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Remembering Chosin - Commemorative march honors Chosin Reservoir vets

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Kevin Wallace
  • 436th AW Public Affairs
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. --  (Part one of a three-part series)

More than 30 teams marched a 6.2-mile course on Dover Air Force Base to commemorate Veterans of the Korean War Battle of Chosin Reservoir Feb. 2.

Teams of four rallied at the Air Mobility Command Museum in their battle dress uniforms, hoisted on 30-pound backpacks, and trekked a distance of 10 kilometers.

In addition to teams of Airmen, members of the Army, Marine Corps and civilians participated in the 9th-annual event, sponsored by the 436th Security Forces Squadron.

This march commemorated the fierce battle that occurred in 1950 at Chosin Reservoir.

Under the command of Gen. Douglas MacArthur, 30,000 United Nations servicemembers faced approximately 60,000 enemy forces in an area of North Korea at Chosin Resorvoir.

According to historic documentation, a brutal battle in freezing weather followed. Although they inflicted many casualties to enemy military, the U.N. forces were strained to retreat and withdrew from the reservoir.

The battle still has a profound impact on one member of Team Dover to this day.

"This battle strikes very close to home for me," said Robert Rybolt, 436th Airlift Wing historian. "I had a family member on the banks of that reservoir - he is still missing in action."

At 34 years of age, Mr. Rybolt's uncle, Army 1st Lt. Jule C. Rybolt was a bit old for a company grade infantry officer, but he was every inch a Soldier, said Mr. Rybolt.

Enlisting as a private in 1940, Lieutenant Rybolt was able to secure training in combat gliders and the rank of flight officer, as the Army Air Corps called warrant officers in those days.

A combat glider was very different than the modern C-5s and C-17s Dover Airmen fly today. A glider was made of canvas stretched across a frame of metal tubing with no engine or landing gear. The glider's capability was limited and it could only pack in 13 paratroopers or two jeeps.

"It was towed aloft by a powered aircraft and once released, glided to what was generously described as a controlled crash," said Mr. Rybolt, describing combat landings of his uncle's era. "Lieutenant Rybolt made five combat landings during World War II, which earned him a Distinguished Flying Cross and an Air Medal. He also picked up a Purple Heart for what he called 'a scratch.'"

The use of combat gliders came to an end in 1947 when the Air Force was carved out of the U.S. Army Air Corps and the newly-established Air Force decided to only continue to use powered airplanes in combat operations.

According to his nephew here, Lieutenant Rybolt applied to the new Air Force and flight training, but he was turned down because he once had been diagnosed with a birth defect of the foot.

"It had been corrected surgically when he was a child, but still it was enough to keep him out of flight training," said Mr. Rybolt. "Oddly enough, while it was his foot that kept him out of the air, it didn't keep him off the ground; Lieutenant Rybolt was offered a regular commission in the Army infantry."

Mr. Rybolt described the night his uncle went missing.

His uncle Jule's unit - a 3,200-man team - was hit by an estimated 17,000 communist Chinese troops, who attacked in waves, each of which was eliminated by U.N. forces.

"Of course," continued Mr. Rybolt, "the U.N. troops were taking heavy casualties as well. The communists swept across the perimeter tossing satchel charges and shooting wounded American Soldiers as they went."

The communists managed to briefly occupy the battalion command post, severely wounding many troops including Lt. Col. William Riley, commander 3rd Battalion 31st Regimental Combat Team said Mr. Rybolt.

"Lieutenant Rybolt was somehow involved in the counter attack, and in the confusion that characterizes heavy combat, an American .50 caliber Browning machine gun opened up on the counter-attacking force, killing the unit's sergeant major and wounding Lieutenant Rybolt through the forehead," he said.

"A hastily organized aid station had been set up on the reservoir," Mr. Rybolt said. "Colonel Riley and Lieutenant Rybolt were taken there for extraction. Colonel Riley was taken out by helicopter but died during the trip. No other aircraft made it to Chosin Reservoir."

That's where history stopped for Lieutenant Rybolt.

"Jule was my dad's kid brother and he has not been forgotten," said Mr. Rybolt. "Less than 400 soldiers of the original 3,200 survived the Battle of Chosin Reservoir. It ranks as one of the most tragic, yet heroic moments in our history."

In the spirit of Lieutenant Rybolt and others like him, the following teams and individuals participated in the march to commemorate Veterans of the Korean War Battle of Chosin Reservoir. The winners were:

436th APS, time 1 hour, 59 seconds, 1st Place
Runners:
Master Sgt. Sam Louie
Senior Airman Mark Wolfgang
Airman 1st Class Curtis Carnes
Airman 1st Class Daniel Bryant

8th & I Marines, time 1:04:58, 2nd Place
Runners:
Lance Cpl. Mike Labonde
Lance Cpl. Stewart Wadsworth
Pfc. Devin Cloud
Pfc. Logan Fromme

436th OSS, time 1:06:35, 3rd Place
Runners:
Lt. Col. Carl Rahn
Maj. Chris Kuester
Master Sgt. John Redfern
Tech. Sgt. Eric Appledorn