This Military Service Page was created/owned by
Tommy Burgdorf (Birddog), FC2
to remember
Thomas, Gordon William, Jr. (Gordy), HN.
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Casualty Info
Home Town Batavia
Casualty Date Aug 08, 1952
Cause KIA-Killed in Action
Reason Artillery, Rocket, Mortar
Location Korea, North
Conflict Korean War/Second Korean Winter (1951-52)/Battle of Bunker Hill
Korean War/Second Korean Winter (1951-52)/Battle of Bunker Hill
From Month/Year
April / 1952
To Month/Year
April / 1952
Description On the night of 16 May 1951 Chinese and North Korean Communists launched another major attack against United Nations forces. To the enemy, it was "Second Step, Fifth Phase Offensive." To soldiers of the United Nations it became known as "Second Spring Offensive," or, especially to members of U.S. X Corps, "The Battle of the Soyang River."
The First Step of the enemy's Fifth Phase Offensive had been at the west end of Eighth Army's line on 22 April. Its mission was the capture of Seoul and the encirclement of UN troops in that area. Although this offensive failed to gain its announced objective, it did force a major withdrawal at the west end of the UN line and, because of the necessity of shifting troops for the defense of Seoul, a readjustment of front lines everywhere. Near the center of the peninsula, X Corps gave up a little ground, dropping back to dominating ground just beyond, and protecting, the southwest-northeast main supply road between Hongchon and Inje.
The First Step lasted eight days. By the night of 30 April, with the force of the attack exhausted, enemy troops turned north, and activity across the Korean front dropped sharply. At once the Chinese turned to preparations for the Second Step. Eighth Army, nevertheless, continued in a defensive role. In the center, X Corps proceeded to organize, occupy, and defend its new position along what it called "Noname Line."
My Participation in This Battle or Operation
From Month/Year
April / 1952
To Month/Year
April / 1952
Last Updated: Mar 16, 2020
Personal Memories
Memories In mid-March 1952 the 8th Army, to whom the Marines were attached, instituted Operation Mixmaster. The operation was a massive redeployment of UN forces designed to put more South Korean Army units on the Main Line of Resistance (MLR).[31] The 1st Marine Division was reassigned to the far western end of the United Nations line defending a 35-mile line that encompassed the Pyongyang to Seoul corridor. For much of the next year, in what would be termed the "Outpost War", action along this line consisted of small, localized actions because much of the fighting revolved around the holding and retaking of various combat outposts along key pieces of terrain.