Earl Robert Hill
Era: Korea
Military Branch: Marines
Unit Info: B Company Marines
Mr. Earl Hill
Mr. Hill served in the U.S. Marines. Home of place or enlistment: Duluth, Minnesota.
He served as a Private First Class, and as an infantry rifleman. He was assigned to Headquarters and Service Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment 1st Marine Division, Company B.
Mr. Hill was killed in action while fighting the enemy in Korea in the battle zone of Uijonbu on October 2, 1950. He is buried at the Oneota Cemetery, Duluth, Minnesota.
Private First Class Hill was awarded the following:
Purple Heart
Combat Action Ribbon
Korean Service Medal
United Nations Service Medal
National Defense Service Medal
Korean Presidential Unit Citation
Republic of Korea War Service Medal
USMCR
B. Company 4th Infantry Battalion
On August 21st, 1950, 227 Marines marched down Superior Street to serve in the Korean War.
Of those 277, 90% served in combat, 10 were killed in action, and 80% were wounded or injured. Nine combinations of brothers served & one Marine was a POW for 33 months.
Commendations were four Silver Stars, seven Bronze Stars, two Navy Commendations, seventy five Purple hearts.
Battles: Inchon and Seoul, South Korea (East Coast & North Central Fronts)
Wonsan, Hunhnam & Chosen Reservoir, North Korea
ALL GAVE SOME, SOME GAVE ALL
**** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** ****
Private 1st Class Earl Robert Hill
Born November 14, 1929
Eldest son of Nick & Lillian Hill
Graduated from Denfeld High School 1948
Was called to the service August 21,1950
Was called to the front lines September 23, 1950
Was killed in action October 2, 1950
Now in His presence, Forever in Memory
Memorial Service Held at Westminster Presbyterian Church on November 5, 1950
First of his platoon to be KIA (Killed in Action) October 2nd, 1950.
The Korean War
[Picture: F4U Corsairs provide close air support to Marines fighting Chinese forces, December 1950.]
The Korean War (1950–1953) saw the hastily formed Provisional Marine Brigade holding the defensive line at the Pusan Perimeter. To execute a flanking maneuver, General Douglas MacArthur called on Marine air and ground forces to make an amphibious landing at Inchon.
The successful landing resulted in the collapse of North Korean lines and the pursuit of North Korean forces north near the Yalu River until the entrance of the People's Republic of China into the war. Chinese troops surrounded, surprised and overwhelmed the overextended and outnumbered American forces.
X Corps, which included the 1st Marine Division and the Army's 7th Infantry Division, regrouped and inflicted heavy casualties during their fighting withdrawal to the coast, now known as the Battle of Chosin Reservoir.
The fighting calmed after the Battle of the Chosin Reservoir, but late in March 1953 the relative quiet of the war was broken when the Chinese Army launched a massive offensive on three outposts manned by the 5th Marine Regiment.
These outposts were code named "Reno", "Vegas", and "Carson". The campaign was collectively known as the Nevada Cities Campaign. There was brutal fighting on Reno hill, which was eventually captured by the Chinese. Although Reno was lost, the 5th Marines held both Vegas and Carson through the rest of the campaign.
In this one campaign, the Marines suffered approximately 1,000 casualties, while the Chinese suffered at least twice as many. Marines would continue a battle of attrition around the 38th Parallel until the 1953 armistice.
The Korean War saw the Corps expand from 75,000 regulars to a force of 261,000 Marines, mostly reservists. 30,544 Marines were killed or wounded during the war and 42 were awarded the Medal of Honor. (Borrowed from Wikipedia 2014)
(Americans often forget that this conflict has been going on since the end of the Korean war in the 1950s. There was never a peace treaty, simply a cease fire. So while North Korea "declaring war" may sound like some fighting words, it's important to remember North and South Korea have already been "at war" for the past sixty years.)
