Forums - Thread Details
  • State Suggested Answer
  • Replies 4 replies
  • Answers 1 answer
  • Subscribers 10 subscribers
  • Views 60 views
  • Users 0 members are here
Thread Options
Options
Related

Trying to find info on father's Korean war service. He was in tank company, 31st infantry, 7th ID from October 1951 to about March 1952 as a WOjg . Was wanting to know what action that group saw.

Breweres

My father was in tank company, 31st infantry, 7th ID from October 1951 to about 01 March 1952. He was in mundung ni valley not too far from heartbreak ridge. He never described any action but told my cousin shortly before he died that they were in the mess tent near Christmas 1951 when they were attacked by Chinese and/or  North Koreans. The men were fighting hand to hand with knives, forks, and whatever they could grab.  Since Daddy had dementia and had never mentioned this, is there any way to find out if this happened and the details such as exact date and place? Any way to find out what action the company saw?

  • 0

    The 31st Infantry Regiment's biggest fight during that time period was a fighting withdrawal on the east side of the Chosin Reservoir. Some say it allowed the 1st Marine Division time to organize their fighting withdrawal to the coast, but at great cost. The Regimental commander, LTC Don C. Faith, was awarded the Medal of Honor (posthumously) for his leadership in the battle; his remains were only recently recovered from North Korea.

    If you want to read an excellent book about the 31st Infantry Regiment during that time period, I recommend "East of Chosin: Entrapment and Breakout in Korea, 1950," by Roy E. Appleman, published by Texas A&M University Press. Appleman wrote several books on the Korean War (including one for the Army's official history of the war), this one is his best.

  • 0 in reply to Donald Hall
    • Thank you so much for the information. I'll be sure to find and read that book. I do need information for the 31st after Chosin. Daddy mentioned the Mundung- ni valley and said Heartbreak Ridge was to the right. This was about a year after Chosin (fall/winter 1951-1952). Do you possibly have any suggestions on how to find records for that time period?
  • 0 in reply to Breweres

    Well, you can always go to the Archives and dig into the operational records of the 31st Infantry Regiment.

    Absent that, you might look at the documents on this web page, from the Korean War Project:

    7th Infantry Division Records - Korean War Project

    Most of them appear to be periodic reports from the subordinate units of the 7th Infantry Division (including the 431st Infantry Regiment).

    I haven't worked much with Korean War records, but my experience with World War II and Vietnam War records is that reports of this nature is that they are as good--and as comprehensive--as the energy of the officer writing the report, and his commander's interest in the completion of the report.

    You'll also see, if you look up Appleman on an author search (such as on Amazon, but I'm not plugging them) that he wrote a series of books on that time period of the war, so one of his other books may be of interest to you--it depends on how much detail you want, and how much detail he went into.

  • 0

     

    Thank you for posting your request on History Hub!

    We searched the National Archives Catalog and located a series titled Command Reports, 1949 - 1954 in the Records of the Adjutant General's Office, 1917 - 1985 (Record Group 407) that includes the files for the 31st Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division during the Korean War.  For more information about these non-digitized records, please contact the National Archives at College Park - Textual Reference (RR2R) at archives2reference@nara.gov.

    We also searched the National Archives Catalog and located a series titled Unit Histories, 1943 - 1967 in the Records of U.S. Army Operational, Tactical, and Support Organizations (World War II and Thereafter) (Record Group 338) that includes the files for the 31st Infantry Regiment during the 1950s. For more information about these non-digitized records, please contact the National Archives at College Park - Textual Reference (RR2R) via email at archives2reference@nara.gov.

    We were unable to locate specific records of Tank Company.  Records of lower echelon units sometimes were incorporated into the files of the battalion or regiment.

    We hope this is helpful. Best of luck with your family research!

    Sincerely,

    Textual Reference Archives II Branch (RR2RR)

    RR2RR 23-42385-LR