Customer Reviews

Pork Chop Hill

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"Pork Chop Hill," by S.L.A. Marshall, is a nonfiction work about combat during the Korean War. The title page bears the subtitle "The American Fighting Man in Action--Korea, Spring, 1953." The book's copyright page notes that a William Morrow edition was published in 1956. In the preface, author Marshall recounts that he went to Korea in 1953 to work as a war correspondent, but at Army request he took on the job of investigating and analyzing infantry tactics. He describes how he held question-and-answer sessions with groups of soldiers who had been in combat. This interesting glimpse behind the making of the book adds to the text as a whole.

Marshall describes many intense, horrific, bloody scenes of combat. He vividly portrays the agonizing suffering endured by these combat troops. He covers many significant topics, among them the following: Chinese military tactics; how U.S. and Korean troops worked together; communication on the battlefield; leadership and organization; the impact of terrain on battle; and types of weapons used. I found one of the book's most interesting sections to be an account of the Ethiopian troops who fought in the war--Marshall praises these African soldiers greatly.

The book features maps and drawings by H. Garver Miller. Marshall includes a number of illuminating quotes from the fighting troops. He vividly describes how confusing the battlefield can become--the phrase "the fog of war" came to my mind over and over again as I read this book. Another phrase that this book brings to my mind is simply: "War is hell." This gripping, graphic work really makes me appreciate the remarkable challenge faced by troops in the Korean War, and the valor with which so many faced that challenge.

Marshall's spellbinding version of the battle of Pork Chop Hill remains one of the most comprehensive books about military strategy and ground combat ever written. War veterans and military strategists would love this book.

April 1953, while peace talks continue in Panmunjom, Korea, only 70 miles away the battle of Pork Chop Hill raged. Marshall's book analyzes of one of the last battles of the War to be fought--Pork Chop Hill. Someone not familiar with what stage of the war this battle occurs may be lost by its significance. Marshall's story is about the senseless loss of lives in a battle that had no real military significance. It is recounted from the perspective of surviving soldiers through interviews immediately following the fighting.

Marshall, as a war correspondent and military operations analysis officer, is directed by the military to interview the front line men, on the battlefield, in order to make recommendations to military command of anyone deserving medals. In doing so, Marshall conveys the excruciating effort put forth by American soldiers against crafty Red Chinese, who were familiar with hillside, secret underground tunnels and well-camouflaged holes to aid in the hand-to-hand combat. Most American soldiers, recently rotated to the platoon, had not acquainted themselves with the terrain and even became lost during the night advance. At a disadvantage and exhausted, some soldiers hid in the bunkers, not even firing their rifles at the enemy.

Marshall states in his book "Compared to Gettysburg or the Ardennes, Pork Chop Hill was hardly more than a skirmish. But within the force that engaged, losses were unusually heavy."
Marshall uses this analogy to emphasize the excessive casualties for a relatively minor battle. Marshall relates how American press rushed to cover the battle at Freedom Village (that was occurring simultaneously), which left the heroism and sacrifices at Pork Chop Hill unreported. Marshall states: "The neglect" from the press was worse because a few weeks earlier the 7th Infantry had been lambasted for the loss of Old Baldy and the staging Operation Smack. They had been described as weary, slipshod, demoralized troops, and, while the Pork Chop Hill fight was on, this caustic criticism from home was repeated over Red Chinese loudspeakers to the American fighters." Psychological propaganda, a common tactic used by the Red Chinese, blasted belittling statements about the American's over loudspeakers positioned directly on the battlefield.

Marshall prints the derogatory language used by soldiers in referring to the Red Chinese as "Chinks". However, quotes from the soldier's themselves are devoid of vulgarities, lessening the emotional effect, but necessary for a book written in the early 50's to be published. This book is a factual, chronological progression of the battle, containing great detail about military tactics, and an almost matter-of-fact account of injuries and deaths.

I do not prefer this type of book because as the reader I was not able to make any emotional attachment to any single character. It seemed as though this book lacked any real plot and was written strictly to retell this struggle of power between the United Nations and the Red Chinese.

The Korean War was once considered a "police action," but to the thousand of brave soldiers, who lost their lives and survived, it was a war.

The thing that gets me about this book is that it appears that many of the problems Marshall points out from his on-the-spot interviews with Korean war troopers are EXACTLY the ones that had such a devastating impact on our Vietnam war soldiers. Individual trooper rotation among our forces while the enemy left veterans in place to familiarize themselves with the terrain. Casual attitudes to construction of U.S. fortifications and over-reliance of artillery support while the enemy maximized concealment and exploited it for movement and deployment. Reliance on unreliable native allies. Lack of communication about objectives. Insufficient manning of positions by understrength units. etc, etc... They say the military is always prepared for the LAST war, but typically the U.S. has always been prepared for the NEXT one.

Marshall's First hand account of Pork Chop Hill remains one of our most gripping account of this snapshot of the Korean War. The first hand stories from the front line grunts and officers offer an amazing look into who made up our front line.

Marshall starts this account of Pork Chop Hill's defense, loss, and the fight to regain it at a run. Two other battles on the same front line are told to set the stage of the command climate and the events building to the battle for Pork Chop. While these two accounts (one a repulse of the Chinese and one a loss of an outpost) set the tactical stage for the Battle of Pork Chop Hill, a reader unfamiliar with the Korean war and what stage of the war this battle occurs in will be lost by his original account.

As Marshall tells the story of what happened on Pork Chop he gives a vivid description of what occured from the perspective of the survivors from each platoon. The flavor of battle is retold well thru his account. What is conveyed most is that there really is no way a person can understand the exhaustion and effort put forth by the men involved.

A couple of interesting anachronisms show up in his near fifty year old telling. His careful censorship of the language use by the soldiers is unfortunate. Granted, if he used the language that soldiers really used, he couldn't get his book published in the fifties. However, the attempt at artfully dancing around what the soldiers really said is a little annoying. So on one hand the censorship was required to get the book out in the day it was written, while on the other it lessens the blunt accuracy of the account. In a similar vein, the other oddity I found was how easily the derogitory language towards the Chinese flowed. There was even this one passage where an obviously Chinese American soldiers was refering to the enemy as "Chinks." Again a reflection of the times

Alright, I'm a bit biased. My father is mentioned in this book. The author isn't really a book writer he's a journalist and the style is very much in that genre. If you want to read a little bit about an American war that doesn't get the press that Vietnam, and the gulf wars get then this is a good short read. My father doesn't get any royalties by the way... ;)

S.L.A.Marshals true account of a savage battle between us and the chinese army for a rocky hill in korea

What made me choose this book? Firstly I wanted to read the book because my grandfather fought in one of the battles' right next to pork chop hill and he said it would be a great book to read because it really gave a good account of it. I also wanted to choose a military novel because as a future officer of the Army I wanted to see a first had account of military strategy, which is what it gave me.As I read the preface, I found that SLA Marshall was a brigadier general at the time and he was a military operations analysis officer. And that this book was recounted from the perspective of surviving soldiers through interviews immediately following the fighting. This intrigued me more to read it because I knew I was getting a first hand account of what happened at Pork Chop Hill.I feel this is a must read as future officers, because it is an extremely comprehensive book on military strategy and combat.

This book ahowed me what happened at this battle and how terrible it really was