Queen had joined Cliette, who was with the 3d platoon on a small knoll just off the road on the north side of the DZ. Most of the 3d was there and Cliette was concerned about an enemy soldier lying beside a 50-caliber machine gun mounted on an anti-aircraft tripod in an emplacement about four feet deep. Queen fixed the bayonet on his rifle and jumped in the hole, punching the soldier in the ribs. The soldier jumped up—to the surprise of everyone, who seemed to think he was dead. He was immediately taken prisoner and Queen manned the weapon. When he spotted North Korean soldiers fleeing up Hill 151 while being pursued by the remainder of the company, Queen fired the remaining ammo in the enemy machine gun in their direction. The heavy machine gun (HMG) was very primitive, with a rotating barrel like the old gattling gun of the Civil War era. The firing made a hell of a racket. Queen didn’t think that he hit anyone because he didn’t see anyone fall. When Hill 151 was captured, no one was found torn up by HMG fire.

The platoon moved behind a barrage of Anthony’s mortars. The company was now attacking from the base onto the forward slopes. The order of the attack was 1st Platoon leading, with Headquarters Company following, 2d Platoon next, and 3d Platoon in the rear.

According to Jackson, the 3d Platoon crossed two small rice paddies to get to the upgrade slope of Hill 151. The 3d Platoon was hitting the left flank of Hill 151 at the same time the 1st and 2d Platoons were fighting for the top of 151. Captain Allen told the men to get those mortars into action to support the 3d Platoon moving across the rice paddies.

The Mortar Section mounted its mortars quickly and fired at a range of some 400 yards. Jackson stripped off all of the propellant charges except one, because the distance was so short. Each 60mm mortar round came with four propellant charges attached to the shell fin. The gunner would remove the extra charges according to the data specified on the mortar firing table. As a safety measure, the extra charges were usually placed in a storage pit about ten to fifteen yards away from the immediate gun position.

The Mortar Section dropped its rounds right in front of the 3d Platoon. They came pretty close, and Jackson was sure that 3d Platoon was thinking the Mortar Section didn’t know what it was doing, and that some of the charges might fall short. Actually, the Mortar Section was watching from its position on the ridge and could see where every round landed. Its members fired a round from each mortar in sequence, then went down turns. “Drop two turns, fire!” “Drop two turns, fire!” They walked the fire uphill, just in front of the 3d Platoon.

After part of Hill 151 was captured, the mortars shifted position forward—almost to the top of the hill. By now they were receiving some sniper fire as well as five or six rounds of artillery fire. Thankfully, the artillery fire ended quickly.

First Sergeant West had been one of the first to arrive in the company assembly area. He and about five of his men ran into two enemy-manned 50-caliber, AA-mounted machine guns overlooking the area. (See Sketch A.) Realizing that this fire could stop the company from assembling and organizing, West charged the position. At the same time, Cliette arrived with his platoon to help. (West was supposed to be recommended for the Bronze Star for his decision and bravery, but was overlooked.) The company took two prisoners from this position, including the one who faked being dead until jabbed in the ribs by Queen with his bayonet. Two others were killed. Concurrently, Allen, with another squad, came across a group of enemy soldiers trying to change into civilian clothing.

By this time, rumors that nine troopers had been captured were starting to circulate. Supposedly, they had jumped late and landed past the DZ. Men from 2d Ranger Company saw some chutes in the hills to their flank, in the zone of the 4th Ranger Company. Also, the artillery had lost a few guns and trucks from the heavy drop due to malfunctioning chutes. There were riggers—troopers whose main task was to repair and pack all parachutes—out on the DZ after the heavy drop to recover parachutes for return to supply channels. Some riggers claimed to have accidentally fallen out of their aircraft during the heavy drop operations.

The company now prepared to attack and capture, as quickly as possible, a village named Sangdokso-ri, about one-third of the way to the main objective. (See Sketches B through D.²⁵) The company moved out with two platoons abreast about 1030 hours, with Headquarters Section in support because the men had not seen Anthony with the mortars for about an hour. Freeman’s 1st Platoon cleaned out the slopes leading down into the village, killing six and taking about twenty prisoners. Here they ran into Anthony and the Mortar Section, which had come around the first knob and taken the road into the village. The houses and dugouts were searched, as were the slopes of the hill to the rear of the village. The two ROK officers, Lieutenants Lee and Pak, questioned and helped control the civilians found.