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On February 7, 1951, Captain Lewis Lee Millet was approaching Hill 180 in Korea
when he and his Company E realized that the enemy was right above them.
Suddenly, they were met with intense fire from a mighty Chinese force,
and found themselves vulnerable against the overwhelming threat up in the hill.
Millett had to think on his feet if he wanted to avoid being massacred, and quickly spurred his men
and yelled: (QUOTE) "We're going up the hill. Fix bayonets. Charge! Everyone goes with me!"
The men then followed the orders of a highly respected Captain who only
two days earlier had led them to an unexpected victory against the enemy.
The ensuing confrontation would then become the last major bayonet fight in US history,
going down in history as the legendary Battle of Bayonet Hill...
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Operation Thunderbolt
The Korean War was the first significant and open clash between the Free World and the Communists,
and the period between January and July of 1951 was especially
critical to the United Nations Command in Korea.
In September of 1950, the United Nation’s amphibious landing in
Korea shook the North Korean People’s Army,
but during the following months, the Chinese interceded and halted the UN’s efforts.
Then, by November, the UN forces were forced to retreat after the Chinese
Communist forces launched a military intervention.
China’s sudden and relentless involvement in the war rocked the overstretched UN troops,
who had to seek shelter in South Korea and almost abandon the cause,
which would have resulted in a complete Communist takeover of the country.
However, the UN forces managed to regroup and resist,
responding to each subsequent enemy initiative with artillery fire and airstrikes,
halting their advance and recovering for a comeback.
Lieutenant General Matthew Ridgway arrived in Korea on December 26,
1950, to take command of the 8th US Army. Ridgway was a hard-charging general with
experience commanding airborne units in World War 2, just what the troops needed at the time.
The General was tasked to improve the unit’s morale and therefore regain the offensive.
His primary expertise was on the basics of attack and defense,
so he would attempt to take high ground and secure his troops' flanks from infiltration.
On January 20, 1951, Ridgway issued a formal order to transition from current reconnaissance
operations to a deliberate counteroffensive. Thus, Operation Thunderbolt was born.
The operation consisted of a display of force designed to uncover the
enemy’s intentions in the midst of a still unclear situation. Secondarily,
it also aimed at dislodging enemy forces south of the Han River.
The first phase of Operation Thunderbolt was launched on January 25.
At first, the UN forces encountered light opposition,
as the Chinese did not conduct rearguard actions other than holding their ground.
By the 26, the city of Suwon was recaptured,
but the Chinese resistance would increase gradually after that.
During the following days, Thunderbolt grew into a full-scale offensive.
As the American 25th Infantry Division of the I Corps advanced against stiff enemy
resistance south of Seoul, they encountered an extremely challenging obstacle: Hill 180.
This slope held an enemy strongpoint near Soam-Ni and was protected by determined,
mixed forces of Chinese and North Koreans.
It would take an extraordinary leader to inspire American forces to take it.
A True Calling
Lewis Lee Millett Senior was born on December 15, 1920.
While still in high school, he enlisted in the US National Guard. Then, in 1940, he joined the US
Army Air Corps and wanted to participate in the events taking place in Germany. However, the US
was not yet involved in the war effort, so Millett deserted and joined the Canadian Army instead.
In a later interview, he explained: (QUOTE) “I deserted the Army, went to Canada,
but for a different reason. People went to Canada during Vietnam to get out of the war.
I went to Canada to get into the war.”
Millett was then sent to London and served briefly with the Canadian forces. Eager for combat,
he transferred back to his country when the US joined the war in 1941, and started his service in
1942. He was then sent to North Africa, where he participated in Operation Torch. While there, he
drove a burning truck loaded with ammunition away from his soldiers, and was awarded a Silver Star.
Soon after, the Army learned of his desertion. He remembered: (QUOTE) “By the time my records catch
up, cause I deserted, [...] I was about 6 months in Africa, 6 months in Italy. Had a Silver Star
and a Bronze Star [...]. And my records catch up, and they Court Martial me for desertion,
found me guilty, and they fined me 52 dollars fine and made me a Second Lieutenant.”
Years later, Millett would also serve in the Korean war.
On December 5, 1950, now-Captain Millett was flying as an observer
aboard a Stinson L-5 Sentinel when suddenly an F-51D Mustang piloted by Captain J. F. O. Davis
crashed-landed in an area surrounded by enemy troops in North Korea.
As Millett landed on the road near the crash,
he offered the downed pilot his seat on the L-5 and hid until he was rescued.
Then, in late January 1951, General Ridgway sent the 27th Infantry known as ‘Wolfhounds’ to Osan
in preparation for Operation Thunderbolt. Among them was Captain Millett’s Company E,
an understrength unit of 100 men.
Millett’s unit not only had to face subzero temperatures and
the entrenched enemy on the battlefield, but also counteracted Chinese propaganda.
According to the Chinese, the Americans were afraid of bayonets,
and Millett was indignant. He later conveyed: (QUOTE)
“That’s a blankety-blank lie. As if both my great grandfathers hadn’t fought in the Civil War.
They used bayonets all the time. We’ll teach those sons of bitches a lesson!”
On February 5, Millett was leading his Company across a frozen rice patty near Osan
when Chinese forces attacked them on both sides of a ridge.
Realizing that his first platoon was unable to respond and could merely take cover,
the Captain ordered his men to fix their bayonets and charge against the enemy.
His first and second platoons were then able to reach the top
of the hill with their steel bayonets pointing up.
However, it would take a second bayonet charge to earn Millett a Medal of Honor.
Bayonet Hill
On February 7, Company E was approaching Hill 180 when one of the soldiers spotted
movement near the top. Millett then realized that the enemy was above them.
Outnumbered and pinned down, the Americans were suddenly met with intense small-arms fire from
automatic and anti-tank weapons from a superior Communist force.
Millett then had the tanks moved off the road and ordered his men
to get to higher ground and fix their bayonets.
The Captain then guided his men to rocky outcroppings to take cover,
and after securing their positions, he ordered: (QUOTE) "Attack straight up the hill."
The soldiers then charged against the enemy with Millett dodging both enemy and friendly grenades
while in the front. The Captain managed to avoid eight of them, but the ninth finally hit him.
With shrapnel in his shin and back, Millett continued to fight,
bayoneting and clubbing every adversary,
and throwing grenades at enemy positions while encouraging his men to push forward.
Millett would be awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions that day.
As his citation reads: (QUOTE) “Despite vicious opposing fire,
the whirlwind hand-to-hand assault carried to the crest of the hill. His dauntless leadership
and personal courage so inspired his men that they stormed into the hostile position and used
their bayonets with such lethal effect that the enemy fled in wild disorder.”
Upon reaching the crest, the Americans stormed towards the enemy trenches and forced them
to withdraw. Despite his injuries, the Captain refused to be evacuated until securing the area.
The feat at Hill 180, thereafter called Bayonet Hill, was regarded
by historian S. L. A. Marshall as: (QUOTE) “The most complete bayonet
charge by American troops since [the 1864 Battle of] Cold Harbor.”
Of the 50 enemy casualties, about 20 were caused by bayonets.
In contrast, only nine American lives were lost.
A Free Country
Today, a commemorative marker signals the spot where the infamous Battle of Bayonet
Hill took place on the grounds of the Air Base at Osan. However, recent investigations indicate
that the location might be wrong, with the actual hill closer to Anyang, to the north.
Still, the legendary charge against the Chinese went on to become one
of the Army’s most famous tales, and it helped to build esprit de corps.
Millett would go on to serve for a third time in the Vietnam War, and when asked about his
Medal of Honor several decades later, he stated: (QUOTE) “This is not just mine. It’s a hundred men
that I had too. And if they all hadn’t gone, I’d be dead. I consider that I must have been
a pretty good leader, otherwise, none would have gone, but they all did. This is typical
of American soldiers, I think. We are a free country. Why are we? Because a lot of people,
black, white, yellow, gave their lives so that you and I live free. Simple as that.”
The Battle of Bayonet Hill is regarded to this day as the turning point in the Korean War,
in which the Americans and the South Koreans desperately needed a victory.
When Millett was asked late in his life about the use of bayonets to face the unsparing
Chinese forces, he recalled: (QUOTE) “It’s kind of crazy. To go charging up with bayonets, you know.
Right now I’m looking back and saying ‘Fix bayonets and follow me’, that’s stupid!”
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