at Camp Stoneman, Calif, per Inf Cen Ltr dtd 15 Nov 50 departing 3 Dec 50 permanent change of station Ft Benning Ga 5 Off EM 117.
On Sunday, 2 December 1950, the Buffalo Rangers prepared to leave Fort Benning for the 29-day journey to Korea. The trip would take them by bus to the train station in Columbus, Georgia, and then across the country to Camp Stoneman, California, from which they would board the USS General H.W. Butner to Yokohama, Japan, with a stop in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and then, finally, proceed by air from Japan to K-2 Airfield in Taegu, Korea. Once in Korea, the 7th Infantry Division (ID) would send deuce-and-a-half trucks to pick up the Rangers at K-2 to shuttle them to the division assembly area by truck convoy.
On this particular day at Benning, as the 2d Platoon fell out for reveille, SFC James “Dude” Walker noticed that Corporal William F. Washington was absent without leave (AWOL). Apparently he had slipped off to Columbus and not returned. Someone in the rear ranks told Platoon Sergeant Walker that Washington had been arrested several times during the night but had escaped from the Columbus police and the MPs each time. It was well known that the local police gave blacks a hard time because a civilian fine would be levied in addition to any military punishment. The Rangers of 2d Company fully believed that the Columbus police had the power, from the state of Georgia, to take your life if they desired to do so. During the previous week a man from 2d Ranger Company had been jailed in Columbus. When Lieutenant Warren Allen, the Company Commander, went to the jail to arrange for the man’s release, Allen was jailed as well. The post commander—who was white—and Colonel Van Houten both had to go to Columbus to arrange for their release from jail. Usually, if the CO signed, a soldier was released and both would appear later at trial, or the civilians might let the military handle the whole problem. So the idea that a black Ranger was dodging the local police all night came as a shock to no one, considering that the domineering attitude of the Columbus police was well known.
At the time of reveille it was still dark, and the Ranger who spoke assured Sergeant Walker that Washington would make shipment. In the vacant spot where Washington should have been was all of his equipment, which had been brought to the formation by his fellow squad members. Behind Washington’s equipment and the rest of the first squad was Ranger William Weathersbee, a member of second squad. Sergeant Walker solved the immediate problem with a concise order: “Weathersbee, pick up his mother fucking shit and you’ll be responsible for it.” The post band was playing across the field. It was dark as hell and Weathersbee had a feeling that the members of the band would all rather be in bed sleeping. Walker had just doubled Weathersbee’s load, and had given his order to a Ranger who was not even in first squad. Although Weathersbee was furious that first squad was not going to take care of its own member’s equipment, he did what a Ranger is supposed to do and carried out the order without saying a word. He had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Hopefully, that would not be the case in combat.
Brand new city buses lined up on the parade field to take the troopers to the train station in Columbus. Corporal Fields remembers getting on the buses and being faced with the signs that said “COLORED,” placed where blacks were to be seated—from the rear forward. As a farewell statement, the Rangers took the signs with them. The bus ride to Columbus was uneventful, but boarding the train brought another racial indignity. The white troops of 4th Company had no problem—they could walk through the main train station—but the Station Master didn’t want the black troops of 2d Ranger Company to do likewise. To make matters worse, the white train porters led the members of the 2d Ranger Company into the station when they knew the Station Manager would have the black troops go back outside and come into the station from the side entrance. Even though the 2d and 4th had trained together, had equal skills and expectations, and would bleed the same red blood in combat, they had to proceed through the Columbus, Georgia, train station via different paths toward combat in Korea. At the time, it was simply how segregation laws worked. Looking back, it was absurd, but local laws governed the situation.
The train was delayed approximately ten minutes, just long enough for Ranger Washington, followed closely by several police cars with their red lights flashing, to appear at the station and catch up with his platoon. As the train started moving, Washington was running down the railroad tracks alongside the train, with Sergeant Walker yelling for the 2d Company Rangers to “get up and help him!” The Rangers opened the train door so Washington could leap on board.
In the safety of the train, he leaned from the still-open door and gave his pursuers a farewell salute before slumping down in the seat in front of Weathersbee. Exhausted, Washington put his head on the armrest and fell into a deep sleep. Sergeant Walker looked down at Washington and smiled, because Washington had gotten away and made the shipment; after all, Rangers were supposed to be the best at infiltrating and escaping. It had been the right call to bring his equipment along, and the men had been right to think that Washington would show up. From that day forward he was nicknamed “the Ghost” because of his ability to get in and out of tight situations. Later, after 2d Ranger Company left Korea and was sent to Japan to the 187th ARCT, Washington was assigned to Battalion Headquarters. In a few short months, while working with Japanese civilians at the camp, Sergeant Washington became fluent in Japanese.
[3 Dec 1950] RECORDS OF EVENTS SECTION
Departed Ft Benning, GA. Company en route to Camp Stoneman, Calif 0630 arr New Orleans, LA 2400 distance travel 434 miles per Hq Trp Inf Cen Ltr dtd 16 Nov 5 Company Strength: 5 off and 117 EM
3 Dec left Ft Benning Ga enroute to Camp Stoneman Calif 0530 arr New Orleans 2[4]00 distance travel 434 miles—The In Cen Ltr dtd 14 Nov 50
It took five days to get to Pittsburg, California, and Camp Stoneman. The train had Pullman railcars and porters. The men rode in double seats with their packs in the overhead racks. In the evening the porters changed the seats into double bunks. The 4th Company rode at the front of the train, followed by the kitchen cars, and then 2d Ranger Company. Once again we were seated from the rear to the front. On the long ride many Rangers wrote letters, played cards, or just looked out the windows when not napping. There were the usual high jinks—practical jokes, gambling, drinking, arguments on things like seating and bunk selection—that accompanied any long train ride for young soldiers with little to do to pass the time until the combat duty that lay ahead of them. Whenever the train stopped for servicing or to let civilian trains pass by, the Rangers had PT to ensure that they arrived at the battlefield in top condition.
In Texas, at one of the short watering and refueling stops, some local Indians put on a tribal dance for the Rangers. During another stop Ranger Weathersbee gave $20 to a porter to buy items for sandwiches at a store that would not serve blacks. The porter liked Weathersbee’s idea so much that he returned his $20 and decided to use the sandwich makings he had bought to make and sell sandwiches to the Rangers at rip-off prices back on board the train. Incidents like this were yet another reality of Jim Crow days.
During the trip, Walter “Iron Head” Gray saw a huge cow standing in a corral. Iron Head called out loudly, “Look at that big cow!” Someone called to him, “That’s a buffalo, Iron Head!” This added more lore to the Buffalo nickname, and was talked about by both 2d and 4th Companies.
After disembarking from the long train trip west, the 2d and 4th Companies spent about two and a half days at Stoneman, which was forty miles northeast of San Francisco. The site was used as a staging area and rifle range for basic troop training by the Army. Camp Stoneman was the principal jumping-off point for more than one million American soldiers destined for military operations in the Second World War’s Pacific Theater, and continued to serve this purpose during the Korean War. As the San Francisco port of embarkation’s primary troop staging center, the function of the post was to receive and process troops for overseas service by completing paperwork and updating records, arranging for last-minute training, providing medical and dental care, and issuing and servicing equipment.4
Passes were issued once we arrived at Stoneman. Corporal Samuel Payne, Jr., remembers that 2d Ranger Company received shots, had an orientation about Korea’s cold weather, and participated in several fights. Lieutenant Vincent Wilburn, who was Officer of the Day (OD) when the fistfight started, asked, “Why me?” Sergeant James Monte recalls that after the fight the men were restricted to camp, but “Lieutenant Wilburn told us where to find the hole in the fence.” Oakley and Payne took their passes and went into nearby Richmond, only to turn a corner and walk into Lieutenant Allen, who had family in the Richmond area. “Aren’t you guys on restriction?” he demanded. “I am taking you back to post.” Oakley and Payne managed to avoid going back to Stoneman with him (again, the Rangers were trained to evade). They met some girls, and later returned to camp the way they had gotten out—through the fence. Several others went to Sergeant Cleveland Valery’s house in Oakland.
On 9 December 2d Ranger Company was relieved from assignment to Camp Stoneman. Rangers from the 2d and 4th Companies boarded a ferry from Stoneman to cross San Francisco Bay and then boarded the USS General H.W. Butner. Many, like Corporal Fields, had images of walking up a gangplank to board the ship, and were surprised to find that enormous metal doors in the side of the ship slid back so the troops could enter at dockside. Some family members, such as Sergeant Sherman Daniels’ mother and sister, were waiting to see them off when they boarded the Butner. “It had been a wild time in that old San Francisco,” remembered one Ranger, but that was behind them now. On board the Butner the men of the 2d and 4th Companies found themselves under the authority of the Navy, where “they take especial pleasure, it seems, in stuffing soldiers and Marines into the smallest of places.”5
“We were on our way to Korea in December 1950 on the Butner,” remembers Sergeant Herculano Dias, “with our brother company, the 4th Ranger Company, which was an all-white company. After we left San Francisco and got out to sea almost everyone got a Mohawk haircut from our comrades who professed to be barbers.” The Ranger Mohawk haircuts served to strengthen the bond between the companies, as well as the use of the call sign “BUFFALO.” Private First Class Gerald Germain missed getting a haircut because he was on guard duty.
Allen wrote to his wife Mary nearly every day. One of his letters included: “Four days out from Frisco, should arrive Pearl Harbor tomorrow. Weather on ocean has been good. No liquor or gambling allowed on board. Number of service wives and children on board. (None colored.)”6
At Pearl Harbor, passes were given because the ship remained overnight. Ranger Fields remembers being surprised by the stop. “There had been no indication that we would be stopping in Pearl Harbor, let alone get shore leave. I was able to see downtown Honolulu and have a good meal at a Chinese restaurant. It was hotter than blue blazes and all we had were winter uniforms.”
“When we stopped in Hawaii,” Ranger Dias recalled, “we were told that we could leave the ship around 10:00 a.m. and return by 7:00 a.m. the next morning.” Herc continues with his recollection:
About a dozen of us traveled together into Honolulu. We traveled together because half of us were broke and the others had money, some made by gambling aboard ship. First, we tried to rent some cars but were flatly refused. Next, we went in pursuit of something to drink. I had heard about prejudice in Hawaii from older soldiers when I was in Fort Bragg, so I discouraged the guys from trying to get into the better and more expensive bars.
Here we go into town and found some bars to drink in. We (both black and white Rangers) even went to the barber shop and had the sides of our heads shaved to have a better-looking Mohawk haircut. No [racial] problems so far. Later that night, after having a good time, some of our white comrades said for us to go to a “dime-a-dance hall” that we came across. The woman at the window said, “You soldiers can go in,” meaning the whites, “but you soldiers,” meaning the blacks, “cannot.”
Of course, we all protested to no avail. Our white brothers said that if the 2d Ranger Company couldn’t go in, they wouldn’t go in either. I protested so bitterly about the rule that before you knew it a policeman, the same color as me, but obviously a native islander, told me to take a hike. I cursed and told him about our volunteering to go to war, but that meant nothing to him. He actually raised his billy club to hit me but was stopped by all of the Rangers. We moved on.
I was still upset the next morning. As we returned to the ship I remember telling Lieutenant Allen, our CO, who was waiting at the Butner for us, what happened. I will never forget the feelings of anger and humiliation that were still with me that morning as I returned to the ship to sail to the war in Korea. How could something like that happen to men who volunteered for the U.S. Army, the Paratroops, and the Airborne Rangers to go to fight in Korea? All for a lousy dime-a-dance joint.
Allen sent sets of oriental pajamas to Mary and her mother with a letter saying, “Yesterday was spent in Honolulu. Entertainers got on board…MC, Hawaiian band, girl vocalist, and dancer. Losing a day tomorrow. Crossing the 180th meridian sometime tonight. Will go to bed tonight on Sunday and get up tomorrow on Tuesday.”
Back on board the Butner the Rangers had PT every day, and they gave weapons training to the other soldiers going to Korea as replacements. Corporal Fields watched 2d Ranger Company fall out for PT on the deck of the Butner from his vantage point above the fantail where he was on guard duty, and saw the men of 2d Ranger Company with their Mohawk haircuts doing calisthenics with the precision of a well-practiced dance team.
During the Korean War almost 600 military nurses, some black, served in military hospitals established in the Korean theater. The Butner carried the Rangers toward Korea and also carried members of the Women’s Army Corps (WACs) headed to hospitals that would be integrated when they got to Korea, or to hospitals in Japan in direct support of the war.7 According to Corporal Lorraine West (retired), on board the Butner, “The presence of the Rangers was something to behold. Amazement! They were unique. First, their uniforms—the Ike jackets—were tailored to fit. The trousers were tucked inside shined combat boots. They had athletic bodies, shiny eyes, smooth skin, young soldiers wearing the Mohawk haircut. They exuded confident self-assurance—even their stance was different. But most admirable was the camaraderie.”8 Ranger Wilburn enjoyed a dinner with Arline Haywood Wall, another WAC aboard the Butner, who noticed the Rangers’ professionalism and patriotism.9
[18 Dec 50] Crossed International dateline, 9th day at sea distance traveled 475 miles.
There was always a confrontation between the Rangers and the Marine guards on board. The Marine guard detachment is usually responsible for the security on the upper decks of a troopship that might be carrying families, women, or high-ranking State Department civilians. Usually this area is “off limits” to the troops. On ship the WACs were berthed with the officers and Department of Army Civilians (DAC), while the enlisted men were berthed on the lower deck. The Rangers were located at the fantail of the ship. “We all got together in Hawaii,” remembers Corporal West, noting that the weather from San Francisco to Hawaii had been idyllic. “These particular Rangers became my friends. Our conversations were light, filled with laughter. There wasn’t much talk about Korea. In fact, the scuttlebutt had it that the conflict was winding down. As we neared Japan, not only did the weather become cold and gray, but the rumors were disquieting: hordes of Chinese with horns and bugles were massing on the border separating Communist North Korea from Democratic South Korea, to join forces with the North Koreans.”10
[24 Dec 50] 14th day at sea distance traveled 475 miles Auth par 67 SO 342 Hqs Camp Stoneman Calif. Docked Port of Yokohama Japan. Billeted Camp Zama Japan Reld from shpnt No 5458-A
“Landed in Yokohama on Christmas Eve,” Lieutenant Allen wrote to his wife. “Some of the men have seen Major Gott and others from Bragg.” He also told her not to worry when she received his footlocker, as he was sending home things he wouldn’t need and, again, not to worry if it was some time before she got any more mail. In return, Mary Allen sent her husband a prayer book to carry with him in combat, quoting Psalm 121, her favorite, “I will lift mine eyes to the hills.”
When the Butner arrived at Yokohama, Japan, the Rangers were entertained at dockside before the trip, via trucks, to Camp Zama. Lieutenant Queen met the ship once it docked and the Japanese tried to beg cigarettes as the trucks were driven through the narrow streets to Camp Zama.
Camp Zama, Japan, had been the home base of one battalion of the 1st Cavalry Division. Before World War II, Camp Zama was the Japanese equivalent of West Point. During the Korean War, it was used as a staging area for troops sent to Korea and returning former prisoners of war (POWs). It was located about forty miles from Tokyo and was used by the American Occupation Forces as a housing area for the service personnel working in Tokyo and Yokohama and their families. The military commander of the camp was responsible for the logistical support and maintenance of Army war reserves and stocks for contingencies. In peacetime, American forces in Japan had a full range of housing, schools, and recreation services. The 4th Replacement Depot operated the transit barracks and quarters.
After the Rangers had stored their equipment they were given passes. Sergeant David “Tank” Clarke remembers, “Most of us were rather carefree and happy as we looked for women and drink. After all, we had just gotten off the boat after two weeks at sea. We made the best of almost three whole days of liberty and a rather carefree existence.” Commenting more than fifty years later he admits, “The men of 2d Ranger Company had no idea what we were getting into.”
The Company spent five days at Zama performing final preparations, such as drawing more cold-weather gear and test-firing and zeroing individual weapons. Orientation held in the post theater covered cold-weather survival, the enemy, the terrain, and escape and evasion (E&E) as a POW. At Zama the jump knives requisitioned by XOs Queen and Warren nearly a month earlier were distributed to the men, as were the .45-caliber pistols with shoulder holsters for most and a hip holster for Lieutenant Queen. Weapons such as BARs and LMGs were still in cosmoline, a heavy grease used to prevent rust on weapons when they are in storage. These had to be cleaned and test fired.
Zama’s barracks were of the World War II type, so old that the fire warning sign read “BURNING TIME 6 MINUTES”; the latrines were in an outside building. Fourth Company was billeted on the second floor while 2d Ranger Company was on the first floor of the same barracks. Space was very limited at this small post. While in the barracks one of the 2d Company Rangers thought he had unloaded his .45, but was wrong. He accidentally fired through the ceiling above into the 4th Company area. Luckily, no one was hit. The incident was a sobering reminder of the danger of issuing pistols to everyone, because many were not used to handling them. The near-fatal fiasco stopped any more horseplay, and playing cowboy while quick-drawing on each other ceased.
“Received word today,” Lieutenant Allen wrote to Mary, that they would fly to Korea the next day. “Company morale is high,” he wrote, explaining that he felt his men would give a good account of themselves no matter how they were committed to battle.
[28 Dec 50] Reld fr atchmt JLC & Yokohama Command—moved to Taegu Korea, Shpmt # 40004 auth par 1 MO 229 Hq JLC & Office of CG APO 343 dtd 28 Dec 50.
Although the orders in the Morning Report were dated 28 December, the 2d Ranger Company stayed at Camp Zama until 30 December. On 30 December, about 1800 hours, 2d and 4th Companies departed Camp Zama via truck for Tachikawa Air Base. The Rangers took on full field packs; individual weapons, including pistols and knives; and LMGs. Left behind were the B-Bags, including the company desk.
Before loading onto the airplane to leave Tachikawa for Taegu, Major Richard W. “Black Daddy” Williams, who had commanded the 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion (PIB), came in from Korea and reviewed the company formation. He trooped the line and talked to the Rangers. Sergeant Estell noticed that Black Daddy was wearing the Combat Infantryman’s Badge (CIB) and the ribbon indicating he had been awarded the Silver Star. Corporal James Oakley said to Estell, “Did you see Black Daddy’s CIB? I’m going to get me one of those.”
After Black Daddy’s review, the Rangers were loaded onto planes for the last leg of their long journey to combat in Korea. Each airplane left and landed individually at K-2 airfield, Taegu. Split among a variety of aircraft, the Rangers reached their destination in piecemeal fashion. Corporal Craig Paulding remembers being on a C-54 aircraft whose pilot let Rangers come up into the cockpit and fool around with the controls. “It’s a wonder that SOB didn’t fall out of the sky,” exclaimed Corporal Payne. On another plane, Tank Clarke recalls being given “Mae West” floatation gear and parachutes for an emergency exit in case of aircraft failure. “The chutes were manually operated—i.e., ripchord type—which none of us were familiar with; even though we had made many practice parachute jumps, all were with static-line type chutes.” With a static-line jump, the line is attached to a cable in the airplane and it opens the chute as the paratrooper jumps from the plane.
Rangers from 2d Company landed at Taegu, were placed on trucks at the airfield, and moved to the 7th Division Replacement Company. Some, like Ranger Weathersbee, traveled as part of the advance party on the lead aircraft to Korea, a C-54 on which SFC James Freeman was the senior person in rank. Corporal William Tucker recalls, “We landed about midnight but didn’t get to Replacement Company until about 0300” because the truck carrying members of the advance party broke down. While waiting for a replacement truck, the Rangers used a steel entrenching tool to cut down a tree and poured gasoline on it to make a fire, but it didn’t burn. They used about 55 gallons of gasoline trying to keep warm. According to Sergeant James Monte, “We were wondering why that tree wouldn’t burn.” When one of the Rangers spotted a Korean house with a pile of wood, he paid the South Korean owner for it. With a fire for warmth, they crawled into their sleeping bags and went to sleep. A replacement truck arrived before daybreak. When the men emerged from the sleeping bags, they found the weather “cold as hell.”
“Upon arrival at Taegu,” says James Fields of the main body of troops, “our gear was thrown from the aircraft to the tarmac. It was not quite dark, so we were able to find our individual equipment.” The truck that was to transport Fields and others to Replacement Camp was the last in a convoy carrying Rangers. Not far into the journey north, it too suffered from mechanical failure and, according to Fields, “We could see the black-out lights of the truck we were following fade into the distance. It was extremely cold and it was some time before they came back for us. I remember thinking, this is the way it is going to be. Later, while heading north again we met up with some troops that had been traveling by rail on a train with the windows shot out and no heat.” As the troopers were now experiencing, winter in the Korean hills was extremely cold and unforgiving.
The Replacement Company housed the 2d Ranger Company in some walled, squad-sized tents with straw on the ground. The Rangers slept in the winter sleeping bags each carried attached to his pack. The Replacement Company was located close to Division Headquarters because the division had only been out of the Hamhung evacuation about ten days and it was hurting for everything. The division band was nearby. At a 0600 formation, all were present in Korea except the four men accompanying the vehicles, orderly room, kitchen, and supply gear; they came over by ferryboat with the Company train and caught up with the Company about seven days later. The Company trains (Supply and Mess) were under the command of Supply Sergeant, Sergeant First Class Orrie Tucker and Mess Sergeant, SFC Nathan Parks. They remained at Camp Zama to bring over the materiel not carried by the troops on board the aircraft that flew them to Korea.
SFC Orrie Tucker joined the 2d Ranger Company from Company L, 3d Battalion, an all-black unit except for the COs and XOs, which was then under the command of Captain “Warm Body” Clarke. Sergeant Tucker had a rather distinct Boston accent and had moved up rapidly in the supply field. The 2d Rangers were glad to get him. He was one of a few Rangers who did not advance in rank within the Company because he was already at the top NCO rank when he left Company L. He certainly must have left a big hole in Captain Clarke’s company.
Supply Sergeant Nathan Parks was unique. Sergeant Parks and Sergeant John Ford, Jr., were “golfing partners” at Bragg in the late 1940s. This was extremely unusual because it was rare for blacks to play golf, since access to courses was very limited for blacks—even in the nation’s capital—during these years. Parks and Ford, in civilian attire, frequently “suckered” officers into playing against them. Both would pretend they were novice golfers. In the days long before Tiger Woods, when golf was clearly a white man’s game, this was a very believable act. They would play for a dollar per hole. Since many divisional staff officers thought that they were superior in everything, they would fall for the bet and end up losing $20 to $25 on nine to eighteen holes. This was equivalent to half a month’s EM jump pay at that time. (Using the U.S. Department of Labor Consumer Price Index, $20–$25 in 1949 dollars is equivalent to $150–$200 in 2003 dollars.11)
The company trains’ personnel (Supply and Mess) rode with their vehicles on the Japanese troop train to the Port of Sasebo, Japan, from Zama. They were loaded onto a Japanese ferryboat and took an overnight trip to the Port of Pusan, Korea. It was rumored they started out with fairly new trucks, but the trucks were switched on them while they were on the ferry. After landing they joined a Quartermaster Supply convoy up the X Corps main supply route (MSR) from Pusan to Taegu to Yongchon to Andong to Tanyang Pass. They caught up with the Company at Changnim-ri on about 6 January (although the Morning Report erroneously does not show their arrival until about 20 January).
The first order of business on 31 December was to get chow and ammunition. The Rangers of 2d Company ate in Replacement Company, which also fed the Division Band. They soon found out that ammo was in very short supply. The divisions coming in from the Hamhung evacuation had lost a lot of equipment and supplies. Whatever could not be carried out in one trip was burned or blown up so the enemy could not make use of it. The 2d Ranger Company scrounged up some ammo from the band—about enough to give each person one hundred rounds for small arms. They also received one case of twenty-four fragmentation grenades for the entire company.
The Rangers were impressed by the very cold weather. The bare landscape also drew their immediate attention: the hills were without vegetation and there was a noticeable lack of trees. The roads were so narrow that two vehicles could hardly pass each other. Beside the roads were deep drainage ditches, and bare rice paddies extended out beyond the ditches.
“Arrived early yesterday morning,” Lieutenant Allen wrote to Mary. “Assigned to the 7th Division. At present quite a ways from the fighting. Expect to be in or near the front in the next couple of days…. Weather is cold but we have clothes to withstand it. The terrain here is pretty mountainous and barren. You can travel for miles without seeing a soul, then you will hit a village. It seems as if the whole population is thrown together in small settlements. I was told that we are the only Negroes in this whole Division. I don’t know whether that is good or bad. So far we have been treated very nice.”
The company had been told in Japan that it would be assigned to the 25th Infantry Division (ID). First Lieutenant Bernard Pryor had been sent on from Japan as an advance party of one to the 25th ID and 24th Infantry Regiment on 27 December 1950. The assignment orders to the 7th ID were changed after Pryor left, and he would not catch up with 2d Ranger Company until about 6 January 1951. The next morning, when these orders were cancelled, 2d Ranger Company prepared to move north with the 7th Division, still part of the X Corps.
[4 Jan 51] RECORD OF EVENTS SECTION
Departed Yonchon Korea 0730 hrs by Mtr Trans arrived Andong
Korea 1700 hrs distance traveled approx 90 miles {DS…4-EM/Train}
The Rangers of 2d Company were attached to the 17th Regimental Combat Team (RCT) under the command of Colonel Herbert B. Powell, one of Colonel Van Houten’s friends. On 4 January 1951, about 0700 hours, the company, with the exception of Sergeants Tucker and Parks, climbed aboard uncovered deuce-and-a-half trucks for the trip north. The division was divided into RCTs and the order of march was 17th RCT, 32d RCT, Division Arty (minus), and 31st RCT in reserve, because it had suffered the greatest losses at Chosin Reservoir. The 3d ID was shifted over to I Corps and the 2d Division and 187th ARCT (both now along defensive Line C) came under X Corps control. The 1st Marine Division reverted to 8th Army control and followed the 7th northward.
The road was in bad condition and some bridges had not been repaired, so there were bypasses near some of the larger towns. The bridge at Andong was out and there was some delay in getting through the bypass. The truck ride was long, cold, and miserable, but some heat was gathered from the packed-in bodies. A BAR gunner (BAR stood for Browning Automatic Rifle or, more frequently, Bad-Ass Ranger) and weapon were placed over each vehicle cab top in the ready position. Sergeant Tank Clarke was a BAR operator assigned to ride in Lieutenant Allen’s jeep, along with SFC William Lanier, Communications Sergeant. According to Clarke, “The one thing most of the men will remember is the convoy north and all the refugee columns moving south, crowding the road, getting in the way, so that our vehicles could hardly move.”
The distance covered was difficult and long because most of the route, which was rugged and in need of repair, had been designated one-way, with MPs posted to enforce the rules. Only at certain designated areas could convoys coming south to the supply depots pass by. At night, all units buttoned up because of guerrilla activity. Everything that moved beyond the outpost lines was in the free-fire zone.
As the convoy passed through the “S” curve of Tanyang Pass, Corporal Paulding noticed some American dead and a burned-out tank just off the road. One body was by the tank turret and another was beside the road. “When we got up to the schoolhouse, there were some dead near the latrine or a building in the back,” Sergeant Estell recalled. “They were hanging up, head down, by their heels. First Platoon Sergeant James Freeman was getting us ready for the battlefield by having us view them.”