American Valor Quarterly Issue 5 - Winter 2008/09 | Page 28

space down there. It didn’t touch either. Whenever I think about
that, I often say, “Thank you, Father.”
My recovery was almost complete by early March of ’51. I had
been sent to a rest camp near Sapporo in North Japan with
instructions to build my strength up by learning how to ski. Well,
I had not been a skier before; and unlike today’s skis, which are
clamped to the boot in a manner that enhances the control, the
1950 skis were precariously strapped on. A flat board and one
strap. Skiing, it turned out, was not one of my strong suits. But
eventually I was ready for duty.
Back in Korea, Operation Ripper had kicked off on March 7,
1951. The offensive was designed to drive the Communists back
to the 38th parallel and to recapture Seoul. The regiment was
faced with a stubborn enemy, mountainous terrain, no supply
roads and an almost inaccessible line of communication.

Joe Portnoy/American Veterans Center

It took unceasingly hard work, day and night before the engineers
managed to construct passable routes for moving supplies to the
frontline. When I reached the regiment, we had a new regimental
executive officer, Lt. Col. O.M. Barsanti. He was a battle-wise
World War II vet with a host of awards for valor. He was about
the size of Jimmy Doolittle – slight, but tough.

Prior to his presentation, General Becton (left) speaks with
Quinton Dempy (center), a student at Henry Lackey High School in
Indian Head, MD. As part of their participation at the
Annual Conference, each high school chooses a student to make the
introduction for the veteran speakers.

many replacements and lost some combat-tested leaders who
were rotated out. Headquarters brought in a white captain to
command Company L. However, he recognized that I had been
more battle tested than the other company officers, himself
included. He basically left me in charge. We planned and executed
realistic training under the close supervision of regimental
headquarters. The officers perfected discipline, which had
necessarily been left almost entirely to small unit leaders during
combat. Morale had been very low in December but now was
soaring.

He had been sent to fix the perceived problem that black officers
lacked the ability to command effectively. The regimental adjutant
introduced me to him when I returned back to the regiment,
commenting that I was one of the original members of the 3/9
and deserved to become a battalion assistant operations officer.
“Like hell,” Barsanti said. “Becton get your butt down to L
Company, they have lost all their officers!” That was how I got During that April, my fellow officers and I instilled a proud and
my first combat command.
aggressive esprit de corps in our soldiers. Now eight months in
combat was the prerequisite for rotation home, but I presented
I found Company L at a little more than half strength with few somewhat of a problem. Even though I had more frontline duty
NCOs and no officers. It had led one too many battalion attacks than any other officer in the battalion, I had been hospitalized
and simply had been decimated. I later discovered that there was almost six months. For the purpose of competitive tour, this was
a particular sensitivity about the number of battle casualties within difficult. It meant almost six months where my performance
the regiment. Some thought that this could be explained by the could not be observed. All my peers in the battalion had been
fact that the regiment was now, as they put it, “forty percent killed, captured or maimed in combat. I had been wounded twice.
colored.” For the first time since landing in Korea, the regiment And the old adage, “Three strikes, and you’re out” was heavy on
was slowly building up to full strength of trained personnel – my mind. I rationalized at that time: Hell, I am human. I was
something that we did not have when we first deployed. When tired. I declined an opportunity to extend my tour in Korea even
we rebuilt, we were initially kept in battalion reserves usually
with the guarantee that I would be
participating in extensive patrolling.
promoted to captain. I left Korea and
headed for home in May 1951.
Col. Ed Messinger, the new regimental commander, described
Lt. General Julius W. Becton was honored
that March in a unit journal by saying, “It had been a tough month,
with the 2008 Raymond G. Davis Award
weather, terrain and enemy did their best. But with the lessons
for Distinguished Service in the Korean War
that had been taught and learned the hard way, the officers and
by the American Veterans Center.
men of the regiment could look back with pride and forward
with confidence.”
In April the regiment had no