Combat· Korean War
East Hill (Hagaru defense)
East Hill was the high ground looming over Hagaru-ri, the vital base and airstrip at the foot of the reservoir where the cut-off regiments would concentrate and the wounded would be flown out.
If the Chinese held its crest, they could overlook and dominate the entire perimeter, so its defense was critical to the survival of the whole division. With the best infantry committed elsewhere, the base was held by a scratch force of engineers, artillerymen serving as riflemen, headquarters troops, and attached Army soldiers, who fought through repeated night assaults to keep the enemy off the decisive ground. A rifle company thrown into the fight clawed up the slope and clung to the military crest in savage close combat, and the hill was finally secured and held against a last counterattack. The stubborn defense of East Hill preserved Hagaru-ri as the hinge on which the entire breakout turned.
Record no. 885