Pair: Marine F. G. Kemp, 41st (Independent) Commando, Royal Marines, who was present at the Chosin Reservoir action in November 1950, for which action his unit was awarded the United States of America Presidential Unit Citation

Korea 1950-53, 1st issue (R.M.8770 F. G. Kemp. Mne. R.M.); U.N. Korea 1950-54, unnamed as issued, nearly extremely fine (2) £500-£700

Francis Gerald ‘Frank’ Kemp was born at Norfolk in 1931 and joined the Royal Marines in February 1949. He was an original member of 41st (Independent) Commando when it was raised in August 1950, in response to a request from the commander of the United Nations Naval Forces for a small scale raiding force to operate against Communist Lines of Communications in Korea. Serving in the unit’s Heavy Weapons section, Kemp also acted as Marine Officer Attendant to Lieutenant Peter Thomas, the section’s commander.

Flown out to Japan, the commandos were issued with American weapons and equipment and underwent a short period of intensive training, before embarking in American warships for their first operations, a series of three successful raids against enemy rail communications on the north east coast of Korea. As U.N. Forces advanced and the requirement for raiding forces reduced, the unit was attached to the First United States Marine Division, for which it was intended to act as a reconnaissance company. On 28 November 1950 the unit was at Kotori, about 10 miles south east of Hagaruri, where the Divisional headquarters, a battalion, and about 2,000 service troops were located in the area of the Chosin Reservoir.

On 28 November 1950, at the Chosin Reservoir, the Chinese 9th Army launched a surprise offensive in freezing weather, intended to separate the American force from its link to the sea and destroy it. The road between Kotori and Hagaruri was cut, isolating the important supply base and leaving it in urgent need of reinforcement. At Kotori, the Royal Marines were included in a mixed force of about 900 troops, commanded by their own Commanding Officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Douglas Drysdale, that was ordered to fight through to Hagaruri at all costs. While the break-out from Kotori was successfully accomplished, it soon became apparent that the enemy was entrenched along the route in greater strength than anticipated, and over the next 12 hours Drysdale’s men were engaged in fierce close-quarter fighting as they forced their way through “Hell Fire Valley”. About half the men and 70% of vehicles were lost before the depleted force arrived in Hagaruri.

One of Kemp’s comrades in 41 Commando’s Heavy Weapons Section was Marine Fred Hayhurst, who later recorded the unit’s history in his book Green Berets in Korea. During the Chosin action, the two marines found themselves aboard the same vehicle, an American 30 cwt weapon carrier driven by USMC corporal Saunchegrow, whose staunch performance under heavy fire afterwards saw him celebrated as an ‘Honorary Royal Marine’. Hayhurst recalls Kemp riding on the truck's running board, hanging on with one hand while firing his weapon with the other, as they made their way through yet another ambush. With the road finally blocked by burning vehicles, the Marines loaded their wounded aboard Saunchegrow’s truck and one other and formed a protective ring around them as they completed their journey cross-country, finally crossing a frozen minefield to enter Hagaruri’s defensive perimeter. Theirs were the last vehicles to make it through.

The surviving Royal Marines took place their place in the line at Hagaruri for the next week, before the whole garrison made an orderly withdrawal back to Kotori under the protection of close air support, and ultimately to the coast. The combination of intense fighting, appalling weather conditions and harsh terrain has led some historians to assess the 17-day Chosin Reservoir campaign as one of the most brutal in modern warfare; their part in it won 41 Independent Commando the admiration of their American counterparts, and the award of the Presidential Unit Citation.

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