Anthony B Herbert - The Making of a Soldier

By

SGM Chris Kalili LTC (Ret) Anthony B Herbert was born in 1931. He always wanted to be in the service, so at the age of 14, he and his friend Tony Spiegel altered their baptismal certificates. Their principal found out and got them out ofthe service. Anthony knew that he would have the opportunity to join again. He has two older brothers and they both went offto fight in WWII.

Anthony was disappointed that he was not able to fight in the war. Charles, who was 15 years older than Anthony, joined the Army and was an infantry Company Commander. Jules, who was 11 years older, was a Chief torpedo man in the Navy. Anthony would have joined the Navy, but all ofthe Hollywood war movies had him interested in being an Infantryman. He was one of the youngest Master Sergeants in the army and the most decorated enlisted man to fight in

Korea.

His dad Charle. s gave Anthony an old d-guag,~ gun when he was a second grader. The C// problem with his 12e&e was that it would break into pieces every time Anthony shot it. His father was a very good marksman, and he taught Anthony how to shoot. Anthony learned to make the first shot count since his gun broke apart after firing it. His father worked in the

Pennsylvanian mines, but to make ends meet, Charles would provide a hunting guide service for hunters from Pittsburgh.

At the age of 17, Anthony again joined the Army. Officers tried to discourage him from entering the infantry by telling him only an idiot would want infantry, but he was dead set on infantry. After basic training, he was sent to jump school and graduated as an Infantryman and a t'(\ d' (T"\.tAlA Paratrooper. He served a year and a half-then he was discharged to finish high school. After ..) graduating from high school, he reenlisted in the at .

Four months later, he was studying to be a radio repair person at Fort Monmouth when he heard on the radio that North Korea invaded South Korea and the US would supply military assistance. He tried to get out ofthe training so he could return to being an Infantryman and deploy, but the officer in charge ofthe training told him he would not go anywhere until he graduated. He decided to buckle down and studied at night to ensure that he would graduate. He received his orders and was off to Korea.

He sailed on a troop transport and it was to take 10 days to arrive in Japan. On day eight he was assigned KP duties and refused to do it and was busted from First Class to

Private. He didn't care, he was just thrilled to be going to war and live up to all the movies that he watched as a kid growing up. In Japan, he was issued new gear to include a weapon. The soldiers fired their weapons at the range and received briefings from the Veterans that were leaving the country. Anthony was assigned to the 20th Air Ground Signal liaison in Pusan, as far south as he could go. He went and talked to the assignments officer about getting orders with the airborne infantry or with the 2 ID. He was told n~ that he was already assigned to a unit. The next day when the trucks arrived, he got on the second division truck anyway.

The truck that he was in belonged to the Republic Of Korea second infantry division, not the US second infantry division. He was the only American on the truck but he didn't care, because at least he would be in battle. He could not tell the North from the South Koreans so he fired only after the others on the truck fired and missed. Once the truck passed the last retreating troops from the North, he then knew that the enemy was North oftheir location. His first sure kill he did not feel any emotions just indifferent. His first firefight lasted 10 minutes and then he was out of ammo. Some Americans pulled up on a jeep and took him back to the depot. Only his friend knew that he was missing and asked him about his whereabouts. He figured that he wouldn't believe him so he told him nothing about his exploits. \J6V'J l He arrived at his new unit long enough to hear Mac Arthur proclaim that the troops will

be home by Christmas with a big assault headed north. He thought that he needed to get into the

fight and volunteered to join the assault, but his request fell on deaf ears again. Then the big

attack happened, only it was the Chinese who attacked the south. All the units were in a mad

retreat with the seventh and marines moving back to the sea. Anthony was told by a Sergeant to

link up with the Turkish Army, which was the only unit moving north to fight the Chinese. Two

hours later he linked up with the Turks lead element. He stayed with the Turks as they

occasionally went north to attack the Chinese. The second night they came upon a village that

had 29 American bodies strung up. After seeing this, he decided to make it back to an American

unit. He reached his unit over the Turkish radio and his orders were to try to make it south to the

Eighth army.

He decided to try and slip out to the rear of the Turks but the Turks would not let him

leave. He decided to leave and had to go towards the enemy and slip around the Turkish

positions on his way south to the Americans. As he moved north, he saw about 200 Chinese

heading straight toward his position. He told his buddy to lie down as he signaled enemy ahead.

He decided to be quiet and continue to move after the Chinese had passed. The Chinese received fire from the Turks as they moved up the hill. When the Chinese retreated north, Anthony opened up on them as bodies fell toward his feet. When he ran out ofammo he picked up the

Chinese weapons and continued to fire. He and the Turks played a game of ping-pong with the

Chinese bouncing back and forth until all of them were killed. The next morning the Turks went down the hill to tally up the deaths when they saw Anthony. The Turks awarded Anthony the equivalent to the Congressional for his heroic actions. He finally linked up with the Americans as they consolidated forces and continued to retreat south. They were attacked along the way and were encircled once and had to fight their way out. Anthony decided to continue to fight with the Turks and enjoyed their tenaciousness.

He saw the many horrors ofwar with soldiers dying all around him by the artillery, small arms fire, hand to hand combat, and even being ran over by the American trucks and tanks at night.

The attacks throughout the night took 3,000 men ofthe remaining 7,000 in the Division. After all that fighting he would receive his first wounds from a sniper along the road oftheir retreat.

He took a shot to his shin and about an hour later, another went through the calf ofthe same leg.

He was evacuated to the MASH and he was still AWOL.

Once he was patched up, he wanted to get assigned to the 38th Infantry Regiment.

Unfortunately, he was assigned to the 20th again. He decided that he would leave again and makes it to the 38th on his own. A few trucks later, Anthony got his wish and was assigned to E

Co. 38 th Infantry Regiment. When he arrived, he was introduced to everyone in the Platoon.

They treated him well even though they did not know ofhis exploits. He didn't eat dinner because he thought his mess kit was too filthy and the water was rationed. He and a couple of other guys went out and butchered a cow for dinner. His first mission with his squad would happen that night. He received his briefing from his Squad Leader in which they would go out about two miles from the town and occupy a listening post. The night was uneventful except they stayed up most ofthe night because they thought they heard something.

The next mission would come about the same listening post. The mission this time would be to hold the ground that they had taken at all cost. When the Chinese attacked none of the guns worked because the firing pins were frozen shut. Someone in the line said to piss on the rifles and then it worked. The rifles didn't jam at any point after that through six attacks until the word was finally given to retreat. Once they were at the bottom, of the hill they received ammo and the Battalion Commander led an attack back up the hill. The sixth wave was still not set up and the Americans took the same positions with little resistance. That night the Chinese outnumbered the Americans 10 to 1 but the Americans ~~~willing to win at all cost.

Since E Company lost 40 % of their strength they were ordered into reserve. This is a time for them to rest and reorganize. The next day the company received its replacements and conducted training until all the new replacement knew what was expected of them. The training was good and it would cut their losses the next time that they saw battle. The next day they were back at it again and Anthony was promoted to because of the losses his Platoon c!

/ ----. received. The company was to go out and secure a hi~ in :Which the Chinese knew was strategic ~/ in value. His unit dug in as much as they could and the objective would be prepped by artillery and tank gunfire. Unfortunately, the artillery and tanks had fired on E Company's position and the platoon went down from 27 men to 21 just that quick from friendly fire. Fratricide was common in that type ofenvironment and it was just a fact of war.

One of the six men that died from the Platoon was the Platoon Sergeant and Anthony was next in line to take it. Anthony was out with five other members in the platoon when he was hit in the wrist by a shot. Even hit, he quickly maneuvered his platoon and killed nine Chinese with only one US casualty, him. He was patched up, received medication to prevent infection, and spent the night in the aid station. He returned the next day to the Platoon.

A couple of days later, an artillery round landed near his location. He was hit with a large gob of white phosphorus that was eating into his arm. He~sed mud to treat his wound and to stop the burning by absorbing the phosphorus. He went to the aid station to have it cleaned and his arm sewed up. He was unhappy because he was injured again, but at the same time, he was happy to be in a dry tent and receive a good nights sleep. The Chinese troops were

reported massing about 1200 yards north oftheir position. AnthOny~an armed recon Platoon

to gather information about the location of the Chinese. About 1500 meters out, a snipers bullet

hit him in his upper right arm. He continued with the mission and had his medic dress the

wound. He maneuvered his platoon 200 yards short of a ridge in which the Chinese had been

seen and away from the sniper range. , L ~,~lr-\-fA.,L Anthony looked at locations in which the Chinese may be~lIe then opened fire, which caused the Chinese to return fire. He was able to locate their position, so he moved his Platoon out and back to their base camp with the information as to the location ofthe Chinese. Once his

Platoon returned to camp, he was sent all the way back to the MASH. A surgeon removed the bullet and said he would be evacuated back to the rear in the morning. A short time later, he went A WOL from the MASH and hitched a ride back north to his unit. The next day the entire L~ camp fortified their defensive positions, set booby traps, wire, and land mines out in case of an attack by the Chinese. They noticed planes flying overhead and soon there after they received a call from headquarters stating that the Chinese were heading toward their location. He reminded his men oftheir duties and went over procedures in case they were over run by the Chinese. ~ \1 Everything went well during the first five attacks. Then they began to run out of ammunition~ 'l0 0 ~",) • / ...... 0.<1· (!J~"I--" they had to pull back from their positions since the Dutch had evacuated their positions and left / ~,D"~ ~~~t l. the flank open. As they pulled back, Anthony heard the Company Commander had been hit and evacuated. Anthony was made platoon leader. The new Company Commander asked Anthony if he and his platoon would go to 1st Battalion and give information as to the location ofthe

Chinese. Although the mission was an uncertain one, Anthony and his platoon started on the mission. They faced many challenges including a minefield. Once they arrived at their destination, they were able to give the S2 the necessary information. They were also tasked to replace the recon Platoon and killed hundreds of Chinese while out on the mission. Once returning to the camp, they were complimented on their fighting. They requested a ride back to their unit and were told they would get a ride the following day. Anthony decided to chance it and walk back instead of waiting there another day.

Once Anthony returned, he found out that his company was down to a total of 90 soldiers, 18 were in his platoon. Since going AWOL before, his pay was never corrected to show his promotions. He thought about taking care of it and making pay, but decided it was no big deal since he didn't have anywhere or anything to spend his money on. His platoon was then tasked to replace the Dutch up on the hilltop. As Anthony and his men reached the hilltop, they realized they were replacing a unit with five times the number of soldiers. Anthony requested more soldiers, but knew it was not going to happen because the unit had lost so many soldiers previously. Once they arrived in their location, the fighting began. They held their position as long as they could, but grenade after grenade forced them from their foxholes.

Anthony was injured again, this time by a grenade and a gunshot on his left leg above the ankle.

The doctor informed Anthony that the war was over for him and he would be sent back to the states. Anthony was determined to stay and fight, so he convinced a supply sergeant t9 give him fatigues and a Ml because he did not like the Carbine. He caught a ride back up to his unit and gave the medics false information regarding his injuries. Anthony was given his Platoon and was informed that he had been recommended for a pot full of awards. His Battalion moved just south of the Imjin River. The next day they moved north past the river to what is now known as

Heartbreak ridge. His platoon was to move in front ofthe Dutch position and occupy a defensive position on a hill. Anthony constantly moved his platoon to pifferent locations that night but they were still able to observe their previous day location. He noticed a Chinese company had moved into his old location and he called for fire on them. He ordered his men to open fire to augment the artillery on the Chinese company. Anthony moved his platoon when it was light to assess the casualties and the Chinese company was annihilated. As they remained in position the next couple of days, Anthony was hit again in the arm and was evacuated to the MASH to get the bullet out.

The next day he was called down to Battalion headquarters and offered a battlefield commission to 2LT. The commanding the regiment explained the many advantages that he would have as an officer. Anthony said it was crazy because he did not have an education and he told the colonel that he preferred to be enlisted for the time being. The colonel said, "Then you deserve to be the highest ranked one here" and promoted him to Master Sergeant.

The battalion received several defectors and they told the S2 and Anthony ofa recon of about 36 Chinese who would sneak into the area during the night from a creek bed. The S2 brushed it off but Anthony convinced the CO to at least place a machine gun crew there.

Anthony was right about his hunch and took six soldiers off the line to thwart the attack from the

Chinese. With his six men and the men at the machine gun, they finished offthe 30 men attack.

After fierce fighting up and down heartbreak ridge, his platoon was put in reserve to rest and reorganize. Anthony was ordered back to the division HQ where General Ruffner informed him that he committed three unpardonable errors - he refused to burn villages, walk off on a important reporter and refused a battlefield commission. Anthony would be loaned out to the

Marines because he knew the area referred to as the Punchbowl.

\,1t,,a (itl}l, oA J When Anthony arrived, he was greeted by one ofthe gunnies and said who needs you?

Anthony pushed his hand out and said SGT "I don't give orders, I take orders." He was assigned as a liaison to one ofthe Sergeants. A day and a hal flater, he was Squad Leader. Two days

later, he was Platoon Sergeant, and fought and secured the Punchbowl. He was awarded the

Silver Star on recommendation of the Marines and was told by the Battalion Commander that it

was equivalent to the Distinguished Service Cross.

Once Anthony returned to his Platoon he was summoned to the Regimental Headquarters

to work on plans to siege a valuable hill on heartbreak ridge. The meeting with the Regimental

Commander included about 30 other officers and Anthony. None ofthe officers wanted to take

on the suicide mission and Anthony volunteered his platoon. Surprisingly the fog was out that

day and masked his platoons movement up the hill. His platoon made it all the way up virtually

unnoticed and radioed back that they had taken the hill and would await reinforcements.

Reinforcements never arrived and Anthony was forced to withdraw because they were low on

ammo. Once at the bottom of the hill he lost 20 of his 24 men and the regimental Commander

said that the hill could be taken with one battalion. Four weeks later, the regiment lost around

5600 men when they could have captured the hill for virtually nothing.

Anthony returned to the states after the and was the most decorated soldier

of the Korean War. One day after his discharge, he used his GI bill and attended the University

of Pittsburgh. Two days after he graduated, he enlisted in the Army as a Second Lieutenant as an

Infantry Officer and attended many military schools. He received promotions before his time up

until he retired from the military and received many outstanding awards from the war in

Vietnam. He was forced out of the military when he told stories of atrocities committed against

the Vietnamese people by the American Soldiers. Anthony was a hero ofhis time and always

~conducted himself bravely. He was never out to receive fame or recognition and took on all

challenges presented before him. Works Cited

Herbert, Anthony. Herbert - The Making of a Soldier. New York, NY, 1982.