On Hallowed Ground: The Last Battle for Pork Chop Hill

Assembly, January/February 2004
"...a significant, poignant, detailed, very personalized, well-researched volume."


ARMY, August 2004
"...provides some excellent lessons for today's leaders."


Choice, June 2004
"...loaded with detailed, first-person accounts of engagements."


The Journal of Military History, October 2004
"...compelling."


Book Description
Foreword by Gen. Robert W. Sennewald, USA (Ret.) Evoking all the powerful emotions of a frustrating, bitter, bloody, stalemated Korean War, Bill McWilliams takes readers into the trenches and bunkers of Pork Chop Hill with the men of the 7th Infantry Division’s 17th and 32nd Regiments as they withstand repeated assaults by the Chinese in July 1953. Their individual accounts of small victories and defeats, fear and valor bring alive the final battle for the hill. While a popular movie starring Gregory Peck made Pork Chop Hill a public legend, only one other book has been written about the subject and it focuses on earlier assaults. This book includes the never-before-told stories of the riflemen, machine gunners, forward observers, sergeants, platoon leaders, and medics whose heroic efforts helped hold the hill and produced two Medals of Honor and ten Distinguished Service Crosses, some awarded posthumously. The author succeeds at giving the reader both a feeling of being in the midst of the fighting and stepping back to view the bigger picture. He blends official documents, personal letters, interviews, oral histories, and other sources, to acquaint readers with the first three years of the war and prior assaults on Pork Chop and highlights the contributions made by combat support units and others to the mission. As the narrative progresses the whys of battlefield decisions become evident with an examination of the influence of national policies, protracted truce negotiations, a fledgling South Korean democracy, and the evolving American military policy of active defense, providing painful lessons for America’s future struggles. Published in cooperation with the Association of the United States Army, the book pays tribute to the greatest testing ground of U.S. soldier resolve since Valley Forge.


About the Author
Bill McWilliams, a 1955 graduate of West Point and Air Force officer, flew 128 combat missions in Vietnam. A resident of Las Vegas, Nevada, he is also the author of A Return to Glory and numerous newspaper and magazine articles.


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The author succeeds both at giving the reader a feeling of being in the midst of the fighting and at stepping back to view the bigger picture. He blends official documents, personal letters, interviews, oral histories, and other sources to acquaint readers with the first three years of the war and prior assaults on Pork Chop, and he highlights the contributions made by combat support units and others to the mission. As the narrative progresses he makes the whys of battlefield decisions evident by examining the influence of national policies, protracted truce negotiations, a fledgling South Korean democracy, and the evolving American military policy of active defense, providing painful lessons for America's future struggles. Published in cooperation with the Association of the United States Army, this book pays tribute to the greatest testing ground ofU.S. soldiers' resolve since Valley Forge.


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