Jimmy Wayne Courson, U.S. Marine Corp.

Jimmy Wayne Courson U.S. Marine Corp.-Korean War
Serial number 1174804 1st Marine Division


In early 1951 I was outside of the First Baptist Church in Dallas working for the Dallas Power and Light Company ... digging a ditch ... that's when I decided to join the Marines.

I went to boot camp in San Diego, California and then to Camp Pendleton for combat training. After four months training we boarded ships for Korea. We landed in Seoul, boarded trucks and were convoyed about 50 miles up to a staging area. We were then assigned to different outfits. I was assigned to a small group, comprised of five men. We were put into a forward observer outfit. We were then assigned to the KMCs (Korean Marine Corp.). We lived with them and went on patrols and called in naval gun fire air strikes and artillery when we had targets. When we got to the Korean outfit we found them to be very green troops, but willing to fight. A few days after joining them we were sent out on patrol about three miles in front of the front lines to take a small hill that the Chinese had dug in on. The hill was in a large valley that had been farming country. There was a small village below the hill, but I never saw but one old man in it. About 400 yards from the village was a railroad track with a bombed out steam engine lying on its side. When we got within a half mile of the hill, we started getting mortar rounds on us. Several of the KMCs were killed and wounded. None of our unit was harmed. We called in an air strike on the hill and within a couple of hours the Chinese ran from the hill. The KMCs had a lot of killed and wounded, but none of our five got a scratch.

After we had occupied the hill we started digging in and reinforcing because we knew we would be counterattacked that night. The guy I was partnering with and I stayed in one bunker and two others in another, and the Lieutenant was in one by himself. Just before daylight we were attacked and overrun. We got back into the bunkers and called in artillery on our position. When it was over with, we came out to check and see if anyone was wounded or killed. The KMCs had several wounded and killed. Our bunch was okay. It was quiet the next couple of hours and we were trying to get some sleep. I had just dozed off when we started getting mortar rounds on top of us. We jumped up and started out of the trenches when a mortar round landed on our bunker and caved the roof in. My buddy was close to the entrance and got out, but I was trapped. One leg was sticking back and the other was sticking forward under my chest. I had a log across my back. When everything quieted down the Lt. got a bunch of KMCs and they dug me out. This took about 30 minutes and it was the longest time I had ever spent in my life. When I got out and walked around a few minutes, I knew that I was not hurt other than a scrape on my back. I think this was the closest I ever came to dying. Later, we were sent to the mountains further north. The weather was getting colder and we hadn't been issued our winter clothes or sleeping bags. When they finally came we went down the mountain to a river and bathed. We used our helmets to heat water. We were getting mighty rank and smelly. We were constantly on patrol and calling in air strikes and artillery. We called in naval gunfire and when the 16" shells came over they sounded like a train passing overhead. It snowed hard that winter and up on the mountains it was 4 to 5 feet deep.

This was the coldest winter I have ever been through. After one year 1 was rotated home and spent the rest of my tour of duty in California. I was in two major battles, on many patrols and in several fire fights, but was never wounded or hurt in any way.

Jimmy Wayne Courson
7111 Odell Ave.
Rockwall, TX 75087
972-771-7531