Another of my father-in-law’s stories of his time in the Korean War. He was a 2nd lieutenant commanding the 75 mm recoilless rifle platoon of the heavy weapons company, Company D, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Division. It was in the front line trenches on a hill facing enemy trenches across a valley. My notes are in italics, all else is in his own words.
November
22, 1952 The Turkey Shoot. 71 years ago.
During the Korean War, we had saved up ammo for an old fashioned Turkey Shoot. For us, that was a TOT (Time on Target exercise). At a given moment, first the 8 inch (203 mm) guns of DIVATY (Div Artillery) miles back opened up,
then the 155 mm (6 inch),
next the 105 mm (4.1 inch) Howitzers,
followed by the 4.2 inch (106 mm)
and 81 mm (3.2 inch) mortars,
the quad 50's (four 50 caliber machine guns in the back of a halftrack).
The quad 50's were firing from indirect positions dug in along the hillside behind us. They sent long streams of tracer bullets arching about 150 feet over our heads. The impact, about a mile away, was in a well peppered 50-yard circle.
Then all the weapons on line opened up, tanks,
my 75's,
heavy and light machine guns.
All shells set to arrive on target at the same time, and continue firing for five minutes.
I assume those surviving on the receiving end scrambled out
of their bunkers to line the trenches when the barrage lifted, fearing that an
infantry attack was coming on the heels of the barrage.
1 comment:
That must have been pretty spectacular to witness. No idea on how easy or not it was to arrange a time on target shoot, but hats off to those that could!
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