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Pamela LaVerne Jeans-Historian
to remember
Marine Sgt John Lewin Bitters.
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Casualty Info
Home Town Sparrows Point
Last Address Sparrows Point
Casualty Date Feb 28, 1952
Cause KIA-Killed in Action
Reason Gun, Small Arms Fire
Location Korea, North
Conflict Korean War
Location of Interment Oak Lawn Cemetery - Eastpoint, Maryland
Korean War/Korea, Summer-Fall (1952)/Battle of Heartbreak Ridge (Hill 851)
From Month/Year
September / 1952
To Month/Year
September / 1952
Description All three of the 2nd Division's infantry regiments participated, with the brunt of the combat borne by the 9th and 23rd Infantry Regiments, along with the attached French Battalion. The attack began on September 13 and quickly deteriorated into a familiar pattern. First, American aircraft, tanks and artillery would pummel the ridge for hours on end, turning the already barren hillside into a cratered moonscape. Next, the 23rd's infantrymen would clamber up the mountain's rocky slopes, taking out one enemy bunker after another by direct assault. Those who survived to reach the crest arrived exhausted and low on ammunition. The inevitable counterattack would then come--waves of North Koreans determined to recapture the lost ground at any cost. Many of these counterattacks were conducted at night by fresh troops that the North Koreans were able to bring up under the shelter of neighboring hills. Battles begun by bomb, bullet and shell were inevitably finished by grenade, trench knife and fists as formal military engagements degenerated into desperate hand-to-hand brawls. Sometimes dawn broke to reveal the defenders still holding the mountaintop.
The battle progressed for two weeks. Because of the constricting terrain and the narrow confines of the objectives, units were committed piecemeal--one platoon, company or battalion at a time. Once a unit could no longer stand the strain a replacement would take its place, until the 23rd Infantry as a whole was fairly well shattered.
Several units up to company size (100-200 men) were wiped out. The Americans employed massive artillery barrages, airstrikes and tanks in attempts to drive the North Koreans off the ridge, but the KPA proved extremely hard to dislodge.
My Participation in This Battle or Operation
From Month/Year
September / 1952
To Month/Year
September / 1952
Last Updated: Mar 16, 2020
Personal Memories
Memories Killed in Action Died February 28, 1952 in Korea
BATTLE ZONE: PUNCHBOWL TOWN OR AREA: SON JONP YONG
Sergeant Bitters was a member of Weapons Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division. He was Killed in Action while fighting the enemy in Korea on February 28, 1952.
