The Chosin Few

The Battle of Chosin | Image Gallery

They came from everywhere: California, Alabama, Wyoming, and Texas, to name a few. Many were just teenagers when they arrived in Korea, though prior to landing, they could not find it on a map. They found themselves freezing and surrounded at the Chosin Reservoir. Today, the men they call the “Chosin Few" are well into their 80s and 90s. In this gallery, we share their portraits and personal stories. The men (and some women) were photographed and interviewed at a reunion of The Chosin Few in San Diego in August 2016.

“There’s no comparison between the two where physical hardship is concerned. The physical peril is there with the kamikazes. But if you survive the attacks, you’re aboard a ship, with the comfort of ships — bunks and all that. At Chosin, there was no rest for the weary, no place for the frozen.” — John Edward Gray, Army
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“We were at Camp Lejeune. Everybody said, well where in the world is Korea?” — Duane Trowbridge, Marines
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“The day the Chinese entered the war, I was sure he was dead. I started crying — I couldn’t stop. And the admiral came in to give me some papers — he had something he wanted me to do. He came into the room and he said to the other girl, ‘What’s the matter with her?’ because I was typing and crying. And she said, ‘Well she’s sure her fiance is dead.’” Leona Stern with her husband, Charles Stern, Marines
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“I didn’t say much about it at first. And that’s like the frostbite, it gradually gets worse.” Lester O'Neil, Marines
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"I got my 45 out and then I see something move. Here was a big rabbit — beautiful, he was a beautiful rabbit. He had a pink nose, pink ears, blue eyes… So we built him a little cage and took him with us. We took him into the Chosin Reservoir." — John Farritor, Marines
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“It was always a somewhat unusual feeling when you woke up in the morning and you had to dig holes to push bodies of dead guys in and cover them up because the next night it was going to happen again. You had some feeling about it.” — John Schoenfeld, Marines
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"This captain, I can’t remember his name, but he was from Louisiana… He was telling us that General Almond did not want any colored troops because in World War II he had colored troops and they weren’t reliable — they didn’t know how to fight — so we would not be a fighting unit, we were going to become truck drivers." — "Joe" Harrison Ager, Army
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"The stuff was everywhere — it's white and it just burns your whole skin. So we got knives out, each one of us took our knife and scraped our faces and our hands because if it stays on it burns a hole." Sargent Philip Hahn was awarded a purple heart after he and three others were hit with a mortar filled with white phosphorous.
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"It was difficult finding where the companies were. Since I was in the dark, I sang songs to make sure they knew I was an American." — John Sinnicki, Marines
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"I have three sons. They like to watch films they see about the Chosin. But I don't watch too many of them. It brings back memories." — Dow McCarty, Marines
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"This one corpsman drove eight days and nights nonstop going out of the trap. He'd drive the distance of this room before the convoy hit another roadblock. He'd jump out of the jeep, grab his rifle, grab his medical kit, and take off with the marines there, fighting the Chinese to get through the roadblock. He'd come back and give us each a snowball and we could suck on it or eat the ice. He'd check each patient and then start driving again. It took us eight days to go 16 miles.'' — Harold Barber, Marines
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"We had just been so strong in World War II, I thought the Koreans aren't going to stand a chance against us. I thought, this war is going to be so short — this is going to be really a great experience, this is what I was looking for — some adventure and some travel. I had no idea." — Bill Hartline, Marines, with Lou Ann Hartline
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"When I started writing about it, I felt more comfortable. I shared it with my family. And then I started feeling guilty that I never told anybody. That I didn't share any of the bad stuff I was going through before." — Delbert Houlette, Marines
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"I still dream about it. You think about things. You never forget some of that stuff. The best thing you remember is the guys you served with. They were all, as far as I'm concerned, class-A guys." — Darrell McArdle, Army
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"I came around the corner and walked into a North Korean army guy and he probably was the same age as I am. I was as close to him as you and I. We both had weapons, and we were both scared to death. And I just looked in his eyes and he looked in mine, and he ran that way and I ran the other way." — Jim Valentine, Army
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"My squad leader, Bob Devins — he was one of my best friends — he got killed that night. He died in my arms. He was covered in blood. We tried to hold his head together, but we couldn't do it. That was the hardest part of the whole war, that one night." — John Parkinson, Marines
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"My parents didn't know I was on my way. There was a taxicab company, so I went to them and said, ' I'm going to Avenue S and 21st Street.' He said, 'get in.' Never said a word to me. I've got my greens and ribbons on. The driver never said, 'What's happened to you?' or 'Where have you been?' I thought, well, maybe he can't see." — Bob Atkins, Marines
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Ken Dower, Marines
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Harry Hope, Marines
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Edward Hoth, Marines
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Jack Howell, Marines
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Mervyn Maurath, Navy
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Dick Throm, Marines
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"The only metal building that we had built on this particular base had one door, and when you went in, there was a counter with nothing but beer on it. Everything else was tents, but they had a metal building for the beer to keep it safe." — George Klenk, Marines
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"The corpsman said, 'For god's sake, you've got a bullet in your stomach? Wiggle your toes or they'll freeze!' The corpsman was a smart one — he said, 'wiggle, wiggle, wiggle,' and look at me — I can do it now!" — Robert Henderson, Marines
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"Here they are in a foreign place — terrified. She represented their mother, their sister, their sweetheart, that's how it was. And for them to look at her and just feel sort of like they were going to be okay — it was a comfort to them." — Adrianne Whitmore's mother, Lillian Kinkella Keil, was an Air Force flight nurse.
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"If a person had half their face shot away or a sucking chest wound, you knew he was going to die. But this other guy, if he can get to a hospital ship or get to Japan, he's got a chance of living. So we had to put some guys aside. That was the most difficult thing of all. It haunted me for years — choosing who would live and would die." — Stanley Wolf, Physician, Navy, Marines
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"Two of my guys, we went off the ship at the port where we were and there was a warehouse that was full of food. So we went down and we just loaded up and dropped it down in the hold for those people so they'd have something to eat." — Robert Whited, Marines
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"I was dumb enough and young enough, I didn't care, you' know. I didn't think about it — I'd seen them John Wayne movies." — Linus Chism, Marines
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"We were at the Imjin River. It was raining — just a mess. We couldn't get across the river because the current was so high we couldn't put a cable across…I turned and looked and here's a little girl and a little boy standing there — they looked like doll babies, hair was hanging down and water was dripping off. I just couldn't take it. So I opened up my 782 and pulled out two cans of chicken and rice — which I hated anyway — and gave it to the little girl and she put them in her apron. She was still standing there and I thought, well, I can get along without the C-rations for one day. So I gave them everything I had. They were elated. Then they were gone." — John Beasley, Marines
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"They said there was a dead marine in this hole and they wanted me to go down there and take his place…So I jumped up, started running my zig-zag path to get where he told me to go. Then it seemed like the whole Chinese army opened up— you could hear them whizzing by—and there was no hole." — Bill Mills, Marines
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"We were fox-hole buddies. I was his Sargent." "When your actual life depends on the people around you, they tend to mean something to you." — Felix del Giudice (left) and Myron "Jack" Leistler (right), Marines
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"We went up to the Yalu River at night. You could see the Manchurian Mountains looking way out on the horizon in China. I took some beautiful pictures of that and used them as Christmas cards. Beautiful. And cold. It was cold." — George Barber, Navy
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"When we were coming down from the Chosin Reservoir, we came down with a whole lot of refugees — I mean thousands, maybe. And it was kind of dark. And there was a family and there was a little girl. I went over to her and I said, 'I want to give you some food.' And she said, 'no.' So I walked away. And a little bit later she walks over to me and she gives me this thing to trade for food. I gave them all I had." — Barry McLean, Marines
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"I know when he's having the dream because he does the same thing every time. First, he starts shivering. Then every hair on his body stands straight out. And then he starts running. He runs — and then he stops. He looks around. He does that three or four times. And then the last time he lets out the most bloodcurdling scream I've ever heard. As soon as I touch him he calms down." —Arlee and Robert Johnson, Marines
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"I keep telling people my goal in life is to live until I'm 110 and be the last surviving member of the Chosin Few. I've got a few competitors out there with the same idea." — Bill Beasley, Marines
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