"Invincible Marines"
ROKMC Earned Sobriquet in the Korean War
By LtCol James F. Durand
Founded as the Navy's landing force with only 380 Marines, the Republic of Korea Marine Corps (ROKMC) had little opportunity to train for amphibious warfare before Korean War hostilities began. By the war's end, the Korean Marines had executed daring and difficult landings around the peninsula, including Inchon.
Established without American advisors or equipment, the Korean Marines would forge a relationship with the U.S. Marine Corps that would last through two wars and an armistice. When the armistice agreement was signed, the ROKMC had grown to 27,000 Marines, secured a place among the world's elite military forces and earned international acclaim as the "Ghost-Catching Marines" and "Invincible Marines."
Establishment and Initial Operations
On 19 April 1948, communists within the ROK Army's 14th Regiment mutinied, sparking an uprising in the cities of Yosu and Sunchon. President Syngman Rhee ordered a joint Army-Navy task force to put down the rebellion. After several days of intense fighting, army units drove the rebels back to the port city of Yosu, but were stopped at the ridge surrounding the city. The task force commander ordered an amphibious assault. Four Navy cutters attempted to land, only to be pushed back by the mutineers. The rebels fought for several more days before abandoning the city.
Examining the failed assault, Rear Admiral Son Won Il, Korean Chief of Naval Operations, asked, "If our Navy had a ground combat unit or Marine Corps, wouldn't the results have been different?" On 1 Feb. 1949, RADM Son appointed Commander Shin Hyun Joon, a former infantry officer, to lead the new unit.
CDR Shin quickly assembled officers and staff noncommissioned officers. After selecting the cadre, 300 recruits from the Navy's 13th and 14th Recruit Classes were assigned to the new unit. The ROKMC consisted of 380 Marines assigned to two rifle companies, a support company, a security section and a counterintelligence section. It was established on 15 April 1949 at the Deoksan Air Base in Chinhae, as newly appointed Lieutenant Colonel Shin received the Korean Marine Corps color.
The Marines needed to repair their facilities and acquire equipment. Marines wore an assortment of discarded uniforms, American boots and Japanese helmets. Those issued weapons carried Japanese Arisaka Type 99 rifles. However, the Corps' leaders stressed training and discipline over equipment and materiel. Marines climbed the 1,800-foot Chonja Peak so often that the mountain quickly became a symbol of the new Corps.
As Commandant, LtCol Shin was promoted to colonel on 1 July 1949.
On 29 Aug. 1949, the Korean Marines deployed a battalion-size unit to Jinju. An estimated 1,500 guerrillas operated in the Chiri Mountains, attacking government facilities and plundering villages. The presence of the Marines immediately restored a sense of security to the city. After avoiding the Marine patrols for nearly two months, an estimated 70 guerrillas attacked the Marine camp in the early morning hours of 27 Oct. The Marines inflicted heavy casualties on the guerrillas and forced them to retreat. The rebels never again attacked Jinju.
Because of the success of the Jinju operation, the two-battalion Marine Corps was ordered to Cheju Island on 26 Dec. to take charge of antiguerrilla operations. The Marines were as aggressive in earning the trust of the people as they were in ferreting out remaining guerrillas, assisting farmers with spring planting and arranging free medical care. Reflecting the success of these efforts, more than 3,000 islanders joined the Marine Corps following the North Korean invasion.
The First Battles of the Korean War
As the North Koreans advanced south, the Korean Marines landed a battalion-size unit at Kunsan on 16 July. The ROK Marines fought the 13th Regt for the next four days and successfully delayed its attack south before breaking contact and withdrawing to Yosu.
Reinforcements arrived from Cheju Island; the unit, numbering more than 500 Marines and named for its commander, LtCol Kim Seung Un, fought the North Koreans at Namwon, Unbong and Chinju from 23-31 July. The Korean Marines then were ordered to Chindong-ni. On 3 Aug., the Marines attacked the advancing North Koreans, surprising and defeating an unsuspecting enemy. Upon hearing of the attack, President Rhee directed that all Marines in the Kim Seung Un unit be promoted one rank, the first such distinction of the Korean War.
Desperate to cut off the source of allied reinforcement and resupply, elements of the 7th North Korean People's Army (NKPA) Div captured the city of Tongyoung and prepared for a final assault to seize the port facilities at Masan and Chinhae. RADM Son ordered the Marines to land behind enemy lines and recapture Tongyoung.
On the evening of 17 Aug., seven Navy patrol craft sailed from Chinhae and landed LtCol Kim's Marines on the beaches near Tongyoung. The following morning, the Marines attacked the North Koreans, drove them from the city and established a defensive perimeter. In her account of the battle, New York Herald Tribune reporter Marguerite Higgins wrote, "They might even capture the devil." Translated into Korean and published throughout the country, the "Ghost-Catching Marines" became heroes in the darkest hours of the war.
The Inchon-Seoul Campaign
As the U.S. First Marine Division completed its final plans for the amphibious assault at Inchon, Colonel Edward D. Snedeker, Chief of Staff, proposed substituting the Korean Marines for the ROK Army's 17th Regt. The Far East Command approved the change on 3 Sept., and 3,000 Korean Marines—organized into three infantry battalions, a reconnaissance company and a headquarters element—were attached to the Division, embarked aboard amphibious ships and assigned the mission as the landing force reserve.
On the evening of 15 Sept., the 3d ROKMC Battalion was attached to the 5th Marines, landed on Red Beach and was assigned the mission of clearing Inchon. It quickly destroyed remaining pockets of resistance, allowing the 1st and 5th Marines to continue the attack toward Seoul. Relieved by the 2d ROKMC Bn, the 3d ROKMC Bn moved to rejoin the 5th Marines in its attack toward Kimpo. On 17 Sept., Col Shin brought his headquarters and 1st ROKMC Bn ashore, regained control of the 3d ROKMC Bn and was assigned the mission of clearing enemy on the Kimpo Peninsula. The 2d ROKMC Bn joined the operation on the following day.
By 19 Sept., the Korean Marines had cleared a zone to protect the Division's left flank and secure the Han River crossing site at Kimpo City. Leaving the 3d ROKMC Bn to secure the Division's flank, Major General Oliver P. Smith, commanding the 1stMarDiv, ordered the Korean Marines to cross the Han River on 20 Sept., attaching the 1st ROKMC Bn to the 5th Marines for the assault on Seoul.
In order to advance to Seoul, the 5th Marines needed to secure the hills and ridges surrounding Hill 296 that blocked the western approaches to the capital. Historian Col Robert D. Heinl Jr. noted, "As an exercise in map reading, this ground is confusing and deceptive; for the tactician, it is a nightmare." Positioned between the 2d and 3d battalions of the 5th Marines, the 1st ROKMC Bn began its attack on 22 Sept. and immediately encountered heavy resistance.
Taking advantage of the terrain, the NKPA's 25th Brigade commander had established his main line of resistance (MLR) in the area in which the 1st ROKMC Bn was attempting to advance. The two sides exchanged heavy mortar and artillery fire for two days; Marine aviators flew additional sorties in support of the Korean Marines. While the 1st ROKMC Bn inflicted more than 600 casualties on the communist defenders, the Korean Marines also suffered heavy casualties and were assigned as the regimental reserve on 24 Sept. The 5th Marines captured Hill 296 two days later.
The arrival of the 7th Marines and the Kim Seung Un unit, now designated the 5th ROKMC Bn, reinforced the 1stMarDiv as it began its final assault on Seoul. The Korean Marines, less the 1st and 2d ROKMC battalions, were assigned as the Division reserve and were prepared to occupy Seoul. The 1st and 5th Marines' commanders used their attached ROKMC battalions to clear the area of remaining enemy. The commander of the 1st Marines, Col Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller, observed, "They're the only ones who can tell the cowboys from the Indians."
Marines from the 2d ROKMC Bn raised the flag in front of the National Capitol at 0610 on 27 Sept. Accounts of this moved the Korean people in the same manner as Joe Rosenthal's photograph at Iwo Jima inspired Americans.
Independent Operations and Return to the First Marine Division
American and Korean Marines parted company after the Inchon-Seoul campaign. The 2d ROKMC Bn was ordered to Mokpo, where it would support antiguerrilla operations from 10 Oct. to 23 Nov. The Corps' headquarters and the other three battalions moved to the East Coast of North Korea, fighting at Wonsan, Kosong and Hamhung from 27 Oct. to 15 Dec. Following the withdrawal of United Nations Command forces from Hamhung, the Korean Marines consolidated their units at the port city of Chinhae. The 1st ROKMC Regt was established on 20 Dec., consisting of the 1st, 2d and 3d battalions.
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