Combat· Korean War
Hill 104 (Korea)
Hill 104 was a Chinese-held height in the Jamestown Line sector that the Marines attacked as part of the constant struggle for the commanding ground between the lines.
Mounted as a limited-objective raid to deny the enemy the use of key terrain, take prisoners, and inflict casualties, the assault carried the Marines onto their objectives under heavy supporting fire, but the cost of holding the exposed ground mounted quickly. As enemy artillery and mortar fire raked the position and counterpressure built, the attack, like others in this period, failed to secure all its designated objectives, and the assault force was recalled to the main line of resistance with the aid of air, armor, and artillery covering the withdrawal. Hill 104 typified the brutal arithmetic of the outpost war, where seizing a hill was often easier than holding it against the massed Chinese fire that made captured ground untenable.
Record no. 636