Chosin Reservoir, a historian’s perspective Published Jan. 25, 2007 By Robert Rybolt 436th Airlift Wing historian DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. -- Saturday marks the date for the 436th Security Forces Squadron Ruck March here, which commemorates the Korean War's Battle of Chosin Reservoir. Korea has been called "The Forgotten War" and Chosin Reservoir certainly follows suit, despite the fact historians have characterized it as one of the most savage encounters in modern military history. This battle strikes very close to home for me. I had a family member on the banks of that reservoir - he is still missing in action. At 34 years of age, 1st Lt. Jule C. Rybolt was a bit old for a company grade infantry officer, but he was every inch a Soldier. Enlisting as a private in 1940, Jule was able to secure training in combat gliders and the rank of flight officer, as the Army Air Corps called warrant officers in those days. Imagine, if you will, an aircraft made of canvas stretched across a frame of metal tubing. There was no engine or landing gear. The glider could pack in 13 paratroopers or two jeeps. It was towed aloft by a powered aircraft and once released, glided to what was generously described as a controlled crash. Lieutenant Rybolt made five combat landings during World War II, which earned him a Distinguished Flying Cross and Air Medal. He also picked up a Purple Heart for what he called "a scratch." In 1947, the Air Force was carved out of the U.S. Army Air Corps and the new organization wisely preferred only powered airplanes. Lieutenant Rybolt applied to the new service and flight training, but he was turned down because he once had a club-foot, a birth defect of the foot. It had been corrected surgically when he was a child, but still it was enough to keep him out of flight training. Oddly enough, while it was his foot that kept him out of the air, it didn't keep him off the ground; Lieutenant Rybolt was offered a regular commission in the Army infantry. Communist North Korean forces attacked South Korea across the 38th parallel June 25, 1950. The United States came to their aid under authority of the United Nations. In September 1950, Gen. Douglas McArthur, commander of the United Nations Force in Korea, ordered an amphibious landing at Inchon, Republic of Korea, on the coast of the Yellow Sea. Inchon suffered from heavy tides and terrible weather, both of which General McArthur ignored. As if by magic, the weather broke for only three days allowing the assault to take place. It was a stroke of luck that made the general a legend, and Lieutenant Rybolt was there with the 31st Regimental Combat Team, a 3,200-man unit hastily assembled to meet the needs of the moment. The 31st fought its way far to the north, along the Yalu River near the Chinese border. On the night of Feb. 28, they camped along the eastern shore of the Chosin Reservoir with the Marines on the opposite shore. The two services were to link up and continue combat operations along the North Korean-Chinese frontier. It was miserably cold with the mercury dipping down below negative 30 degrees Fahrenheit and freezing in the thermometers. There are stories of men urinating on their M-1 rifles to thaw the actions. They would need those weapons. That night, the 3,200-man team was hit by an estimated 17,000 communist Chinese troops. The enemy attacked in waves, each of which was mowed down. Of course, American troops were taking heavy casualties as well. The Reds swept across the perimeter tossing satchel charges and shooting wounded American Soldiers as they went. The communists managed to briefly occupy the battalion command post, severely wounding many troops including Lt. Col. William Riley, commander 3rd Battalion 31st RCT. Lieutenant Rybolt was somehow involved in the counter attack, and in the confusion that characterizes heavy combat, an American .50 caliber Browning machine gun opened up on the counter-attacking force, killing the unit's sergeant major and wounding Lieutenant Rybolt through the forehead. A hastily organized aid station had been set up on the reservoir. Colonel Riley and Lieutenant Rybolt were taken there for extraction. Colonel Riley was taken out by helicopter but died during the trip. No other aircraft made it to Chosin Reservoir and that's where history stops for 1st Lt. Jule C. Rybolt. Lt. Col. Don C. Faith, 1st Battalion 31st RCT, organized the few hundred survivors and began the terrible task of withdrawing 14 miles to Hagu-ri. The Chinese provided a lethal gauntlet, which Colonel Faith did not survive. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. Jule was my dad's kid brother and he has not been forgotten. Less than 400 soldiers of the original 3,200 survived the Battle of Chosin Reservoir. It ranks as one of the most tragic, yet heroic moments in our history and it will be memorialized again Saturday during the 436th SFS Ruck March.