Combat· Korean War
Operation KILLER
Operation KILLER was the first major United Nations counteroffensive the rebuilt division joined, a deliberate, firepower-heavy attack designed less to seize ground than to destroy enemy forces and push the front back toward the Han River.
Attacking through mud and snowmelt as the winter broke, the Marines drove north against Chinese and North Korean troops who fought delaying actions and then slipped away under cover of darkness, burying their dead and carrying off their wounded. The operation's blunt name reflected its purpose: to inflict maximum casualties and keep relentless pressure on a recovering enemy. The Marines reached their objectives in about a week of fighting, finding the final objective areas abandoned. KILLER restored momentum to a United Nations command still recovering its confidence after the winter disasters, and it marked the division's return to the central front as a full-strength offensive instrument.
Record no. 625