Outpost Harry, Korean War. The Veterans.

in documents, E-mails from readers, Greece, politics, Videos / by History / on March 20, 2011 at 4:15 am /

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Load the dvd until 6 minute mark and then hear the Yanks talk about the heroic Greeks

Outpost Harry was a remote Korean War station located on a tiny hilltop in what was commonly referred to as the “Iron Triangle” on the Korean Peninsula. This was an area approximately 60 miles (100 km) north of Seoul and was the most direct route to the South Korean capital.

More than 88,000 rounds of Chinese artillery fell on Outpost Harry. Since the outpost was defended each night by only a single company of American or Greek soldiers, the Chinese had anticipated an easy capture. Over a period of eight days, waves of Chinese forces moved into the outposts trench lines and totalling over 13,000 soldiers. Five UNC companies, four US and one Greek, took turns in defending the outpost.

Most of the fighting occurred at night, under heavy mortar fire, while the daylight hours were usually spent by the UNC forces evacuating the dead and wounded, replacing the defending company, sending up resupplies and repairing the fortified positions. The daylight hours were punctuated with artillery, mortar and sniper fire, making repairs and reinforcement a more dangerous task. During the 4 to 5 days prior to the initial attack on the outpost, Chinese artillery and mortar fire increased from an average of 275 to 670 per day during daylight hours.

The soldiers of the Greek Expeditionary Force adapted its name and called it Outpost “Haros”, the modern Greek equivalent to Charon, Greek mythology’s ferryman to the underworld of Hades.

The Chinese forces employed against Outpost Harry were tabulated by U.S. Intelligence Sections:

June 10 and June 11: one reinforced regiment (approximately 3,600 troops)

June 11 and June 12: one regiment (approximately 2,850 troops)

June 12 and June 13: one reinforced regiment

June 13 and June 14: an estimated 100 troops

June 14 and June 15: an estimated 120 troops

June 17 and June 18: one regiment.

During this period the entire 74th Division was utilized against this position and at the end of the engagement was considered combat ineffective. Rounds fired in support of their attack amounted to 88,810 rounds over 81mm in size: UNC mortar and artillery units in conjunction with friendly tank fires expended 368, 185 rounds over 81mm in size.

Casualty figures were

15th Infantry Regiment – 68 KIA, 343 WIA, 35 MIA; KATUSA – 8 KIA, 51 WIA, 7 MIA;

Greek Expeditionary Force, Sparta Battalion – 15 KIA, 36 WIA, 1 MIA.

Attached and supporting units 5th RCT – 13 KIA, 67 WIA, 1 MIA;

10th Engineer Battalion – 5 KIA, 23 WIA; 39th FA – 5 KIA, 13 WIA.

For the first time in the annals of U.S. military history, five rifle companies together, four American and one Greek, would receive the prestigious Distinguished Unit Citation for the outstanding performance of their shared mission.

In memory of the soldiers of the Greek Expeditionary Force who served in the Korean War

Documentary Film Press Release for Outpost Harry

SACRAMENTO, CA – The soldiers of the Greek Expeditionary Forces called it Outpost “Haros” the Greek name for Death. It was classic wartime humor, a dark pun borne of a hopeless mission. More than 88,000 rounds of Chinese artillery would pound Outpost Harry a tiny Korean hilltop no bigger than Times Square, 425 yards ahead of the front line. Defended each night by a single company of American or Greek soldiers of between 90 and 150 infantrymen, the 3000 Chinese soldiers had anticipated an easy capture. Over a period of eight days, vast waves of Chinese Communist Forces would flood into Harry’s trench lines–more than 13,000 soldiers in all. And yet each of the five companies ordered to hold Outpost Harry, when its turn came, held it. It was nothing less than a modern-day Battle of Thermopylae. The nightly Chinese assaults would advance and recede with each passing day–a relentless tide that would churn up a roiling, bloody flurry of hand to hand combat. On the night of the first attack, June 10, 1953, the Chinese had outnumbered Harry’s defenders by 30 to 1. All total, there was a reinforced CCF regiment of approximately 3,600 enemy trying to kill us, said Captain Martin Markley, commander of K Company, 15th Infantry Regiment. There was no time to formally prepare the troops spiritually for the possibility of their death in the battle that was about to take place. By morning more than half had fallen and many were wounded. But they had held the hill The relentless attacks would continue throughout the week, each evening bringing a flood of Chinese soldiers pouring through barbed wire, and on the worst nights, into Harry’s trenches. “We could see them out there near the wire, falling right on top of each other. It just wasn’t human”, said Pvt. William McLennan, 3rd Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, “I guess they wanted Harry. But they didn’t get it. They told us to hold it. We did.” On the seventh day of the siege, Outpost Harry’s defiant, week-long survival and its continued defense were entrusted to the Greek soldiers of Peter Company, Sparta Battalion. Just before the midnight hour of June 17, an entire regiment of nearly 3000 Chinese soldiers burst forth from their positions and stormed the hill’s northern slope. According to official U.S. military records, “Company P of the Greek Battalion, refusing to withdraw, closed in and met the attackers in a furious hand to hand struggle in which many of the enemy were driven off. The aggressors regrouped, quickly attacked a second time, and again gained the friendly trenches. Immediately, the Greek Forces launched a series of counterattacks. After two hours of close-in fighting, the aggressors were again routed and the friendly positions restored.”

It was the last defeat the Chinese Communist Forces could endure in their pursuit of Outpost Harry. Their failed adventure had, in eight days, cost them 4200 casualties. Their entire 74th Division had been decimated. And for the first time in the annals of U.S. military history, five rifle companies together four American and one Greek would receive the prestigious Distinguished Unit Citation for the outstanding performance of their shared mission.

Despite its unparalleled intensity, the heroism it engendered, and the international camaraderie uniting its brothers-in-arms, the siege of Outpost Harry is a battle unknown to most, in a war too many have since forgotten. Director-producer Christos Epperson and writer-producer Michael Epperson are proud to announce a new documentary film project dedicated to telling this inspirational story, through interviews with its American and Greek veterans and dramatic re-enactments of key events of the battle. The project was inspired by executive producer Mike Pagomenos, whose father George, an Outpost Harry survivor, recently published his Korean War journal in the Greek language. Following closely in the wake of critical acclaim for the Epperson brothers’ recent World War II documentary, The 11th Day, Archangel Films looks forward to sharing a never-before-seen glimpse into the harrowing ordeal these American and Greek veterans of the Forgotten War met with such courage, and endured with such sacrifice.

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