Edward L. Posey
Page 2
I also wish to thank Herculano Dias and Lawrence Estell for their invaluable help in compiling material. These men and I also owe special thanks to the wives, Linda Dias, Linda Estell, Phyllis Queen, Alberta Weathersbee and Mary A. Posey, for assuming the family duties while we roamed the world attending veterans’ activities. They not only had the children, but also played a major role in their upbringing. Last but not least, I would like to thank my nephew, Michael Evans, for doing a lot to help me gather my thoughts and describe actual events.
Introduction
At the end of World War II, Korea was divided into two parts along the 38th Parallel as a temporary solution until a unified Korea could govern itself. By 1948, Communist North Korea and Democratic South Korea had each established independent governments. The Korean War erupted on June 25, 1950, when North Korean combat troops of the Korean People’s Army (KPA) crossed the 38th Parallel on the peninsula in eastern Asia. After the North Korean attack, President Harry S. Truman immediately committed U.S. forces to face the North Korean challenge. And so it was that just five years after World War II ended, the United States again found itself involved in a war halfway around the world with “a people they had never met.”
When the Armed Forces of the United States joined the Republic of Korea and twenty-one other countries to fight together under the United Nations banner against Communist North Korea and, later, China, it was in the wake of a rapid military draw-down of American forces after World War II. Unprepared to meet any new or emerging national security threats, American forces were plagued with deficiencies in personnel, equipment, training, and technology. Furthermore, World War II veterans and their families were ready for the peace and tranquility of civilian life. The GI Bill and the postwar economic boom offered many white veterans opportunities in civilian life they never before had imagined. Black veterans also were able to take advantage of education and home ownership. Reenlisting to fight another war in a faraway land held little appeal for most American veterans. Blacks in the agrarian South, however, were left with an uncertain financial future when the country’s new economic prosperity caused farm opportunities to decrease. For many blacks who previously had known only a rural life, the Army was their ticket out—faced with limited economic opportunities, they viewed the Army as a way to receive training, gain experience, and travel. These men and women were an ideal new resource for the country’s defense.
Many blacks saw America’s campaign against Communism in Korea as an opportunity to challenge segregation in the military. Under pressure from civil rights political leaders and Senator Hubert Humphrey, President Truman signed Executive Order 9981 in July 1948, which called for “equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed forces without regard to race, color, religion, or national origins.” The order was to be implemented “as rapidly as possible, having due regard to the time required to effectuate any necessary changes without impairing efficiency or morale.” Although the word desegregation did not appear in the Executive Order, and the means by which each military service should accomplish racial equality in the armed forces was not specified, this document served as the basis for racial integration in America’s armed forces.
It is important to place segregation in the context of the times. When World War II began, blacks in the Army and Navy held only menial positions. There were no blacks in the Air Corps—what later became our Air Force—and no blacks in the Marine Corps. Throughout the 1940s racial discrimination, prejudice, and bigotry were common and, sadly, often accepted in our nation and our military. Desegregation was the first step toward racial equality. For our armed forces, this important step was taken during the Korean War.
Unfortunately, since Executive Order 9981 neither specified a means to accomplish integration nor a timetable for full desegregation, black servicemen often trained, worked, and lived in segregated settings during the Korean War. Although the Air Force led the way with a plan for racial integration in January 1949 and in 1950 adhered to a racial integration policy that placed each person in a position solely on the basis of aptitude, desegregation was a slow, multi-year process throughout all of the other branches of American military service.
Both the Army and the Marine Corps entered the Korean War with racially segregated forces. By October 1951, the Army had begun the work of integrating its units, which would take three years to complete. Not until October 31, 1954, would the Army report that no segregated units remained in its ranks. Although some, like the members of the 2d Ranger Company (Airborne), were allowed to train for equal opportunities, they were still treated differently and remained segregated in an all-black unit.
Of the United States’ nine major wars, the Korean War is the least remembered. Known as a brutal test of survival in a hostile land filled with hardships caused by its hilly terrain and harsh weather conditions, the Korean War was America’s first real experience with guerilla tactics. Six million American men and women served in Korea as soldiers, nurses, clerks, chaplains, rangers, and combat and support staff. Blacks comprised about eight percent of total U.S. military manpower and were represented in all combat and combat service elements. Total black casualties in Korea were heavy, with estimates of more than 5,000 killed in combat, of which thirteen were members of the 2d Ranger Infantry Company. Numerous blacks were awarded medals, including the Distinguished Service Cross, Silver Star, and Bronze Star. Four members of the 2d Ranger Company—Captain Warren Allen (1996), Major James C. Queen (1994), Master Sergeant Edward Posey (2002), and CW4 Cleveland Valery (2005)—were inducted into the U.S. Army Ranger Hall of Fame for heroic actions during combat. The 2d Ranger Company was awarded the Combat Infantry Streamer, a commendation awarded to units receiving more than sixty-five percent of casualties in a particular engagement with the enemy. For their courage and valor, members of the 2d Ranger Company also received the Combat Infantry Badge or Combat Medical Badge; others earned the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star, and Silver Star.
This book has provided the 2d Ranger Company’s unit history by sharing its wartime experiences, as seen largely through the eyes of Major James C. Queen, an officer, and Sergeant First Class William Weathersbee and Master Sergeant Edward L. Posey, both enlisted men. Their stories of valor (and many more by several other Rangers) are punctuated by the inequalities routinely encountered by black soldiers in the years leading up to the civil rights movement. Their experiences are important. They demonstrated with great force and clarity that black soldiers could and would fight for their country with as much courage and ability as white soldiers. They also served as a snapshot in time of our nation and culture during a turning point in American civil rights.
Constance A. Burns, B.S., M.A.
Specialist in Minorities in Military History
Department of the Army
U.S. Army Center of Military History
Fort Lesley J. McNair
Washington, D.C.
Part I
The soldiers of the all-black 2d Ranger Infantry Company (Airborne), like other black units, were nicknamed the “Buffalo Soldiers.” There is more than one explanation of how the nickname came to be, but a commonly accepted account is that sometime around 1870, the 10th Cavalry Regiment was given this nickname by the Cheyenne Indians who “saw a similarity between the curly hair and dark skin of the soldiers and the buffalo.” 1 The nickname gradually came into usage whenever referring to any black soldier fighting the Plains Indians, and was “so popular among the members of the 10th Cavalry that they adopted the figure of a buffalo as a prominent feature of their Regimental Crest.”
During World War I, the soldiers of the 92d Division adopted the nickname, and the unit was called the Buffalo Division. Each member wore a shoulder patch on his uniform adorned with the solitary figure of a black buffalo. In 1942, the 92d Division “kept the nickname and apparently acquired a live young buffalo as a mascot.” 2
In 1950, throughout their training days at Fort Benning, Georgia, and before the
Buffalo Rangers who were to fight in Korea went overseas, “Buffalo” was a term of respect. In it there was solidarity. We are Rangers AND we carry the traditions of earlier Buffalo soldiers—we are strong, we are resilient, and we are united to destroy the enemy.
Chapter 1
Training at Benning
“…[T]raining of Ranger-type units was to begin at Fort Benning, at the earliest possible date. The target date was set for October 1, 1950, with a tentative training period of six weeks. The implementing orders called for formation of a headquarters detachment and four Ranger infantry companies (airborne). Requests went out for volunteers who were willing to accept extremely hazardous duty in the combat zone in the Far East.”
—www.ranger.org/html/korea_history.html 1
Sometime around the 25th of September 1950, rumors started circulating around Fort Bragg, North Carolina, that a Ranger recruiting team was on base looking for a few good triple volunteers: soldiers who had volunteered for the Army, the Airborne, and to see combat as a Ranger. Triple volunteers committed to: (1) a minimum of three years of service, because there was no draft in operation at the time; (2) parachute and glider school that produced two sets of wings when satisfactorily completed; and (3) combat in Korea, which is where all Ranger volunteers were headed. Fort Bragg was the home of the 82d Airborne Division, a major portion of the United States strategic forces.
The 82d Airborne Division was the only combat-ready unit still stateside when the call for Ranger volunteers went out. The 11th ABN was just getting reorganized after returning from Japan and was stripped of personnel to bring the 187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team (ARCT) up to strength in time for the Sukch’on and Sunch’on jump in October 1950. The main post at Fort Bragg could not hold all of the units assigned to it. The majority of the 82d was located in the main post area, but upon the reactivation of the 325th Glider Unit, the 325th was moved into the old Recruit Training Center (RTC) located across Highway 24, where non-airborne engineer units and the reception center for personnel newly assigned to Fort Bragg also were housed.
The black troops were located in the Spring Lake cantonment area on the south side of Highway 24, near the small town of Spring Lake. Murchison Road, the other main road leading into Fayetteville, North Carolina, is adjacent to this area and ran through the main black area of the city. It usually took about a day for the “official” information to come from the main post to the Spring Lake area, and two days for information to reach the RTC area. The rumors were usually passed at the Division schools because the housing and recreation area on post and in the community were “separate but equal.” Some of the black troops had regular duty assignments on the main post, and this was another way in which word of the recruitment of blacks for Ranger training was disseminated. The main black units in the Spring Lake area were the 3d Battalion, 505th Infantry Regiment; the 80th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion (AAAB); and the 758th Tank Battalion (Airborne). The 758th was kept on “jump status” and was to provide tank support to the 82d Airborne Division in case of war. Throughout September 1950, it grew obvious that we were going to be sent overseas, because we were the only unit in the 82d Airborne that was over-strength.
Corporal James Fields, who was recruited from the 80th AAAB, describes a typical Fort Bragg recruitment session as follows:
A white officer on a physical training (PT) stand started to speak as soon as we were assembled. ‘We are forming the toughest, meanest outfit in the United States Army. I don’t know if you will go in by submarine, parachute or what, but you will be fighting. The unit will be called Rangers. We want volunteers. The line forms to the right.’ I had to be in the outfit. I knew what Rangers had been in World War II. I had done research on Darby’s Rangers, and the Post library had information and pictures of the men in the Rangers Battalion. I knew about British Commandos—missions carefully planned, split-second timing, hit and run. I gave the interviewing officer such a persuasive spiel that I could not be turned down. I was in.
Like Fields, many were apprehensive and excited—but subdued. Orders from division headquarters usually arrived so late to the company at the Spring Lake cantonment that the normal procedure was “Hurry up and give me your decision, now!”
That decision sent men from Fort Bragg to Fort Benning in Georgia, where six weeks of Ranger training began. At that time, the Rangers training at Benning either belonged to the all-white 2d Ranger Company or the all-black 4th Ranger Company. At Benning’s Harmony Church cantonment area, both units trained together but lived separately. The 2d and 4th would exchange unit designations on 13 November 1950. From that date until its inactivation on 1 August 1951, the all-black unit was known as the 2d Ranger Company.
The Harmony Church cantonment area was a small living and training area, for Rangers only, at the far southeast corner of the post about ten miles from the jump towers. It was near the town of Buena Vista. Toward the end of World War II, Harmony Church had been the housing area for the Officer Candidate School (OCS) and the compass course areas. The 25th Infantry Regiment was located in “Sand Hills” and the Small Arms Ranges and Jump School were in the South Post area. The black troops’ area consisted of the last quadrangle, a small PX, a movie theater, and a barber shop.
The bus could go directly to town from Harmony Church or come up to a variety of locations on the main post. The local custom of blacks riding at the rear of the bus prevailed. The only time the Rangers needed to come on post was for range firing and parachute training. The 3d Infantry Division was trained there before deployment to Korea. The 11th RCT acted as school troops.
Physical Conditioning and Training
The training at Fort Benning was rigorous. The day usually started with a three- to five-mile run before breakfast nicknamed “The Airborne Shuffle.” Even before entering the mess hall, there was physical training (PT): a pull-bar was posted over the door to the mess, and only after doing five or more pull-ups were you allowed to enter the mess hall. Marching to the training sites with all equipment was routine. The trick of going without a lot of water was learned very early. You put a small pebble under your tongue to stimulate the saliva glands, causing the mouth to stay wet and lessening the need for water. These were skills we would later rely upon on the battlefield.
All men assigned to Ranger Training Command were already qualified paratroopers and had passed the standard PT test with a score of at least three hundred points. The standard test consisted of five hundred points. The average trooper could easily make the three hundred points required to pass. The pull-ups were usually the most difficult part of the test. The physical run was no problem—except with a hangover. Very few fell on the runs. Usually, the Airborne “Jodie” cadence was modified from “Airborne—all the way!” with the word “Ranger,” as follows:
Platoon Sergeant:“AIRBORNE!”
Platoon Reply:“RANGER!”
Platoon Sergeant:“ALL THE WAY!”
Platoon Reply:“RANGER!”
Those of us who had come from Fort Bragg were in good physical condition. Back at Bragg, the troopers of the 3d Battalion frequently ran about five miles down to Pope Field from the Spring Lake area.
From October through November, the Rangers conducted familiarization firing of most of the weapons (.45-caliber pistol, carbine, M-1 rifle, Browning automatic rifle, or BAR, and .45-caliber submachine gun), including a few Russian and Chinese weapons such as the Chinese grenade (which used a pull string). The Rangers moved on to tactical training, starting at the squad and platoon levels. Ranger recruits learned map reading, which included U.S. military maps, foreign maps, and maps of Korea printed by the Japanese when they had occupied the peninsula. Rangers also learned land navigation, night patrol/day patrol methods, interdiction operations, phone and electric power line sabotage, assassination methods, improvised killing, martial arts, hand-to-hand combat and raid procedures, and completed demolition training, water training, and small boat and rubber boat (RB-15) training.
&nbs
p; The training day was usually twelve and sometimes as long as fifteen hours. Soldiers got used to walking in their sleep during the long road marches. Sometimes the column would turn but a sleepwalking Ranger would continue walking until he hit a tree or walked into the wood line. Rangers tried to drink enough coffee before a march to stay awake, but not so much that they would need to stop, at the risk of being left behind or becoming a skunk attraction.
The roughest training problem was a company raid to blow up a big bridge deep in enemy territory. This exercise was held near the town of Buena Vista on the far side of Fort Benning. We must have walked twenty miles that night (there was a real sleepwalker problem that evening). The action started when Lieutenant James Queen hit a Bouncing Betty style of trip flare on the bridge just as the charges were set, which gave the alarm. This helped to clear the bridge in record time. We took off down the railroad tracks on the escape route and successfully passed the training exercise.
During one of the exhausting, 24-hour, platoon-size patrols, the First Platoon commander fell asleep and failed to post adequate security. It just so happened that Colonel John Gibson Van Houten, the Ranger Brigade Training Commander, came out to check on this training problem in person. He walked through the majority of the platoon area without being challenged. If a mistake like this had happened in combat, the entire platoon could have been killed. So the platoon failed and had to repeat the grueling patrol. When the unit got back to the barracks, Colonel Van Houten called in all of the company officers for a critique. Needless to say, everyone was extremely embarrassed. He ended his critique with an often-heard racial slur, “You people won’t fight when you get to Korea!” This caused immediate anger among the company officers. All of the previous racism they had experienced seemed to be summed up in this one, biting criticism. The innuendo behind the words “you people” always provoked images and emotions of racism. The officers bit their tongues and offered no excuses, but resolved never to be in such a shameful position again. And it never did happen again. Still, that one mistake left a sting still not forgotten. The colonel’s remarks were never passed on to the men because it was the officers’ leadership failure that had allowed this situation to occur. But copies of the first award orders from combat were later sent to Colonel Van Houten as proof that his assessment of the unit’s probable conduct during combat had not been accurate.