The Frozen Chosen: The 1st Marine Division and the Battle of the Chosin Reservoir

The Frozen Chosen is an account of the breakout from the Chosin Reservoir in North Korea by the 1st Marine Division from November to December 1950, following the intervention of Red China in the Korean War. Fought during the worst blizzard in a century, it is considered by the United States Marine Corps to be “the Corps' finest hour.” Fourteen Medals of Honor, a record for any American battle, and eighty-five Navy Crosses—many awarded in lieu of an original nomination for the Medal of Honor—attest to the intensity of the battle.

Based on first-person interviews from surviving veterans who came to be known as the “Frozen Chosen,” this is the incredible story of heroism and bravery in the face of overwhelming odds, as a handful of Marines fought desperately against wave after wave of Chinese forces. Sometimes forced into desperate hand-to-hand fighting in intense cold, cut off from reinforcements, and with dwindling supplies and ammunition, the fighting retreat from Chosin marked one of the darkest moments for Western forces in Korea, it but would go on to resonate with generations of Marines as a symbol of the Marine Corps' dogged determination, fighting skill, and never-say-die attitude on the battlefield.

ISBN-13: 9781472824882

Media Type: Paperback

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA

Publication Date: 10-24-2017

Pages: 392

Product Dimensions: 5.00(w) x 7.80(h) x 1.10(d)

Thomas McKelvey Cleaver has been a published writer for the past 40 years. He is a regular contributor to Flight Journal magazine. He has had a lifelong interest in the Korean War and this work is the product of 25 years of research. He is the author of Aces of the 78th Fighter Group, as well as Fabled Fifteen: The Pacific War Saga of Carrier Air Group 15 and The Bridgebusters: The True Story of the Catch-22 Bomb Group. During his 30 years as a screenwriter in Hollywood, he wrote the cult classic The Terror Within and worked as a supervising producer on a number of TV and cable series. He served in the US Navy in Vietnam.

Table of Contents

List of Maps /List of Illustrations /Prologue /Introduction /1. Brother's Keeper /2. Background to War in the Land of The Morning Calm /3. The Wages of Hubris /4. The Fatal Decision /5. First Contact /6. Where is the Enemy? /7. The Chinese Attack /8. Holding On /9. Breakout /10. "Retreat, Hell, We're Just Attacking in a New Direction!" /11. Evacuation /12. Aftermath /Bibliography /Index