Korean War
Wallace L. Lind spent the greater part of 1950 engaged in training operations and a cruise to the Caribbean. On 6 September, the destroyer sailed for the Far East and the Korean War. The ship arrived off the coast of Korea on 13 October and centered her movements around Wonsan Harbor, then under siege, with frequent interruptions for blockade patrol and bombardment missions in the vicinity of Songjin and Hungnam.
During the period 17 to 24 December, Wallace L. Lind took part as an active member of what was said by many to be one of the mightiest naval forces ever assembled in short range support of ground forces. This was in the defense of Hungnam and in the support of the eventual evacuation.
Throughout the entire month of January 1951, Wallace L. Lind operated as a member of the East Korea Blockade Group and attended to duties such as naval gunfire support and support of minesweeping operations.
The destroyer spent February conducting special intelligence missions which included shore bombardment, fire support, and screening duties in the area of Kangnung, and placing intelligence teams ashore in the areas of Wonsan, Chaho, and Chongjin. The ship conducted many gunfire support missions against targets spotted by these intelligence teams. On 20 February, Wallace L. Lind, along with Ozbourn (DD-846) and Charles S. Sperry (DD-697), engaged in the rescue of a pilot who had crash-landed in Wonsan harbor. While the three ships were attempting rescue operations, shore batteries opened fire on them, and Lind successfully returned fire.
On 15 March 1951, a seven-ship naval bombardment of the Wonsan district resulted in reported enemy casualties of some 6,000. The following afternoon, shore batteries fired at the ships in the harbor, and counter-battery fire from the destroyers began in a matter of seconds. Gun positions were taken under fire, and several explosions were noted on the peninsula. On 17 March, Wallace L. Lind patrolled independently from Wonsan south along the coast. The ship took the city of Kosong under fire and exposed and silenced a camouflaged shore battery located south of Suwon Dan lighthouse.
On 7 April 1951, as part of Special Task Force 74, Wallace L. Lind along with the destroyer Massey (DD-778), destroyer escort Begor (APD-127), landing ship dock Fort Marion (LSD-22), and heavy cruiser Saint Paul (CA-73), helped to carry out raids on rail lines and tunnels utilizing 250 commandos of the 41st Independent Royal Marines. These highly successful destructive raids slowed down the enemy's resupply efforts, forcing the Communists to attempt to repair or rebuild the rail facilities by night while hiding the work crews and locomotives in tunnels by day.
Read more about this topic: USS Wallace L. Lind (DD-703)
Famous quotes containing the word war:
“What would you do in my position? Would you drop the war where it is? Or, would you prosecute it in future, with elderstalk squirts, charged with rose water?”
—Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865)