2nd try: Marine Lt Col's khaki Vandegrift Jacket

[USMCRECON]

I went to my storage locker to being back a particular uniform to post but found the wardrobe box it was in was way in the back of the locker behind furniture and other things I probably dont need in there and I couldnt get to it. But the trip was not a total loss. While I was there, I looked through one of the wardrobe boxes up front and found this Marine officer's khaki Vandegrift jacket. It belonged to Lt Col Olin Beall. Beall was the commander of the 1st Marine Divisions Motor Transport Battalion at the Chosin Reservoir.

A little early background: Lt Col Beall enlisted in the Marines in the waning days of WW-I and got to France before it ended. He spent a considerable amount of time serving in Haiti. He serves some overlapping time in Haiti with Oliver Smith, who would later be his boss as Commander of the 1st MarDiv at the Chosin Reservoir. Beall also served elsewhere in the Caribbean and other trouble spots throughout the 20s and 30s, including a tour in China, and then in the Pacific in WW-II.

At the Chosin Reservoir: Initially, the Commander of X Corps, LGEN Almond (USA), directed the 1st Marine Division split its regiments. The 1st Marine Regiment was ordered to secure the MSR between Hamhung and Hagaru-ri with a battalion each at Chinhung-ni, Koto-ri, and Hagaru-ri. The 7th Marine Regiment was ordered to move up the west side of the Chosin Reservoir while the 5th Marines moved around the east side. Maj Gen Smith accepted that the 1st Regiment needed to secure the MSR but wanted his other two regiments consolidated at Yudam-ni on the west side of the reservoir.

After reasoned argument with LGEN Almond railed, MG Smith sent a back-channel complaint to the Commandant of the Marine Corps. This got action and LGEN Almond was forced to allow Smith to consolidate the 5th and 7th Marines at Yudam-ni. To fill the gap, Almond directed the Armys 7th Infantry Division form a task Force to move to the area being vacated by the 5th Marines and the 31st Regimental Combat Team was formed.

When the Chinese attacked all along the Chosin front on 27 November, the 31st RCT immediately became surrounded and cut-off. After four days of heavy fighting and mounting casualties, the RCT began a withdrawal from the P'ungnyuri inlet to Hagaru-ri where the 3rd Bn, 1st Marines were holding the town. The withdrawal began late on the morning of 1 December with continual Chinese attacks on the convoy as it moved the 6 miles south to Hagaru-ri. Eventually, the convoy was stopped near the sawmill at Sasu-ri for the last time.

At that point, the surviving soldiers abandoned the truckloads of dead and wounded and made their way to Hagaru-ri as best they could, many setting out into the ice of the frozen reservoir in an attempt to reach safety. Once the convoy was abandoned, the Chinese swarmed over the trucks of wounded, throwing grenades into the trucks and machine-gunning any wounded left alive in them. They also set some of the trucks afire.

Lt Col Beall, standing on the north end of the town of Hagaru-ri on the shore of the reservoir saw the wounded and frostbitten soldiers straggling on the ice of the reservoir. He ordered his driver to assemble as many trucks as possible and, in his jeep, led them out onto the ice several times under Chinese fire, to bring the soldiers back to relative safety. Once he'd recovered all the soldiers he could from the ice, he ordered his driver to go up the road to the stalled convoy that the Chinese had just finished shooting up. He had the driver wait near the head of the column and while the Chinese watched from the hills aside the road, he walked the line of trucks, checking each one that was not burning, for anyone still alive in the end he found none alive.

As Beall was approaching the first truck, he saw a Chinese soldier near the base of the hill not 50 yards away watching him. He saw many more Chinese farther up the hill, also watching him. Beall began reaching for his pistol and the Chinese soldier raised his rifle at Beall. Beall put his pistol back in his holster and the Chinese soldier lowered his rifle again. Beal reasoned that, as long as he did not have a weapon in his hand, the Chinese were content to let him check the trucks. Still concerned they might capture him; he moved along the line of stalled trucks and looked in as many of them as he could reach. Once he had ascertained that there were no survivors in the trucks, he returned to his jeep and they drove back to Hagaru-ri.

The Marines made no apparent official recognition of his incredible act of compassion and bravery but the Army awarded him the Distinguished Service Cross. There were later rumors of a Navy Cross from the Marines but his personnel records do not indicate such award. Also, official photos of him in various uniforms at various tomes do not show him wearing a Navy Cross ribbon.

Anyway, this is Lt Col Beall's khaki Vandegrift jacket. The shirt and tie are not his. I just put them on the torso mannequin to complete the display.

 

 

[USMCRECON]

Here are the remainder of the pictures. One of the EGAs looks like it's bronze but they are both marked STERLING and I believe it's just the way it's tarnishing. The closeup shot of the back of one EGA is the one that looks bronzish. the bottom shot is a file photo of Lt Col Beall wearing this jacket sometime after the Chosin Campaign.

 

[seanmc1114]

Here are the remainder of the pictures. One of the EGAs looks like it's bronze but they are both marked STERLING and I believe it's just the way it's tarnishing. The closeup shot of the back of one EGA is the one that looks bronzish. the bottom shot is a file photo of Lt Col Beall wearing this jacket sometime after the Chosin Campaign.

 

Very nice uniform and interesting story. I have a few observations.

 

It looks like the WWI Victory ribbon in the photo has three campaign stars while the one on the uniform has only one.

 

Do you know about his WWII service? It's interesting his Asiatic-Pacific Campaign ribbon has no campaign stars.

 

I notice the American Defense Service ribbon on the uniform has one bronze star representing the award of either the "Base" or "Fleet" clasp. But it looks like the ribbon in the photo has two stars. I thought only one star was authorized even if both clasps were earned.

 

He is wearing his Navy Occupation ribbon backwards with the red portion to his right. This was often done for service in Asia since the red represented Japan.

[USMCRECON]

A little more info that I neglected to put in the original post: Lt Col Beall was quite a character. There are several official, quasi-official, and personal, photos of him around and it seems that his ribbons are not always the same in each one.

For reference, I've posted another photo of Beall below. This one is an official Marine Corps photo of him at a Lt Col from his record jacket. You can see that, the ribbon entitlements vary somewhat from the shot of him in the khaki Vandegrift jacket in the post above (particularly absence of the Asia/Pac ribbon in the shot in greens). Also, the number of ribbon devices is different on this shot and the one in the earlier post. Notable is the dark - not gold - star that now appears on his Purple Heart ribbon, what looks like another star on his GCM medal, and a "V" that is now present on the Navy Comm ribbon.

I don't know why that would be other than carelessness in putting subsequent ribbon bars together (or, perhaps, a reassessment of his entitlements??). The ribbons on the jacket are just as they were when I got it. Unfortunately, Col Beall has long since passed os I can't ask him. The Army retired CSGM I got Beall's Vandegrift from in 2001 (one of the soldiers Lt Col Beall rescued from the ice) has also passed away (in 2007).

Anyway, here for reference, is Beall's official Marine photograph for comparison.

[teufelhunde.ret]

A great uniform! Having read a few books on goggle-books he did appear to be a "character of sorts"... his citation for the DSM:

 

BEALL, OLIN D.

Citation:

The President of the United States takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross to Olin D. Beall, Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Marine Corps, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy of the United Nations while serving as Commanding Officer, First Marine Motor Transport Battalion, FIRST Marine Division (Reinforced), in action against enemy aggressor forces in the vicinity of the Chosin Reservoir, Korea, from 29 November to 4 December 1950. Lieutenant Colonel Beall's actions contributed materially to the breakthrough in the Chosin Reservoir and are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service

Headquarters: X Corps: General Orders No. 66 (December 15, 1950)

 

Battle of Chosin Reservoir: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Chosin_Reservoir

 

A well written account about him in Korea here... starting on page 288: East of Chosin: http://books.google.com/books?id=E9Dd7-ht9...esult#PPA288,M1

[USMCRECON]

Thanks for the citation. During the Chosin battle, oftentimes an individual didn't have to wait months or more for most decorations (MoH excepted). During the battle on both sides of the Chosin, and in an attempt to pump some morale into the 31st RCT, LGEN Almond flew up the P'ungnyuri Inlet several times and usually brought a box of medals with him (mostly SSM and below)for "on the spot" awards.

On one of those trips to the P'ungnyuri Inlet, Almond told Lt Col Don Faith to pick two men (Faith grabbed a nearby officer and, if my memory serves me correctly, an NCO cook) and stand in a line with them. He then pinned impromptu SSMs on Faith and the other two men. Afterward the other officer recipient looked at Maj Jones (who was the 1/32 Adjutant) and said something like "I just got a Silver Star. Do you know what it's for?" After Almond left, Faith tore his from his jacket and threw it on the ground muttering something uncomplimentary about Almond (COL Bob Jones related these events to me during the Army Chapter of the Chosin Few reunion in 2001).

I believe the DSCs for MGen Smith, Col's Litzengerg, Murray, Puller, et.al, were presented at Majon-ni South Korea in late very late December of 1950 or early January of 1951.

I also found out that the picture above of Beall in the khaki Vandegrift jacket was taken at Camp Pendleton some time in mid 1951.