Harold Maples
Rank and Basketball
Harold missed the deadline to apply for rank so that all of his peers went up in rank without him. They joked with him about how he didn’t have his “stripes” which you can see in the black and white photo. So he filled out the paperwork and went about his business. He was asked to go play basketball in Seoul for a good will trip over one weekend. When he came back, he found his whole “team” was in trouble for leaving without permission. It turned out to be a mix up but he was threatened with worse punishment because he outranked his team. He was so confused until he realized that they had jumped him two ranks over the weekend while he was gone. They all had a good laugh about it. The color photo shows his new “stripes”.
Korean War - Key Events
December 6, 1950
The U.S. Marines at the Chosin Reservoir begin their “attack in a different direction” as they engage in a fighting retreat to the port of Hŭngnam. Two entire Chinese armies have been tasked with the destruction of the 1st Marine Division. They succeed in driving the American force from North Korean territory but pay an enormous price: as many as 80,000 Chinese troops are killed or wounded, and the CPVF Ninth Army Group is rendered combat-ineffective for months. “Frozen Chosin” becomes one of the most-storied episodes in U.S. Marine Corps history.
These events are taken from the Encyclopedia Britannica
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