Korean War's "Battle of Chosin" Subject of PBS Series

While Korea is called "The Forgotten War," one of the most horrific fights the U.S. military ever fought—in particular two Marine regiments—was "Frozen Chosin." MacArthur and his generals believed the war was pretty much over in November 1950, until the North Koreans and Chinese counterattacked near the Chosin Reservoir. The surprised Americans, greatly outnumbered and fighting in some of the most brutal winter conditions ever experienced by U.S. troops, fought a retreat through the mountains of North Korea. 

That epic struggle is being recounted through eyewitness participation in PBS's "American Experience" tonight in a series called "The Battle of Chosin," which it describes as "one of the most celebrated battles in Marine Corps annals and helped set the course of American foreign policy in the Cold War and beyond." (Check your local listings here).



While much of the country has forgotten the men of that battle and the guns they used, American Rifleman Field Editor Bruce N. Canfield and Martin K.A. Morgan have written articles remembering the men and the arms they used. If you want to know more about the acts of heroism shown by American Marines as well as detailed information on the guns they used, read these two articles:

Arms of the Chosin Few
The Korean War's Frozen Chosin