Combat· Korean War
Hagaru-ri
Hagaru-ri sat at the southern tip of the Chosin Reservoir, the point where the single mountain road forked toward the eastern and western arms of the lake, and Major General Oliver P.
Smith chose it as the division's forward base. As the Marines advanced cautiously up from the coast into the high country, Smith deliberately slowed the pace his superiors urged, husbanding his strung-out division and insisting that a base be built at Hagaru-ri before pushing farther. The Marines established the perimeter, stockpiled supplies, and set engineers to scraping an expeditionary airstrip out of the frozen ground, the airfield that would later fly out thousands of wounded and fly in replacements during the breakout. This advance phase saw little serious fighting, but the prudence behind it proved decisive: the base, the airstrip, and the concentration of force at Hagaru-ri were what made survival possible once the Chinese sprang their trap.
Record no. 614