1,010 Days of Hell

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"They closed in steadily on us. There was no rush, no storming our positions. We kept knocking them down like ducks in a shooting gallery but they kept coming." - Marine SSgt James Nash

Chosin: Hellfire Valley

Throughout the horrific night of November 29, 1950, Major John "Jack" McLaughlin and his men fought off wave after wave of Chinese attackers at “Hellfire Valley,” a mile-long, narrow sliver of road, bordered by steep mountains, south of the Chosin Reservoir. Moving from one fighting position to another during the orgy of death, destruction, and hand-to-hand combat, McLaughlin distributed ammunition, directed fire, reassured the wounded, and motivated his men to continue fighting.

Despite his unit’s heroic efforts, however, by 0400 less than half of the 135-man force was still able to fight. The rest were wounded, dead, or dying. To make matters worse, the survivors were running out of ammo and totally surrounded. There was little they could do but hope for a miracle and watch as their wounded buddies bled and froze to death.

As the senior officer, McLaughlin, a 32-year-old combat-decorated World War II Marine, knew his men were looking to him for a way out. The next Chinese assault, he feared, would almost certainly mean the death of every soldier, Marine, and British Royal Commando in his unit.

Surrender - Or Else

Just as the enemy seemed ready for a final attack, the Chinese stopped firing and sent a captured American forward with a message: Surrender.

What happened next became "a nugget of Chosin lore," as Martin Russ calls it in Breakout. McLaughlin, in an air of bravado, replied, “Tell them I’m prepared to accept their surrender.”

The Chinese weren’t amused. They gave the American ten minutes to decide. McLaughlin, in hopes that some of his men could escape into the mountains, again tried to buy more time.

An abandoned US Army ambulance at Hellfire Valley (PC: USMC)

You Have Five Minutes

“I will surrender at 0630, not before. I need time to care for my wounded,” McLaughlin told the Chinese. Losing patience with the brazen Marine from Savannah, Georgia, they responded, “You have five minutes.”

A British Commando with McLaughlin later told Andrew Salmon, author of Scorched Earth, Black Snow, “He [McLaughlin] was a good man. He explained the predicament to everybody . . . and asked me, what do you want to do: Fight to the last, our position being hopeless, or surrender?”

Minutes later, McLaughlin, out of time and options, approached a Chinese line. Handing over his pistol to an enemy officer, he said, “I’m not surrendering because you beat us. I’m surrendering to get our wounded cared for."

The Hole

McLaughlin and the surviving members of his unit were taken prisoner and marched north to POW camps. They spent nearly three years in captivity. Many would die from malnutrition, extreme cold, disease, physical brutality, and torture.

During his initial months in captivity, Chinese officers and fellow prisoners recognized McLaughlin as the camp leader. Communist officials were soon offering him extra food and better living conditions if he cooperated. Refusing, the Chinese beat him, threatened to kill him, and put him in solitary confinement for four months.

In May 1952, Marine aviator Lt. Colonel William G. Thrash, shot down over North Korea and subsequently captured, was sent to McLaughlin’s camp. Thrash also refused to cooperate with the Chinese and was sentenced to eight months in confinement, or "the hole,” as prisoners called it.

A North Korean "baseball team" propaganda photo of American POWs. The picture was sent to the Communist Party of America. Jack is on far right, standing. (PC: Preston McLaughlin)

Crazy Days

Despite being subjugated to brainwashing, physical abuse, and the constant threat of execution, the two men did everything they could to improve living conditions at the camp. McLaughlin organized athletic events, physical conditioning programs, and “crazy days" to help keep the men motivated.

“Crazy days" were the most popular. Using their imagination and a generous dose of humor, the men would turn the camp basketball court into an "aircraft carrier" and pretend to do flight ops. With their arms out to simulate wings, they would fly over the carrier and make precise – sometimes dramatic - landings on the flight deck.

In another episode that became legendary, the men made a parachute for a dead rat and threw it into the Chinese area of the camp.

The prison was immediately locked down while a Chinese soldier, wearing a surgical mask and looking somewhat intimidated, picked up the dead rodent with a pair of chopsticks and carried it away.

McLaughlin had a way of motivating his men, Thrash told a reporter years later. “He was a tower of strength in the camp. I could not have made it without him.”

Major McLaughlin (right), 66 lbs. lighter than when he left, being welcomed home on Sept. 5, 1953. (PC: Preston McLaughlin)

Freedom!

On September 5, 1953, McLaughlin, Thrash, and hundreds of other POW’s were released as part of a massive prisoner of war exchange called "Operation Big Switch." After 1,010 days in captivity, McLaughlin and his men were free.

McLaughlin later said that hard work, Marine Corps training, and a strong Catholic faith kept him going during the nearly three years in the Chinese prison.

“Great leaders are born not made,” Thrash said at his best friend’s funeral. “He was a humble man, but a brilliant man and one of the outstanding officers of the Corps. He leaves a wonderful legacy for all Marines to emulate.”

We salute Jack McLaughlin and all the men who were held in captivity during the Korean War. You are not forgotten!

Postscript

Jack McLaughlin spent 36 years in the Marine Corps, retiring as a Lieutenant General. In addition to his time in Korea and WWII, where he received the Silver Star, he also served in Vietnam. He died in 2002 at the age of 83.

According to US officials, 7,245 Americans were held as POW's during the Korean War. At least 2,806 died in captivity.

Thank you to Jack's cousin, retired Marine colonel Preston McLaughlin, for providing pictures and information on Major McLaughlin’s time in Korea. Thank you also to Martin Russ and Andrew Salmon for their respective books that provide invaluable insight and quotes on the Battle of Hellfire Valley.

Destroyed and damaged vehicles in Hellfire Valley (PC: USMC)

LtGen John N. McLaughlin, USMC (PC: USMC)

Feature/top photo: Destroyed vehicles at Hellfire Valley (PC: David Douglas Duncan)

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