Page 2
THE BATTALION
Tuesday, May I', 1951
Some Things Considered
Life With Platoon Leader in Korea-Lt. Cabaniss Reporting
Chuck Cabaniss
First to See North Korea
By CLAYTON SELPH
Battalion Co-Editor
A N AGGIE probably, was the first United Nations ground
force officer to see North Korean soil during the Allied
Northern push just previous to the Red Chinese Spring of
fensive.
Second Lieutenant Charles D. “Chuck” Cabaniss ’50, lays
claim to being the first officer of the Third Division to see
North Korea on the UN drive
toward Parallel 38.
Chuck was co-editor of Ag-
gieland ’50 and sports editor
of The Battalion last year.
In a letter to this writer
dated April 16 and written
from a hill overlooking the
small North Korean city of
Yonchon, Cabaniss said:
“On Wednesday, March 28
ht 11:20 a. m. my platoon (the
farthest advanced unit of
the First Battalion that day)
reached the top of a ridge five
miles South of the 38th. From
there we could see the distant
ridges North of the parallel
since a river valley between us
and the ridge provided a long
er view than is usual in Korea.
“Since we had advanced un
opposed and much faster than
more Easterly units of the
Third Division—I lay claim to
commanding the platoon in
the division which first saw
North Korea on the current offensive.
“At any rate, the 29th British Brigade relieved the
battalion on March 31 and we went into reserve for a 10-
day period until April 10 when we again moved to a position
North of the parallel to begin our current offensive (which
is due) to end about day after tomorrow since we have only
a few more miles to go to our ‘limited objective.’
“I’ll tell you about this offensive in my next letter.”
Cabaniss’ letter was written on Monday, just 7 days be
fore the big Communist drive began a week ago Sunday.
I referred to Chuck as “Second Lieutenant Cabaniss” in
an earlier paragraph, but it may be “First Lieutenant” by
now. He reported also that his recommendation for promo
tion had been submitted and he was expecting it to become ef
fective about May 1. j
Called to Duty Last December
Readers who knew Cabaniss here last year may be in
terested to know that he was called to duty from inactive
reserve status on December 16,1950. It was just two months
later that Chuck found himself assigned to a unit immediate
ly behind the front fighting lines in Korea.
During that interval he had spent several days being
processed, received a hasty “96 hours of refresher training”
administered over a period of 20 days, and then waited until
Jan. 24 when he was shipped out of California bound for
Japan.
Arriving in Yokahoma after a near two-week Pacific
voyage, Chuck was moved by train, boat and truck to the
Korean front.
There he was assigned commander of a rifle platoon in
the 65th Regiment composed of Puerto Ricans.
“The 65th is a Puerto Rican regular army outfit and be
cause many of the enlisted men speak little or no English,
command discipline is a little more difficult than in an or
dinary outfit. It means'the platoon sergeant has to assume
some of the duties of the non-Spanish speaking platoon lead
er.
“Actually the 65th is rated the best regiment in the
Third Division and one of the best in Korea because (1) it
has received more training than most units (the 65th has
mostly 5-to-10 year army veterans while many units depend
on 19-20 year old enlisted men) and (2) it is (all) American,
while many others have to use ROK’s (South Koreans) as
replacements.
The Battalion
Lawrence Sullivan Ross, Founder of Aggie Traditions
"Soldier, Statesman, Knightly Gentleman”
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CLAYTON L. SELPH, DAVE COSLETT...... CoEditors
John Whitmore, Dean Reed Managing Editors
Andy Anderson, Bob Hughson Campus Editors
Fred Walker Sports Editor
Joel Austin City Editor
Vivian Castleberry Women’s Editor
Today’s Issue
Joel Austin ..Managing Editor
Bob Hughson r Campus News Editor
Dean Reed , - Sports News Editor
Alien Pengelly City News Editor
“The ROK replacements can’t speak English and have
only two or so week’s training ...”
Patrolling villages and terrain in his regimental sector
was Chuck’s first assignment as platoon leader. “Such pat
rols check areas where troops are not located, searching
for infiltrating enemy disguised as civilians . . . : ”
Gets River Crossing Training
Later his unit went into reserve and began river cross
ing training in preparation for the drive toward Parallel 38,
mentioned earlier.
Of the river crossing training, Chuck reports:
“. . . practically every day until March 15 we were
working on some phase of such a crossing. We held lectures
and “tactical walks” to show the complete operation (assem
bly areas, attack positions, initial objectives, precautions to
be observed during operations, etc.) and attended an engin
eer demonstration on the actual boat crossing in an M-2
(three engineers, 12 “passengers” and equipment, hand pad-
died) assault boats.
“We were practicing on a small tributary of the Han,
where the 65th was scheduled to make the initial assault
crossing in the Third Division sector.
“All of this time the regiment was in reserve in order
to complete this special training, the other two regiments
being the front line regiments for the Third (which were) in
positions along the South side of the Han.
“The division East of the Third crossed the river on
about the 12th, and on the 15th patrols reported the Chinese
and North Koreans had withdrawn from the area to the
Third’s front and an unopposed crossing was made by the
65th’s second battalion on the 16th. Then the First Battalion
crossed on the 17th in “Duks” and the Third (Chuck’s bat
talion) came over the following day.
“The First (with our company farthest up) took up pos
itions Northeast of Seoul (we could see Seoul from our hill
tops) and began patrolling. Other patrols had covered the
area so we were strictly ‘second-hand’ arrivals.
Enemy Contacted on Hill
“However, a platoon patrolling some two and one half
miles North on the 19th ran into 25 to 40 enemy entrenched
on a hill and had to withdraw after reporting the positions to
artillery liaison officers.
“The Kill the company was holding all of this time had
been fortified by approximately a battalion (or more) of
enemy and if they had chosen to defend it—whoo. Although
no one can be sure, the enemy forces appear to have with
drawn because of one or a combination of several reasons :
“(1) The threat of being outflanked and cut off by the
advance of the division next to us, (2) supply (ammo) was
hampered by extended lines and air strikes, (3) food was
very scarce (the enemy live off the land they are occupying),
and (4) the artillery had been pounding them continuously
for some 30 days.
“On the 21st, two platoons of Charlie Company
(Chuck’s) went back to the hills where enemy had been seen,
and my platoon occupied Hill 97 (numbers are the height of
a hill above sea level some 1500 yards from Hill 114 (oc
cupied by the enemy). The other platoon observed the enemy
from Hill 104 (500 yards East of us) and after calling artil
lery in, withdrew. About this time battalion headquarters
radioed for my platoon to dig in on Hill 97 as we were to
hold that hill which was to be part of the line of departure
for three other battalions attached to the 65th.
“Although we saw enemy in dug-in positions on Hill
114, fired 57-recoilless and 60-mortar rounds at them, and
had artillery fired at them, they never returned the fire,
probably to avoid an all-out barrage and infantry assault by
us if they became too active.
“That night we expected them to attack infiltrate, toss
hand grenades, etc. (but the only firing was artillery we
placed on them during the night and a single grenade by one
of them at a listening post (four men midway between the
two hills to warn of an approaching enemy) and the three
rounds the “listeners” fired in return.
“It was cold and uncomfortable, but that was about
all.”
‘All Hell Broke Loose ,
“We have been moving along behind the three front line
battalions since the jump-off on the 22nd. Day before yes
terday the division was rushing ahead pell-mell when it hit
the small city of Uijongbu—and all hell broke loose.
“Rear echelon troops were beginning to move into the
city when Chinese artillery and mortar fire began to tear
the place apart. The motorized rear-echelon boys turned
around and passed us heading South. We were marching
some five miles from the area ourselves.
“We were halted and took up positions where we were.
Eventually, it took some 24 to 36 hours to take Hill 337 (high
ground from which the Chinese were firing and observing
for artillery).
“Now the advance has begun again. On the night of
the 23rd two platoons from Charlie Company had to move
to the small hills overlooking an artillery battery and clean
up the place—(we) killed a couple of Chinese. They were
by-passed and had fired on the battery, but most had with
drawn to the other side of the hill by the time we got there.
“Sure enough, the next morning 27 Chinese came down
out of the hills (where Filipinos had been moving that night)
and surrendered. They were probably the same ones we were
hunting, but after seeing all the equipment the forces (UN)
below had, they may have decided to throw in the towel.
No Real Action Yet
“Today (Easter Sunday) we are sitting around waiting
to move forward again. Sooner or later the First will become
a front line battalion .... but until then I probably won’t
see any real action.
“Yesterday while we were sitting around by the road,
LETTERS TO THEEDITOR
T. M. Fontaine, Carter Phillips —Editorialists
Allen Pengelly.— Assistant City Editor
Leon McClellan, Jack Fontaine, Ed Holder, Bryan Spencer, Bob Venable, Dale
Walston, Bee Landrum, Frank Davis, Phil Snyder, Art Giese, Cristy Orth,
James Fuller, Leo Wallace, W. H. Dickens, Fig Newton, Joe Price, Pete
Hermann, Wesley Mason, B. F. Roland, Ivan Yantis, Sid Ragsdale, Bill
Aaberg, Ide Trotter, John Hildebrand, Chuck Neighbors, Bob Selleck, Bill
Streich, Curtis Edwards, Howard Heard Staff Writers
Jimmy Ashlock, Joe Blanchette, Ray Holbrook, Joe Hollis,
Pat LeBlanc —..Sports Staff Writers
Sam Molinary, Bob Alderdice : * Staff Photographers
Sid Abernathy — Page Make-up
Dick Kelly - Club Publicity Co-ordinator
Joe Gr^y —Photo Engraving Shop Manager
Tom Fontaine, Johnny Lancaster, Charles McCullough, R. R. Peeples,
R. D. Witter :.... — 1 1 Photo Engravers
A.uti-ey Frederick. Advertising Maaager
Euesell Havens, Bob Haynie—.— Advertising Representatives
Thanks to Students
For Warm Welcome
To the Student Body:
The Citadel Varsity Rifle Team
wishes to express their feelings of
gratitude for the enjoyable week
end spent at your college.
Never before have we been im
pressed by as warm a welcome as
was given us by you. Through your
efforts to make us feel at home,
we felt as if we were, part of
your own Corps of Cadets.
We sincerely hope that, the rifle
team of the Texas Aggies will,have.
the opportunity to fire another
match with us here at The Citadel
in the future and that we can have
the privilege of showing them the
same hospitality and welcome feel
ing given us.
Bert Bookout
Rifle Team Captain
The Citadel
Bible Verse
I N THE beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
—John 1:1.
MacArthur, Ridgeway, and Milburn (I Corps Commander)
drove by in a jeep. So evidently the battle for Hill 337 was
Korea’s hottest action for the day.
“Right now the front line is some 10 miles from the
38th—I only wonder what will happen, if anything, when we
get there.”
Chuck knows the answer to that one now, and so do we.
Unless his unit made some amazingly fast moves since
his April 16 letter, Chuck probably is in the thick of fighting
during this present Chinese offensive.
Outstanding Record At A&M
Chuck wrote for himself a top-notch record while at
A&M. Ironically, had his performance here been a little less
outstanding, he might be attending classes now instead of
leading a platoon in Korea.
It looks now as if Fate, knowing the Korean crisis was
coming, shoved Chuck through college quickly between wars.
Cabaniss came here in 1947 and by taking some 20 to 24
hours each semester he completed his history degree in three
years. He jumped out of service, into college, out of college
and into war.
It was to prepare for law school that Chuck came to
A&M after serving in the Army following WWII. He went
straight out of high school into the Army and earned his
commission in CCS. Cabaniss and senior civil engineering
major Joe Fuller went through officer’s school together. Ful
ler graduates this June.
During his first “tenure” with the Army, Chuck dis
tinguished himself as a trial judge advocate and his super
iors asked him to stay in service. The tall blond officer had
his eye on college, however, and “mustered out” only three
months short of a promotion to first lieutenant.
While at A&M Chuck was particularly active in student
government, serving as student senator, student life commit
teeman and president of the Arts and Sciences Council.
He was named Who’s Who in both his junior and senior
years and amassed a collection of campus activity keys that
would be difficult to match.
In recent letters I have asked Cabaniss for opinions from
some of the front line troops on MacArthur’s dismissal. His
reports on those opinions and on the present heavy fighting
will be published here as soon as received.
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Strikes on Y o 11 r
Clothes, Now ? ? ?
It Need Not Be
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you do something about it.... We can give your best
the very best in cleaning care, and keep them from
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will see the value of protecting those clothes with
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N. Gate
AGGIE CLEANERS
College Station
The upperclassmen kid me so;
I -think -that -they are mean;
For of my -twenty Lucky Strikes,
They yet at le.ast fifteen!
Paul E. Moore
Indiana University
LUCKIES TASTE BETTER
THAN ANY OTHER CIGARETTE!
Fine tobacco—and only fine tobacco—can
give you a better-tasting cigarette. And
L.S./M.F.T.-Lucky Strike means fine to
bacco. So, for the best-tasting cigarette you
ever smoked, Be Happy-Go Lucky! How
about startin’ with a carton -today?
LS/M FT- tudy Strike
Msans fttfe Tobacco
LI’L ABNER
To Each His Own
By Al Ca\>p
^ fa n
SOOM, A WHOLE. MESS O'
WEDDIN' BELLS WILL RING
-AN' WE'LL BE TH' HAPPIER
BRIDE AN' GROOM IN
ALL TH'HILLS.