Combat· Korean War
Hill 812
Hill 812 was the next objective along the Kanmubong ridgeline, attacked by the 5th Marines as they passed through the regiment that had taken Hill 749 and pushed the advance westward toward the higher peaks beyond.
Driving along the main east-west crest, the Marines made remarkably fast initial progress before running up against the hardened defenses of the height the troops came to call "the Rock," a knob of commanding ground the North Koreans were determined to hold and to retake. The Marines seized Hill 812 and then fought to keep it, beating back counterattacks aimed at prying them off the crest while consolidating their grip on the surrounding spurs. The capture rounded out the division's hold on the northern rim of the Punchbowl. With Hill 812 secured, the Marines had taken the dominating ground around the basin, and the front in their sector settled into the long positional stalemate.
Record no. 868