| Sources |
- [S23] Atchley Funeral Home, (http://www.atchleyfuneralhome.com/), 12 Apr 2002.
Murphy Robert Reagan obituary
- [S106] The Mountain Press, 6 Nov 2005.
Despite hardship, Korea conflict veteran proud of time in service
By: JOEL DAVIS November 06, 2005
PIGEON FORGE - Korean conflict veteran Lee R. Shofner remembers his military service each year when the weather grows cold. Shofner, 76, is a member of the "Chosin Few," survivors of a battle against overwhelming odds fought in the hellish cold of a brutal winter around the Chosin Reservoir in North Korea. The 1950 battle, which lasted from Nov. 27 to Dec. 10, pitted 8,000 troops, most of them Marines, against 120,000 Chinese soldiers. Not only did Shofner and his fellow Marines face impossible odds, but the frigid weather - plunging to at least 54 degrees below zero - itself proved a horrific foe. Shofner suffered nerve damage from the frostbite that nearly cost him the toes on each foot. "On a cool day I'm cold, but I've never regretted it," he said. Shofner enlisted in 1948. He was honorably discharged on Oct. 21, 1951, after leaving a hospital in San Francisco where he had spent a year recovering from the horrific foot injuries due to frostbite. Originally from McMinnville, Shofner now lives most of the year in Pigeon Forge. He is disabled due to his war injuries. During the war, Shofner served as a machine gunner in Weapons Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division. Joining the Marines was an easy decision for Shofner. He enlisted at 18, shortly after graduating high school. "Ever since I was a little boy, I wanted to be a Marine," he said. "I wanted to be a pilot, but I didn't make that." In 1950, Shofner traveled to Korea with the 1st Marine Division, which U.S. military commanders had sent to aid the beleaguered army of the Republic of Korea. Nearly 100,000 troops from communist North Korea had routed the South Korean army, capturing the capital city of Seoul and overrunning most of the country. "In May of 1950, (Gen. Douglas) MacArthur got the idea that he needed an amphibious landing at Inchon to get Seoul back," Shofner said. "There was only a little circle (of South Korea remaining free) left at the tip (of the peninsula)." The American attack went brilliantly. "It was a complete surprise to them," Shofner said. "They weren't expecting it. We didn't have a lot of resistance. We had the supply lines from North Korea cut off before they knew what was going on." After freeing South Korea from the armies of the north, MacArthur set out to take the fight into North Korea itself. However U.S. military planners ignored warnings from the government of China that American forces crossing the 38th Parallel would be met with force. The Marines were equipped for cold weather ("Not very well," Shofner noted) and sent northward into the Taebaek mountains around the Chosin Reservoir. It was at a place called Gudong that the Marines met the Chinese Army for the first time, Shofner said. "We met them on Sunday," he said. "They had four divisions. We were outnumbered 35 to one. When the day was over, they decided they couldn't overrun us. They tried all day to overrun us, but they never could." West of the Marines' position, the situation has not been going well for the soldiers of the 8th Army, which had pulled back after meeting overwhelming odds. Shofner and his fellow Marines found themselves surrounded. "We were encircled," he said. "We were trapped. Any way we had to go, we had to fight." On the night of Nov. 27, 1950, thousands of Chinese troops attacked the American troops all around the Chosin Reservoir. Shofner's platoon fought alongside the Marines of Fox Company, who defended a hill in Toktong Pass. "We fought all the night and the next five days," he said. "The top of that hill went back and forth. At 35-to-1 odds, we did something that was never done before and probably won't be done again." The cold temperatures began taking a toll on Shofner. "I fell and I couldn't get up because I couldn't feel my feet," he said. "I couldn't control my feet, because I couldn't feel where they were. I didn't lose my toes. I had to argue about it (to doctors), but I kept them." Finally, the Marines were able to withdraw - a torturous, 78-mile retreat along a 15-foot-wide, steep mountainous road. "We brought all of our dead and wounded out," Shofner said "They usually rode and we walked." At one point, the troops had to wait for a bridge to be flown in from Seward Air Force Base in Smyrna, Tenn., to replace a destroyed bridge. "They had to bring us a bridge to do across that ravine," Shofner said. "They needed six sections. They brought us eight, which was fortunate for us because one went down into the ravine." For the last eight to 10 miles of the withdrawal to the port city of Hungnam, the footsore troops were able to board a train, Shofner said. "We were tired of walking," he said, simply. Sent back to the U.S. because of his injuries, Shofner spent a length stay in the hospital. "I went into the hospital on Christmas Eve 1950," he said. "On the 21st of October, 1951, I was discharged." Shofner and his fellow troops received a presidential unit citation for the battle and the capture of Seoul. Despite the hardships he had to endure, Shofner is proud of his service. "I'd do it again," he said. "I took an oath to defend my country. I and many others did a good job at that. So many people don't realize what we have in this country. Just just don't understand the values of the freedoms we enjoy." - jwdavis@themountainpress.com
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