After elements of Company A hit GREEN Beach, the remaining troops of the battalion had landed on the two beaches and assisted shore party units at unloading water, ammunition, and rations. This work was so well along by the morning of D-plus 1 that the engineers opened up the MSR between the two beaches and assigned personnel for improvement and maintenance. A Water point was established at the north end of RED Beach with 31 distillation units, and 125,000 gallons were issued during the next six days.[209]
[209] 1st MarDiv SAR, Annex Nan Nan.
The new Division CP on the outskirts of Inchon was ready by the afternoon of D-plus 1, and General Smith said goodbye to General MacArthur on the bridge of the Mount McKinley. The commander in chief wished him well and enjoined him to take Kimpo Airfield at the first opportunity.[210]
[210] O. P. Smith, Notes, 188–189.
The Marine general landed at YELLOW Beach at 1730. Upon arrival at the CP, he sent a dispatch to Admiral Doyle, informing him that he was assuming responsibility for the conduct of operations ashore at 1800 on 16 September. Thus ended the amphibious assault phase, almost exactly 24 hours after the first wave of Marines set foot on RED Beach.
CHAPTER VIII
On to Kimpo
Operations on Other Korean Fronts—Landing of RCT-7 in Japan—Destruction of NKPA Tank Column—General MacArthur Visits the Front—The Drive to Kimpo Airfield—Action at 5th Marines CP—Enemy Counterattack at Kimpo
On Sunday morning, D-plus 2, General Smith was directed as Landing Force Commander to re-establish civil government in Inchon. Although parts of the Korean seaport had been burned or battered into rubble, thousands of refugees were returning to the ruins of their homes after having fled during the bombardments. The KMC Regiment, operating under the control of RCT-5, had been given the task of screening the remaining inhabitants for their loyalty. No fault could have been found with the thoroughness of these Korean allies who were perhaps inclined to be too zealous when they suspected subversion.
General Smith concluded that the best procedure was to find loyal Korean officials and uphold their authority. He consulted Rear Admiral Sohn Won Yil, the ROK Chief of Naval Operations, and learned that the former mayor of Inchon had fled during the original NKPA invasion and never returned. Admiral Sohn vouched for the loyalty of one of the political prisoners, Pyo Yang Moon, who had been the losing candidate for the mayoralty in the last election. The Marine general decided to install him as Inchon’s chief executive and issued a proclamation to that effect in Korean as well as English.