7th Infantry Division Korean War Ve Merch

At the outbreak of the Korean War in June 1950, the 7th Infantry Division commander, Major General David G. Barr, assembled the division at Camp Fuji near Mount Fuji. The division was already depleted due to post-war shortages of men and equipment[60] and further depleted as it sent large numbers of reinforcements to strengthen the 25th Infantry Division and 1st Cavalry Division, which were sent into combat in South Korea in July.The division paired with the 1st Marine Division under US X Corps to participate in the Inchon Landing

On the night of April 16, Company E, 31st Infantry (1st Lt. Thomas V. Harrold) manned Pork Chop Hill. Shortly before midnight, an artillery barrage foreshadowed a sudden infantry assault by a battalion of the Chinese 201st regiment; Pork Chop Hill was quickly overrun, although pockets of U.S. soldiers defended isolated bunkers. Elsewhere in the sector, other positions were attacked, pressuring the entire 7th Division. Company K (1st Lt. Joseph G. Clemons, Jr.) and Company L (1st Lt. Forrest J. Crittendon), 31st Infantry, in reserve behind the MLR, were ordered to counterattack and began their attack at 04:30 on April 17. By dawn they reached the main trenches on top of the hill but suffered almost 50% casualties, and half of Company...