This Military Service Page was created/owned by
SSgt David Nowak
to remember
Marine Cpl Stanley Nowak, Jr. (Stats).
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Casualty Info
Home Town North Tonawanda
Last Address North Tonawanda, NY
Casualty Date Jun 11, 1951
Cause KIA-Died of Wounds
Reason Gun, Small Arms Fire
Location Korea, North
Conflict Korean War
Location of Interment Elmlawn Cemetery - Town of Tonawanda, New York
Wall/Plot Coordinates Evergreen Section D Lot 203 Northwest Grave
Korean War/UN Summer-Fall Offensive (1951)/Battle of Bloody Ridge (Hill 680)
From Month/Year
August / 1951
To Month/Year
September / 1951
Description The 36th ROK Regiment made the initial attack. It succeeded in capturing most, but not all, of the ridge after a week of fierce fighting that at times was hand to hand. It was a short-lived triumph, for the following day the North Koreans recaptured the mountain in a fierce counterattack.
The next UN assault was made by the 9th Infantry Regiment of the 2nd Division. The battle raged for ten days, as the North Koreans repulsed one assault after another by the increasingly exhausted and depleted U.S. forces. After repeatedly being driven back, the 9th succeeded in capturing one of the hill objectives after two days of heavy fighting. The weather then turned to almost constant rain, greatly slowing the attacks and making operations almost impossible because of the difficulty in bringing supplies through "rivers of mud" and up steep, slippery slopes.
Fighting continued, however, and casualties mounted. The 2nd Division's 23rd Infantry Regiment joined the attack on the main ridge while the division's other infantry regiment, the 38th Infantry Regiment, occupied positions immediately behind the main ridge which threatened to cut off any North Korean retreat. The combination of frontal attacks, flanking movements and incessant bombardment by artillery, tanks and airstrikes ultimately decided the battle. Over 14,000 artillery rounds were fired in a 24-hour period. Finally, on September 5, the North Koreans abandoned the ridge after UN forces succeeded in outflanking it.
After withdrawing from Bloody Ridge, the North Koreans set up new positions just 1,500 yards (1,400 m) away on a seven-mile (11 km) long (11 km) hill mass that was soon to earn the name Heartbreak Ridge.
My Participation in This Battle or Operation
From Month/Year
August / 1951
To Month/Year
September / 1951
Last Updated: Mar 16, 2020
Personal Memories
Memories Cpl Stanley Nowak received his first combat wound at Horseshoe Ridge.