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Tommy Burgdorf (Birddog), FC2
to remember
Connors, Howard Joseph, QMC.
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Casualty Info
Home Town San Diego, CA
Last Address 7015 Stuart Ave La Mesa, CA
Casualty Date Aug 20, 1952
Cause KIA-Killed in Action
Reason Artillery, Rocket, Mortar
Location Korea, North
Conflict Korean War
Location of Interment Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery (VA) - San Diego, California
Wall/Plot Coordinates Q 516
Official Badges
Unofficial Badges
Additional Information
Last Known Activity:
Chief Quartermaster Connors served aboard the Destroyer-Mine Sweeper, USS THOMPSON (DMS-38). On August 20, 1952, his ship received shore battery fire from Songin, North Korea.
Korean War/CCF Intervention (1950-51)/Chosin Reservoir (Battle of Changjin)
From Month/Year
November / 1950
To Month/Year
December / 1950
Description The Battle of Chosin Reservoir, also known as the Chosin Reservoir Campaign or the Changjin Lake Campaign was a decisive battle in the Korean War. "Chosin" is the Japanese pronunciation of the Korean name, "Changjin". The UN forces relied on Japanese language maps dating from their occupation of Korea which had only ended five years earlier at the conclusion of World War II. Shortly after the People's Republic of China entered the conflict, the People's Volunteer Army 9th Army infiltrated the northeastern part of North Korea.
On 27 November, the Chinese 9th Army surprised the US X Corps commanded by Major General Edward Almond at the Chosin Reservoir area. A brutal 17 day battle in freezing weather soon followed. In the period between 27 November and 13 December 1950, 30,000 United Nations troops (later nicknamed "The Chosin Few") under the field command of Major General Oliver P. Smith were encircled and attacked by approximately 120,000 Chinese troops under the command of Song Shi-Lun, who had been ordered by Mao Zedong to destroy the UN forces. The UN forces were nonetheless able to make a fighting withdrawal and broke out of the encirclement while inflicting crippling losses on the Chinese. While the battle resulted in the Chinese pushing the UN out of North Korea, it was a Pyrrhic victory. The evacuation of the X Corps from the port of Hungnam marked the complete withdrawal of UN troops from North Korea
My Participation in This Battle or Operation
From Month/Year
November / 1950
To Month/Year
December / 1950
Last Updated: Mar 16, 2020
Personal Memories
Memories In early November, however, the entry of Chinese communist forces into the war vastly altered the strategic picture. In the face of heavy onslaughts, United Nations troops retreated. One port which served as an evacuation point was Chinnampo, familiar to Thompson?s men as a result of the minesweeping operation conducted a scant month before.
While United Nations warships conducted bombardments of advancing communist troops, Thompson escorted troopships out of the harbor in dense fog and through treacherous tidal currents to assist in the evacuation. For her part in this action, Thompson received the Navy Unit Commendation.
