thedrifter
02-12-07, 11:29 AM
Monday, February 12, 2007
Recalling Chosin Reservoir
By JOHN KOZIOL
jkoziolcitizen.com
jkoziol@citizen.com
HOLDERNESS - Although both the date and temperatures were off significantly from the event they were commemorating, two dozen brave souls took to the snowy woods to honor the valor of the U.S. Marine Corps in one of its proudest moments, the Battle of Chosin Reservoir.
On Sunday, for about the eighth year in a row, the Pemigewasset Valley Fish and Game Club held the "Frozin Chosin High Power Shoot " at its rifle range on Beede Road.
The shoot takes place in February, historically the coldest part of the New Hampshire winter, as an attempt to recreate some of the conditions in the area of North Korea's Chosin Reservoir in late November, early December 1950.
Then, some 70,000 Chinese "volunteers" and their North Korean comrades faced off against some 30,000 United Nations troops, mostly American Marines, in temperatures that saw the thermometer hit 70 below zero.
Even though they eventually won the field, it is widely believed that Chosin Reservoir was a Pyrrhic victory for the Chinese who suffered significantly more casualties than the U.N. forces, which were able to retreat southward in an orderly manner.
Some authorities prefer to use the term "break out" to describe what the Marines — having cut off the North Korean Army after the surprise landing at Inchon months earlier — did at Chosin Reservoir, while the USMC website at www.marines.com says simply that the leathernecks were "trapped" by a numerically superior adversary.
"Written off for lost, the Marines regrouped and fought their way to the sea, where they rejoined American forces," the website concludes.
The Battle of the Chosin Reservoir elicited a number of memorable comments from its participants, including Major General O.P. Smith who, when asked if the Marines were retreating, is said to have replied, "Retreat? Hell, we're attacking in a different direction!"
George Gurick Jr. who, with Randy Enger, the director of the Fish and Game Club's high-power program, was a founder of the Frozin Chosin Shoot, was heard to repeat that line several times on Sunday and also to make reference to books about the battle.
Both Gurick, a former Air Force staff sergeant who resides in Farmington, and Enger, a software engineer from Massachusetts who is in the process of relocating to Ashland, stressed that the shoot was not a re-enactment, although several participants wore what appeared to be Korean Conflict-era military clothing and field gear.
Most, if not all, were carrying the M1 Garand, the U.S. military service rifle used in 1936-1957. The semi-automatic features an eight-round clip, has a muzzle velocity of about 2,700 feet per second and an effective range of 600 yards.
On Sunday, the shooters at the Frozin Chosin had firing lines at 35, 100 and 200 yards.
Divided into two teams, they attempted to hit both stationary and moving targets, with Team 2 ultimately earning marksman honors with 5,014 hits compared to 4,248 for Team 1, said Enger, who was a member of the former and is also an instructor with the Civilian Marksmanship Program, which was originally established by Congress in 1916.
Gurick reiterated that the purpose of the Frozin Chosin Shoot was to commemorate "the service and sacrifice of the Marine Corps."
He noted that those Marines, with the size and strength of the enemy, as well as the weather conditions they had to endure, were true heroes.
By comparison, being out in Holderness on a Sunday in February, he said, "was a cakewalk."
Ellie
Recalling Chosin Reservoir
By JOHN KOZIOL
jkoziolcitizen.com
jkoziol@citizen.com
HOLDERNESS - Although both the date and temperatures were off significantly from the event they were commemorating, two dozen brave souls took to the snowy woods to honor the valor of the U.S. Marine Corps in one of its proudest moments, the Battle of Chosin Reservoir.
On Sunday, for about the eighth year in a row, the Pemigewasset Valley Fish and Game Club held the "Frozin Chosin High Power Shoot " at its rifle range on Beede Road.
The shoot takes place in February, historically the coldest part of the New Hampshire winter, as an attempt to recreate some of the conditions in the area of North Korea's Chosin Reservoir in late November, early December 1950.
Then, some 70,000 Chinese "volunteers" and their North Korean comrades faced off against some 30,000 United Nations troops, mostly American Marines, in temperatures that saw the thermometer hit 70 below zero.
Even though they eventually won the field, it is widely believed that Chosin Reservoir was a Pyrrhic victory for the Chinese who suffered significantly more casualties than the U.N. forces, which were able to retreat southward in an orderly manner.
Some authorities prefer to use the term "break out" to describe what the Marines — having cut off the North Korean Army after the surprise landing at Inchon months earlier — did at Chosin Reservoir, while the USMC website at www.marines.com says simply that the leathernecks were "trapped" by a numerically superior adversary.
"Written off for lost, the Marines regrouped and fought their way to the sea, where they rejoined American forces," the website concludes.
The Battle of the Chosin Reservoir elicited a number of memorable comments from its participants, including Major General O.P. Smith who, when asked if the Marines were retreating, is said to have replied, "Retreat? Hell, we're attacking in a different direction!"
George Gurick Jr. who, with Randy Enger, the director of the Fish and Game Club's high-power program, was a founder of the Frozin Chosin Shoot, was heard to repeat that line several times on Sunday and also to make reference to books about the battle.
Both Gurick, a former Air Force staff sergeant who resides in Farmington, and Enger, a software engineer from Massachusetts who is in the process of relocating to Ashland, stressed that the shoot was not a re-enactment, although several participants wore what appeared to be Korean Conflict-era military clothing and field gear.
Most, if not all, were carrying the M1 Garand, the U.S. military service rifle used in 1936-1957. The semi-automatic features an eight-round clip, has a muzzle velocity of about 2,700 feet per second and an effective range of 600 yards.
On Sunday, the shooters at the Frozin Chosin had firing lines at 35, 100 and 200 yards.
Divided into two teams, they attempted to hit both stationary and moving targets, with Team 2 ultimately earning marksman honors with 5,014 hits compared to 4,248 for Team 1, said Enger, who was a member of the former and is also an instructor with the Civilian Marksmanship Program, which was originally established by Congress in 1916.
Gurick reiterated that the purpose of the Frozin Chosin Shoot was to commemorate "the service and sacrifice of the Marine Corps."
He noted that those Marines, with the size and strength of the enemy, as well as the weather conditions they had to endure, were true heroes.
By comparison, being out in Holderness on a Sunday in February, he said, "was a cakewalk."
Ellie