Combat· Korean War
Koto-ri Leg
With the regiments concentrated at Hagaru-ri, the division pressed on down the next stage of the road to Koto-ri, the perimeter farther south along the mountain route.
The march was another fighting passage, the column pushing through Chinese positions and roadblocks while close air support worked over the surrounding hills and the rear guard held off pursuit. The Marines carried their casualties with them and destroyed what they could not move, maintaining the discipline and order that distinguished the entire withdrawal. Reaching Koto-ri closed up the division for the most formidable obstacle still ahead, the descent of Funchilin Pass and the gap where the bridge had been blown. The Koto-ri leg was one link in the chain of the breakout, each segment opened by hard fighting and tied to the next, as the division clawed its way down out of the mountains toward the coast.
Record no. 619