[274] CO 7thMar msg to CG 1stMarDiv, 1508 4 Nov 50.
CHINHUNG-NI TANK FIGHT
4 November
MAP-9
Troops of 1/7 moved forward in the early light and scouted the valley as far north as the edge of Sudong. They met no opposition and returned to the perimeter. Litzenberg then formed the 7th Marines in column, with the Reconnaissance Company in the lead, followed by 1/7 and 3/7 in that order. He left the 2d Battalion in position on Hills 698 and 727 to protect the regimental flanks.[275]
[275] The advance to Chinhung-ni and the engagement with enemy tanks is derived from: 7thMar SAR, 13; Crossman-Puckett-Sharon interv, 20 Oct 55; Geer, The New Breed, 236–237; and P. G. Martin ltr to HistBr G-3 HQMC, 21 Oct 55; CO 7thMar msg to CG 1stMarDiv, 0045, 5 Nov 50; R. G. Davis Comments, 13–15; Maj R. B. Crossman Comments, n. d.; Shea Comments, 30 Apr 56.
Recon Company moved out in jeeps at 0800, First Lieutenant Ernest C. Hargett’s 1st Platoon in the point. Entering Sudong a short time later, the vanguard rounded a bend in the middle of town and surprised a group of CCF soldiers. In a 30-minute fight, Hargett’s men killed three and captured about 20. The 2d and 3d Platoons of the Reconnaissance Company meanwhile inspected the high ground above Sudong without opposition.
Lieutenant Crossman reorganized his company in column on the road and set out for Chinhung-ni with Second Lieutenant Donald W. Sharon’s 2d Platoon in the lead. About the same time, 1000, the 1st Battalion moved out of the 7th Marines’ perimeter south of Sudong and traced Crossman’s route through the low ground.
At Chinhung-ni the highway runs along the east side of the river while the railroad traces the west side. The narrow-gauge track enters the village over a bridge spanning a branch stream. Just beyond is Samgo station, which served as a railhead for the cable-car system of Funchilin Pass. As the Reconnaissance Company approached Chinhung-ni on 4 November, a small group of Chinese soldiers milled around the train cars and buildings of Samgo Station. They probably had some tactical connection with the four T-34 tanks camouflaged opposite them across the river and road; but the two forces seemed oblivious not only of each other but also of the Marines bearing down on them.