Jeff Shaara - The Frozen Hours

The beleaguered commander of the United States Eighth Army is cruelly regarded by history, especially as that history is written by Douglas MacArthur, who never respects Walker’s abilities leading troops. After his army’s breakout from the Pusan Perimeter, Walker is blamed for allowing a great many North Korean troops to escape northward, despite MacArthur’s planned envelopment formed by the Inchon invasion. Overwhelmed by the surprise assault by Lin Biao’s Chinese forces, Walker withdraws the Eighth Army back below the 38th parallel, conceding to the Chinese the North Korean capital of Pyongyang. It is a militarily sound move, allowing the Eighth Army to both survive and regroup. MacArthur does not agree. Though many of his troops speak highly of Walker’s command, he is never allowed to redeem his failures in the summer and fall of 1950. On December 23, near Uijongbu, South Korea, he is killed in a jeep accident. He is sixty-one. Walker is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

He is succeeded in command of the Eighth Army by General Matthew Ridgway.

GENERAL FRANK LOWE

President Truman’s “eyes” in Korea continues his various informal inspection tours, though he develops a clear friendship and respect for Smith’s Marines beyond any other group. In late December 1950, Lowe writes Truman that the Marines should never again be placed under army command, which, logically, endears him to Oliver Smith. Lowe also issues a blistering report on the poor quality of the South Korean troops, laying blame at the feet of Syngman Rhee, whom he faults for rampant corruption. He returns to Washington in April 1951, having performed exactly as Truman had hoped, especially with added insight into the mind and performance of Douglas MacArthur, which contributes enormously to the eventual climactic confrontation between the president and his commanding general.

In his final report from Korea, Lowe says, “The First Marine Division under the command of O. P. Smith is the most efficient and courageous combat unit I have ever seen or heard of.”

When Lowe departs, he leaves behind a gift to Colonel Alpha Bowser: a heavily armored jeep, armed with a .50-caliber machine gun, and most important to Bowser, soft seats. The two men remain friends for years after.

Later in 1951, Truman demonstrates his appreciation for Lowe’s service by awarding him the Distinguished Service Cross.

COLONEL DOUGLAS DRYSDALE

He recovers from his wounds, continues to lead his Royal Marines throughout the United Nations campaigns against the Chinese throughout 1951. He continues in various commands until his retirement in 1962. Drysdale and his men are awarded the Presidential Unit Citation by Harry Truman, and in 1954, Drysdale is named an “Honorary U.S. Marine” by Marine Commandant Lemuel Shepherd. His own government recognizes his heroism, awarding him the title of “Member of the British Empire” as well as the “Distinguished Service Order.”

He dies in 1990, in Norfolk, England, at age seventy-four.

LIEUTENANT COLONEL DONALD FAITH

For his extraordinary leadership throughout the desperate escape attempt from overwhelming Chinese forces east of the Chosin Reservoir, Colonel Faith is awarded a posthumous Medal of Honor. Though recriminations are many after the campaign, no amount of blame is directed at Faith for the devastating losses under his command.

“In terms of the collective memory of the American people, the Korean War is not just forgotten. It was not remembered in the first place….”

To my wife, Stephanie, who opened the door to this book after a meeting with an old family friend, “Peep” Sanders, who carries the memories found here

IAM OFTEN asked about research sources. The following is a partial, and invaluable, list of published firsthand memoirs:

The Coldest War, by James Brady

The Three Day Promise, by Donald K. Chung, MD

We Were Innocents: An Infantryman in Korea, by William D. Dannenmaier

Once Upon a Lifetime, by C. I. Greenwood

Brave Men, by David H. Hackworth

One Bugle, No Drums, by William B. Hopkins

Reminiscences, by Douglas MacArthur

Colder Than Hell, by Joseph R. Owen

The Korean War, by Matthew B. Ridgway

Years of Trial and Hope, by Harry S. Truman

I am deeply grateful to the following historians, whose published accounts of the Korean War all contributed to the necessary research:

Henry Berry

Clay Blair

Burke Davis

Bob Drury and Tom Clavin

T. R. Fehrenbach

David Halberstam

Eric Hamel

John W. Harper

Max Hastings

Robert Leckie

William Manchester

S. L. A. Marshall

Allan R. Millett

Martin Russ

Jim Wilson

Most especially, I am deeply indebted to the following, who offered unpublished firsthand accounts, or other significant avenues of research that proved essential in the writing of this book:

John A. Blazer, Savannah, GA

Walter E. Cohan, Vero Beach, FL

James R. Conway, Atlanta, GA

Fred Denson, Athens, GA

William T. Dunn, Reedsville, VA

O. W. Ervin, Littleton, CO

Robert Ezell, Los Alamitos, CA

Lyn Gillet, Poulsbo, WA

William Gerichten, Kernersville, NC

John Edward Gray, Mount Ulla, NC

Jim Griffith, Flemington, NJ

Bob Harbula, West Mifflin, PA

Larry Hochfeld, Tamarac, FL

Jack Ingram, Columbia, MD

Seamus Kilty, San Anselmo, CA

Tom Lewis, Albuquerque, NM

Leroy Martin, Rivervale, NJ

Emma McSherry, Gettysburg, PA

Dick Olson, Green Valley, AZ

David Palluconi, Fairfield, OH

George “Chip” Peifer, Roseville, CA

Charles Penick, Vinton, VA

Erick K. Poeschl, West Milford, NJ

Marvin L. Pollard, Roanoke, VA

Eugene “Peep” Sanders, Gettysburg, PA

James R. Saul, Danville, VA

Win K. Scott, Waynesville, NC

Stephanie Shaara, Gettysburg, PA

James A. Van Sant, Santa Fe, NM

Dr. Stanley I. Wolf, Bethesda, MD

I offer a very special thank-you to Gail B. Shisler, Fairfax, Virginia, the granddaughter of General Oliver P. Smith. Shisler is the author of an outstanding biography of the general ( For Country and Corps ) and made herself available to me for advice and consultation. She graciously provided me with CDs of General Smith’s verbal, unpublished memoirs, which were an essential tool in the telling of this story.

And I am forever indebted to the members of the Chosin Few and the survivors of Task Force Faith, many of whom have passed away during the writing of this book.

The Frozen Hours

A Blaze of Glory

A Chain of Thunder

The Smoke at Dawn

The Fateful Lightning

Gods and Generals

The Last Full Measure

Gone for Soldiers

Rise to Rebellion

The Glorious Cause

To the Last Man

Jeff Shaara’s Civil War Battlefields

The Rising Tide

The Steel Wave

No Less Than Victory

The Final Storm

JEFF SHAARA is the New York Times bestselling author of The Smoke at Dawn, A Chain of Thunder, A Blaze of Glory, The Fateful Lightning, The Final Storm, No Less Than Victory, The Steel Wave, The Rising Tide, To the Last Man, The Glorious Cause, Rise to Rebellion, and Gone for Soldiers, as well as Gods and Generals and The Last Full Measure —two novels that complete the Civil War trilogy that began with his father’s Pulitzer Prize–winning classic, The Killer Angels. Shaara was born into a family of Italian immigrants in New Brunswick, New Jersey. He grew up in Tallahassee, Florida, and graduated from Florida State University. He lives in Gettysburg.