Although the other two battalions of the 5th Marines had defensive missions on 23 September, enemy threats and encroachments kept them occupied. On Hill 296, in the zone of 3/5, Weapons Company took a good deal of satisfaction in firing a captured NKPA howitzer to break up hostile troop concentrations in the vicinity of Nokpon-ni. How Company remained in contact with the enemy all day, supported by 50-caliber and 90mm fires from Marine tanks.[378]
[378] 1st MarDiv SAR, Annex Queen Queen:Peter.
SMASHING THE MLR
5th MARINES—22–24 SEP
It was in the How Company zone that Taplett’s men first made the acquaintance of “Fireproof Phil.” This was the name applied to a gigantic NKPA officer, towering head and shoulders over his troops, who exposed himself with contempt for Marine bullets. Not only his burly build but his light complexion gave some of the Marines the conviction that he was Russian. At any rate, Fireproof Phil was both fearless and lucky. Machine gun bullets and mortar rounds seemed to bounce off his frame. Finally, the tanks paid the honor of making him the special target of 90mm ammunition, and still Fireproof Phil always had the benefit of a minor miracle at the last moment.[379]
[379] LtCol R. D. Taplett interv, 19 Apr 55.
Combat leadership by enemy officers and NCOs was outstanding in the operations north of Seoul. On Hill 105-S the 1st Battalion came under pressure all day on 23 September. Movement was impossible for the men of Baker and Charlie Companies, and supplies of water, food, and ammunition had to wait for darkness. Enemy smoke pots created a haze restricting air activities, but it did not prevent a timely strike flown by Lieutenant Colonel Lischeid and five planes of VMF-214 to break up a threatened enemy counterattack on Hill 105-S. This was one of six close support missions completed on the 23d by that squadron in the zone of RCT-5.[380]
[380] 1st MarDiv SAR, Annex Queen Queen:Nan; 1st MAW SAR, Annex Jig:Easy.
Why the enemy did not launch a counterattack that night against the hard-hit assault companies of the 2d Battalion is one of the mysteries of the war. But the weary Marines on the slope of Hill 56 attributed their respite to effective and unremitting artillery support. All night long the howitzers of the 11th Marines lit up the night sky like heat lightning in the rear and crashed like thunder in front as they scourged the NKPA positions.