Edward L. Posey

by Last;Only All-Black Rangers US Army's First

  During Ranger training the word was that the North Koreans were on the run and the action in Korea was just about over: all of the men would be home for Christmas, and the trainees at Benning would never see combat overseas. Many of us were disappointed. But on 3 November 1950, the Chinese entered the war and the UN Army was in full retreat. It was now inevitable that the Rangers of 2d Company would see combat in Korea. Corporal James Fields attests that “2d Company pushed itself to the limits, training day and night to reach top combat efficiency. Under the command of First Lieutenant Warren E. Allen, his career officers and top-notch NCOs molded us into a cohesive fighting force in a very short time. Our training never let up.”

  Allen, one of the most well-respected officers to emerge from the 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion, was all business. The Rangers under his command often felt that it was because of his leadership that they were successful. Many believed the 2d Ranger Company was designed for Allen’s leadership. Typically, Allen would hold the men in the bayonet “long thrust” position until their arms quivered. Whenever there was time for refresher PT, it always included bayonet drill practice to instill a spirit of confidence and aggressive behavior until it became an automatic response. He despised common barracks profanity. If one of his men made a mistake and used such words in his presence, he would get an angry stare from Allen, followed by a quick rebuke. If you were an enlisted man (EM) and used profanity in the presence of a woman, you were sure to end up on KP or digging a 6’ x 6’ garbage dump. If you were an officer, you got the next miserable detail that came up. Corporal Samuel “Shorty” Payne remembers Allen as a “no-nonsense leader who gained respect from the men and noncommissioned officers under him. He had a cadre of men that rallied and supported him. Allen would push, push, and push some more so that the men in the first black Ranger company would be the best that the Army could offer.”

  On 13 November 1950, all members of 2d Ranger Company were given a small Ranger tab to display on their uniforms. This tab was new and held no meaning for the Rangers, some of whom were insulted by the award. A group of Rangers went into town to the local Army-Navy Store and bought surplus World War II Ranger Battalion scrolls, had them modified to change “Battalion” to “Company,” and wore these custom-made insignia with pride.

  During November, the Rangers conducted several increasingly difficult company-sized training missions. One exercise involved traveling through swamps and making a dawn raid on a fixed-wing light aircraft field. The swamp was negotiated with a compass heading. The company traveled in single file, and the swamp area was so dense and the night so dark that the Rangers could use a flashlight and not be seen from more than fifty feet away. It took the Rangers four to five hours to travel less than three miles. They were extremely lucky that they did not lose anyone. The Rangers came out directly on the airfield at the break of dawn and hit it before the force tasked to hold the position arrived to defend the airfield. Another milestone was achieved.

  Another of the company-sized training missions was crossing Victory Pond and making an assault landing on the opposite side. The November wind was offshore and the weather was cold. The training film shown the night before made the exercise look straightforward: cross two rifles and secure them, then take two shelter halves to make a raft. Each Ranger was ordered to put his equipment on the raft and push it in front as he swam. With the rafts, the men had to paddle upstream, reach a certain landing point, scale the cliffs while carrying combat gear, and continue on with the assault mission.

  The actual exercise did not unfold as it did in the training film. The Rangers looked bad in planning, coordination, and execution. The company failed to get to shore in a satisfactory manner. We ran into the following unanticipated problems:

  —Very few of the men were good swimmers, and many of the men did not have even the basic ability to swim unassisted for a distance of fifty feet, which caused some anxiety in the ranks;

  —Very few of the troopers had previously received boat or raft training. Even those who had gone to Combine II in Florida or the R&R Camp at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, lacked this type of training;

  —We used small 4-to-5-man rafts, with small wooden paddles;

  —The rafts were not loaded according to the troopers’ swimming and climbing ability, such that each raft had both experienced and inexperienced swimmers;

  —We had to scale a ten-foot cliff of red Georgia clay. The walls of the cliff became extremely slippery, making it almost impossible to scale without a team effort.

  In combat, these types of mistakes could prove fatal. Lieutenant Allen, commanding 2d Ranger Company, was rightfully aggravated. He had the company rescheduled for weekend training until the lake crossing was mastered. We repeated the drill on Saturday morning. Troopers, including Bruce Johnson, McBert Higginbotham, and Samuel “Shorty” Payne, led assault rafts, with others—including Jim Queen, Jack Murphy, Richard Glover, and Edward Posey—leading the way and organizing climbing parties. The idea was to use the big, physical troopers to boost the smaller troopers up the cliff. These smaller men, in turn, would help by reaching down with modified jump ropes to pull up the larger troopers. Through the use of this type of human relay, the Rangers got over the cliffs rather easily and assembled, assaulted, and captured the hill. The company completed the mission by 1300 hours with “flying colors.” A nearly audible sigh of relief was heard throughout the ranks.

  This type of teamwork was typical of the 2d Ranger Company at its best. Several factors contributed to the close-knit nature of the entire unit. First, this group of officers had at one time or another served in all of the companies. All of the officers had performed guard duty or courtesy patrol with men from each of the companies. The company was close because of its isolated location at Harmony Church Cantonment Area, and because of its racial composition. The informal fraternization between the officers and ranks was probably akin to the climate of a state National Guard unit, in which the vast majority of a unit came from one small town. Except for Lieutenant Albert D. Cliette, the officers had been commissioned through OCS and had spent a long time as non-commissioned officers (NCOs). Also, the social climate on post almost mirrored the social climate outside in Fayetteville, North Carolina, where a colonial-era market house was situated at the demarcation line between the black and white commercial areas; it was, in some cases, us versus them.

  As the troopers got into better physical condition, rumors of the ability of the Rangers to “whip” Legs (soldiers or officers who were not qualified for parachute jumps) increased. This was like a fish story in which the fish that was caught keeps getting bigger each time the story is told. At first, the estimate was that each Ranger could take on six to eight Legs. But by the time we completed hand-to-hand combat training this number had grown to ten and our reputation grew with it. We were in top physical condition and everyone knew it. You didn’t mess with a Ranger unless you were looking for trouble.

  Weapons and Demolition Familiarization Experiences

  The normal small arms weapons training (assembly, disassembly, and range firing) started with the .45-caliber pistol. All of this was done in a satisfactory manner because the range procedures were well known. The men from Company M were the best in heavy weapons, such as the 75 mm recoilless rifle, the .30-caliber machine gun, and the 81 mm mortar. Several new weapons were demonstrated: Rocket launcher, 3.5-inch (to counteract the Russian T–34 tank with which the North Koreans were outfitted), and the Swedish armor-piercing anti-tank rifled grenade.

  Demolitions training was not too difficult because the Rangers had some “3d Battalion” Ammunition and Pioneer (A&P) Platoon troopers, such as Lawrence “Larry” Estell, among the company membership. Men selected for this platoon had the skills of a handyman, and handled the ammo for the battalion. Rangers learned how to make “shaped charges” and “bangalore torpedoes” for the destruction of pillbox emplacements. However, the 2d Ranger Company did not end up using any demolitions in combat beca
use neither the Koreans nor the Americans went into reinforced fortifications until July 1951.

  Jump Exercises

  The Company conducted one nighttime jump without any casualties on an all-dirt light aircraft field. It was rumored that one of the companies—not the 2d—had a man killed. He landed in a tree and was knocked unconscious. His camouflaged parachute hid him so well that he could not be located from the ground nor spotted by helicopter from the air. His dead body was found when buzzards began circling the tree in which he had landed. This was a shock because we never thought we would not be spotted easily from the air. We had forgotten about the smoke jumpers who died similar deaths in the dense forests of the Pacific Northwest in 1945.

  Nitty-Gritty Pep Talk

  Those men who were injured or hospitalized for more than three days during training were shipped back to Fort Bragg. The same was true of men who showed a training deficiency. Troops were weeded out in preparation for combat duty. On Friday the 13th in October 1950, the 1st, 2d, and 4th Companies were assembled in the Harmony Church Theater for a realistic pep talk by the Ranger Center Staff. Colonel Van Houten, commander, painted a bleak picture of what the future six months would bring. He said that half of us Rangers would be casualties, so if anyone wanted to drop out, now would be the time to do so, without any fear of repercussions. No one left. And he was not wrong. We entered Korea with 110 men and lost about 65 in the first fourteen days of combat due to a variety of reasons: killed in action (KIA), wounded in action (WIA), frostbite, and other injuries.

  In mid-November of 1950, the 1st Ranger Company finished its training and shipped out without any pre-embarkation furloughs. It joined the 2d Infantry Division in Korea after a brief stop in Japan. Back at Benning, this was a clear sign that we were next; it would not be long before we went overseas. Another unmistakable sign: replacements who would go to Korea in March 1951 began their training at Benning and were stationed at the main post. On Thanksgiving, the Rangers in 2d Ranger Company had a feast, for which the unit cooks helped the cadre cooks. Lieutenant Allen and his fiancèe Mary were married that day. While the Rangers of 2d Ranger Company were still stateside, wives such as Phyllis Queen and other family members took the opportunity to spend time with their loved ones during the Thanksgiving feast.

  Within 72 hours, 2d Ranger Company was on its way to Korea.

  Chapter 2

  The Officers’ Advance Party

  “All Rangers are to be subject to the rules and articles of war to appear at roll-call every evening on their own parade, equipped each with a firelock, sixty rounds of powder and ball, and a hatchet…”

  —Journals of Major Robert Rogers2

  The 2d and 4th Companies finished their training cycle about the last week in November and immediately began to prepare for the trip to Korea. The Morning Reports of 1 and 2 December show some last-minute losses. In anticipation of the unit’s departure, some men were dropped from the rolls and a final roster was submitted with the Morning Report.

  On 1 December 1950, the Executive Officers of the 2d and 4th Companies, Lieutenant James C. “Big Jim” Queen and First Lieutenant John “Jack” Warren, respectively, were dispatched from Columbus, Georgia, to travel together by commercial air to San Francisco, California. Each officer—Queen for the all-black 2d and Warren for the all-white 4th—acted as a one-man advance party for his unit.

  Jack Warren of 4th Company was a short, cool, and sophisticated New Yorker. He had an aristocratic flair and the poise of a New Englander. Jack carried his cigarettes in a case in the inner breast pocket of his Eisenhower jacket. Whenever he withdrew one, he would tap the end on the case and use a lighter. His wife was a New York City telephone operator, and each evening he would call so they could chat.

  Preparations at the POE

  Queen, who was very tall, and Warren, who was very short, were the “Mutt and Jeff” advance party team. They would discuss and rehearse their lines ahead of time before going to see any of the point of embarkation (POE) officials—whether in Finance, Transportation, or Ordnance. Although 1st Ranger Company had passed through a month before, 2d and 4th Companies had not gotten any special briefings. No one had a copy of 2d or 4th Company’s TO&E (Table of Organization and Equipment, the official document showing the exact personnel and equipment that belonged to a unit), nor did anyone have a copy to show orders with authorized allowances. The technical department personnel did not have any experience with airborne or Ranger units. So Queen and Warren greeted them with patriotism and gusto: they were volunteers going to combat, because things had turned for the worse in Korea after the entry of the Chinese; they were Rangers and paratroopers, triple volunteers who had signed up for the military, signed up for special training, and signed up to jump out of airplanes behind enemy lines. They were very convincing, and their routine helped get the extra supplies both companies would rely on in Korea.

  When they got up to the Ordnance Depot, Queen and Warren met a very pretty black lady who was the chief clerk. With a straight face and all sincerity, they told her that:

  —All paratroopers carried a .45-caliber pistol as a standard second weapon in a shoulder holster. (The submachine gun .45 was what was supposed to be carried by Rangers, so they got those, too.)

  —All paratroopers carried “jump knives” as a standard item for use in cutting themselves out of their parachutes in case they landed in a tree or in the water. (These were switchblade knives; only the 2d and 4th Companies carried knives at all.)

  —All paratroopers received eighteen Browning Automatic Rifles (BARs) per company and three .30-caliber Light Machine Guns (LMGs) per company, one for each platoon, and didn’t need any heavy machine guns at all because there weren’t enough men to physically handle them, and even if there were, the cold weather in Korea would freeze up the guns’ water jackets. But the additional LMGs were needed because paratroopers jumped with their LMGs in an individual weapons container that attached to the jumper parachute harness with a pongee cord (a 30-foot, rubberized, stretch rope), and these weapons frequently broke loose from the harness and were lost.

  After this masterful, dramatic performance, they convincingly and politely asked for three M1–C Sniper Rifles, each with a six-power scope, for each company. One of those M1–Cs would become Queen’s primary weapon just a few weeks later after the early morning firefight at Tanyang Pass on 14 January 1951.

  While in California, Mutt and Jeff put in requisitions for everything except ammo, and hoped that the requisitions would be filled and all of the items would be in Japan when the units arrived there before reaching Korea. Some weapons would be used to train raw recruits on board the Navy ship that would transport the men of the 2d and 4th to Japan for the longest leg of their travel to Korea.

  Both XOs got their men three-pouch hand grenade carriers they had not seen before. The problem with this carrier was that it fit on the pistol belt and not up high, the way General Matthew B. Ridgway was famous for carrying his grenades. Like the .45-caliber holster, it hit against the leg or hip when you walked. Throughout the war Jim Queen never carried more than two grenades in it (one fragmentation and one white or color smoke phosphorus grenade). The color smoke grenades were carried by the officers and the radio operators, in case they were needed for identification from the air or to mark the front lines. In general, each trooper carried the grenade he wanted. Some liked white phosphorus grenades to burn down buildings or set fires in foxholes. For special missions, the Rangers were taught to use thermite grenades to produce extreme heat.

  The last requisitioned items, air/color panels, were worn on the back of the SCR–300 radios or on the light pack while on the move, if the Rangers needed to call in an air strike. At a minimum, every Ranger in Korea from 2d Company had a pistol, knife, rope, and medical kit with morphine, as well as any specialized materials needed for his assignment (for example, radio operators carried SCR–300 radios).

  In addition to requisitioning supplies for their units, both
XOs spent time at the Finance Office getting travel pay for the permanent change of station (PCS) move for spouse/family home from last registered address and making out final allotments. Queen allotted all of his pay to his wife—except for ten dollars, which he thought he might need for PX supplies while in combat.

  The cool nighttime weather in the San Francisco Bay area meant that winter uniforms were worn on a year-round basis. There was no snow, but the town was very hilly and at night the cool ocean breezes came on shore.

  When business was done, there was time to socialize. Both XOs went to town together once, and after that went separately. They didn’t encounter any blatant prejudice; each wanted to explore different sections of the city.

  Jim Queen went into town about three times during the week he was in San Francisco. He loved the old trolley cars, which were similar to the ones in his hometown of Washington, D.C. He went into a friendly little bar twice and had to show them how to make the “Paratroopers/Airborne Cocktail” (cheap champagne with milk). The next drinks were purchased by a friendly crowd of black locals who had never seen a black Ranger officer and were sympathetic to our fighting men in Korea. With the Chinese now in the war, things didn’t look too rosy from this side of the Pacific—particularly considering San Francisco’s very large Chinese population.