This Military Service Page was created/owned by
Pamela LaVerne Jeans-Historian
to remember
Marine 1stLt Grady Mitchell, Jr..
If you knew or served with this Marine and have additional information or photos to support this Page, please leave a message for the Page Administrator(s) HERE.
Casualty Info
Last Address Selma, AL
Casualty Date Nov 29, 1950
Cause KIA-Killed in Action
Reason Gun, Small Arms Fire
Location Korea, North
Conflict Korean War
Location of Interment Cullman City Cemetery - Cullman, Alabama
Korean War/CCF Intervention (1950-51)/Battle of the Chosin Reservoir (Battle of Changjin)
From Month/Year
November / 1950
To Month/Year
December / 1950
Description The Battle of Chosin Reservoir, also known as the Chosin Reservoir Campaign or the Changjin Lake Campaign was a decisive battle in the Korean War. "Chosin" is the Japanese pronunciation of the Korean name, "Changjin". The UN forces relied on Japanese language maps dating from their occupation of Korea which had only ended five years earlier at the conclusion of World War II. Shortly after the People's Republic of China entered the conflict, the People's Volunteer Army 9th Army infiltrated the northeastern part of North Korea.
On 27 November, the Chinese 9th Army surprised the US X Corps commanded by Major General Edward Almond at the Chosin Reservoir area. A brutal 17 day battle in freezing weather soon followed. In the period between 27 November and 13 December 1950, 30,000 United Nations troops (later nicknamed "The Chosin Few") under the field command of Major General Oliver P. Smith were encircled and attacked by approximately 120,000 Chinese troops under the command of Song Shi-Lun, who had been ordered by Mao Zedong to destroy the UN forces. The UN forces were nonetheless able to make a fighting withdrawal and broke out of the encirclement while inflicting crippling losses on the Chinese. While the battle resulted in the Chinese pushing the UN out of North Korea, it was a Pyrrhic victory. The evacuation of the X Corps from the port of Hungnam marked the complete withdrawal of UN troops from North Korea.
My Participation in This Battle or Operation
From Month/Year
November / 1950
To Month/Year
December / 1950
Last Updated: Mar 16, 2020
Personal Memories
Memories Killed in Action Died November 29, 1950 in Korea First Lieutenant Mitchell was the Assistant Operations Officer of the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines, 1st Marine Division. He had served as Executive Officer of Company H and had recently been transferred. On the night of November 29, 1950, he was leading a group of 50 reinforcements to Company H near Hagaru-ri, North Korea when his group was fired upon and he was killed by machine gun fire.
1st.LT.Mitchell is in Martin Russ's book,"BREAKOUT". pg.-210.
THE 3RD. BATTALION,1ST.MARINE INFANTRY REGIMENT,1ST MARINE DIVISION WAS SHORT ONE COMPANY AT HAGARU-RI, NORTH KOREA ON 29 NOVEMBER 1950,WHEN THE CHINESE ARMY MADE THEIR MAJOR EFFORT TO EXTERMINATE THE MARINE FORCE IN THEIR FOUR-MILE PERIMETER.
THE ENEMY STRUCK JUST AFTER DARK,AND DID NOT CEASE UNTIL DAWN. THE BATTALION BARELY HUNG-ON,AND IT WAS HAND-TO-HAND FIGHTING IN THE PRE-DAWN DARKNESS. BY MORNING THE DEFEAT OF THE ENEMY WAS CLEAR FROM THE SNOW-COVERED PILES OF DEAD CHINESE BEFORE "ITEM"COMPANY (CPT.JOE FISHER)AND "HOW"COMPANY (CPT.CLARENCE CORLEY. MARINE ARTILLERY FIRED 1200 ROUNDS IN THE NIGHT,TWO MARINE MORTAR COMPANIES SHOT MORE THAN 3200 ROUNDS BETWEEN THEM,MACHINE GUNS FIRED ALMOST INCESSANTLY ALL NIGHT.
BY DAYLIGHT MARINE AND NAVY PLANES CAME IN WITH NAPALM TO HELP RESTORE THE LINE,AND SAVE THE POSITIONS. IN THE END,IN THE BELOW ZERO WEATHER,THE UNDER-STRENGTH 3RD.BATTALION (3/1)BEAT OFF A FULL CHINESE ENEMY DIVISION,ONE OF THE ATTACKING ENEMY REGIMENTS HAD 90% LOSSES.IN THAT ACTION 1ST.LT.GRADY P.MITCHELL JR. OF SALMA,AL WAS KIA.
