This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed human. Liberty has never been just a word to we Americans. It has guided every one of our endeavors for the past 250 years, and now it takes form in a new way. The 2026 Semi-Quincentennial Coin and Metal Program from the United States Mint.
It celebrates the founding ideals that have long shaped our coinage. Available one year only, this historic collection features new coin designs, limited edition releases, and reissues. Shop new official coins at usmint.gov forward slash semi-q. That's usmint.gov/slash S-E-M-I-Q. I turned off news altogether.
I hate to say it, but I don't trust much of anything. It's the rage bait. It feels like it's trying to divide people. If we got clear facts, maybe we can calm down a little. NBC News brings you clear reporting.
Let's meet at the facts. Let's move forward from there. and BC News reporting for America. This July 4th, come celebrate at America's Block Party, hosted by America 250. America's Block Party is a camp miss 4th of July concert happening at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
Experience music performances by major artists, patriotic tributes, and the kickoff to Giving Forth, helping to make July 4th the largest day of giving in American history. It's more than just fireworks. Join this landmark celebration and get your America's Block Party tickets now for $17.76 at America250.org/slash LA. What's up, y'all? Summer's got a different tempo.
Everything's a little looser, brighter. One plan turns into another. You hear something, you stay a little longer.
Next thing you know, you're somewhere you didn't plan to be. It's those in-between moments. That's where the ideas hit. conversations stretch out, little memories sneak up on you.
Sometimes it's just about what's in your hand. that color. That chill, the new tropical butterfly refresher from Starbucks. guava and passion fruit flavors with ango pineapple flavored pearls. Yeah.
That feels like summer before you even taste it. Funny how one small stop becomes the best part of the day. Start your summer rhythm. with Starbucks. Try the new Tropical Butterfly Refresher from Starbucks.
Unlock the savings at Boost Mobile and save up to $600 a year. I've been scouting these big carriers for a minute now, and I've seen them pull the same play a thousand times. They promise you the world, then hit you with a price hike right when the game gets tight. But Boost Mobile, their $25 a month unlimited wireless plan, is the most consistent player on the floor. No contracts and no price hikes.
Unlock the savings today at boostmobile.com/slash unlock. Based on average annual single line payment of ATT perising in T-Mobile customers compared to 12 months on the Boost Mobile Unlimited Wireless Plan as of January 2026. For four offer details, visit boostmobile.com. And we continue with our American stories. Shortly after General Douglas MacArthur pushed his forces deep into North Korea.
His 10,000 First Division Marines found themselves surrounded and hopelessly outnumbered by 100,000 Chinese soldiers. Their only chance for survival, fight their way south through a narrow gorge. needed to be held open at all costs. The mission was handed to Captain William Barber. and the 234 Marines of Fox Company.
Here to tell the story is Tom Clavin, author of The Last Stand of Fox Company. Let's take a listen. The onset of the North Korean winter had been harsh. They were frozen and exhausted when it snowed, and they were frozen and exhausted when it didn't snow. This is referring to the members of Fox Company.
an unremitting wet gale blew constantly. The marines took to calling it the Siberian Express. and glazed every rock with ice their knees, knuckles, and elbows were covered with bloody scabs from continually slipping on treacherous slopes. and their feet and hands were always numb. Hours during the day were hardly noted as they set their body clocks only by daylight and darkness.
And aside from a vague awareness that Thanksgiving had just passed and Christmas was coming, many had no idea what date it was, much less what day of the week. Moreover, because canteen water had to be thawed over camp fires, stateside notions of hygiene had been abandoned from almost the moment they had set foot on Korean soil. A twig often I had to do for a toothbrush. and they could barely lay their heads down for the night in an abandoned hooch without waking up with a scalpful of lice. Most had given up trying to wipe their runny noses with anything other than the sleeves of their filthy uniforms.
and anyone who grew a mustache soon had a revolting mass of frozen mucus laid across his upper lip. They bitched and groused, but they never shirked a command, remaining true to the Latin motto above the eagle on the marine emblem, Semper Fidellis, always faithful. And so, just past noon, while Fox's company mustered in the vill village of Hagaroorhee, Lieutenant Colonel Randolph Lockwood, commanding officer of the 7th Regiment's 2nd Battalion, summoned his subordinate, Captain William Edward Barber, Fox Company's new CO, for a trip in the Company Jeep to scout Toctong Pass.
Now, this is the condition they were in before the Battle of Fox Hill on Tok Tong Pass.
So these are not Marines who had been well fed. and well cared for and rested. when the time came to fight what would be an almost unimaginable Odds against the Chinese. In June of 1950, as many of us know, the North Koreans crossed the 38th parallel. And invaded South Korea and almost pushed the American forces there and South Korean army into the sea.
Reinforcements were sent as quickly as possible by President Truman. And MacArthur and the UN forces started to push back and push back The North Korean troops, and they even pushed them back beyond the 38th parallel and kept pushing. And they started to, up by the Chosen Reservoir, they were getting closer and closer to the Yalu River, which was the border with. China. And the Chinese were getting a little bit nervous.
Mao Sedong and Chu and Lai were giving out warnings: don't come any closer. Don't try to initiate a war with us. If you make us more nervous, we'll enter the war. And I guess it was kind of hard for MacArthur. Who was on a string of victory after victory going through the fall of 1950 to say, stop.
They also didn't believe the Chinese would enter the war. They thought that the Chinese were maybe in a vulnerable position then because it had only been the year before that they defeated Chiang Kai-shek and assumed the control of the country.
So they must be tired and depleted, the Chinese armies, and maybe couldn't really put up much of a fight. They were wrong. What happened was the Chinese sent something like 300,000 troops across the Yalu River. To engage the UN forces, most of whom were American soldiers, Army and Marines. And the 1st Marine Division, some of its forces were down in a place called Hagaruri.
Which was south of the Chosen Reservoir, and where the UN was setting up, UN forces were setting up a perimeter that presumably would stop the Chinese from getting any further. But the rest of the 1st Marine Division was up in a place called Udamni. and they had at most maybe 8,000 Marines up there. They were being approached by 100,000 Chinese soldiers. Those are not good odds.
And there was a place called Tok Tong Pass, which was the only escape route. for the r those remaining members of the 1st Marine Division. And the Chinese realized that, so they decided they were going to try and close down that pass, which would block off the escape route. And a couple of the American officers, Colonel Litzenberg, head of the 7th Regiment, realized we've got to keep that pass open. Unfortunately, there weren't a surplus of American troops to go around.
What they had was Fox Company. two hundred and forty six men. and orders were given for Captain William Barber and his men to go Either by truck and by walking and hiking seven miles up into the mountains to reach Tok Tong Pass. and when they did, they were supposed to hold it for at least one night. Maybe if you hold it one night, we can get enough people out that everything's okay.
So that was basically their mission. And so Fox Company went up there. It was the night of November 27, 1950. The temperature when they reach the top of Tok Tong Pass, and this is seven miles uphill, is not fun for any of us. The temperature when they reached the top of Tok Tong Pass was 30 below zero.
This is not wind chill. There was a temperature 30 below zero. I've just referred to here the Siberian Express, that wind that came off Siberia, right across. Korea. And they got up there and they tried to dig in.
And so, as night is falling, they're trying to dig a trench or dig a foxhole or dig something, and their spades are clanging off the ground and hitting themselves in the head. They're knocking themselves out trying to dig in, so they just did the best they can. And they settled in for the night, hoping that maybe the Chinese would decide not to come their way. What they had no idea of knowing, these 246 men, that was only discovered later on, is that the Chinese assigned 10,000 troops to take that pass. Again, let's do the math.
Not good. Actually, it's very fortunate they did not know. what they were facing.
So this is where it all began. The Chinese attacked Okay. The Fox Men of Fox Company withheld as best they could. all during the night until dawn. Captain Barber had set up a perimeter as best he could that our understanding is is still being taught in some classes at Quantico.
Because it was extremely effective at not leaving much of any gaps for the Chinese to get through. and covering fire from different positions. And they made it through the first night, which was supposed to be their only night. If they could hold it for one night, they made it through the first night. When dawn came, the Chinese retreated.
The attacks stopped. And the reason for that was that the Chinese were very afraid of the American and Australian. uh pilots the Air Force They had a certain kind of swagger to them, and they could inflict a lot of damage. And the Chinese, who did not have an Air Force, really, were kind of exposed in the daytime, so they would only attack at night. As Fox company learned, If you can make it till dawn, you've survived.
because the Chinese will retreat.
So this first night of battle they made it to dawn and they survived. And then they had to count well who was left and how many were left. Out of the original 246. After the first night, Captain Barber was able to ascertain that he had about 175 what he called effectives. These were men who hadn't been killed.
And who were not seriously wounded, some of them may have been wounded, but not as seriously that they couldn't maintain their position.
So During the daytime, they still had the problem with snipers. The Chinese would be up in the hills and sniping on them. There would be airdrops made of supplies, but it turned out that what Fox Company received was ammunition, but no food. And it might not have mattered anyway because they couldn't eat the food. The rations that they were given were frozen.
And you've been listening to Tom Clavin, author of The Last Stand of Fox Company. Go to Amazon or the usual suspects and pick up a copy. North Korea is a war that's sort of forgotten. There's a lot written about World War II, a whole lot written about Vietnam, but we lost 50,000 men in Korea. And we lost it for a reason.
I mean, look on a map today and there is North Korea and there is South Korea. When they say our wars had no purpose, in the Far East. after World War II. we have only one shining example to point to. the freedom enjoyed in South Korea.
and the nightmare. that is living in North Korea. When we come back, We'll find out what happened to Fox Company under the able leadership of Captain William Barber. Here on Our American Stories. Liberty has never been just a word to we Americans.
It has guided every one of our endeavors for the past 250 years. And now it takes form in a new way. The 2026 Semi-Quincentennial Coin and Metal Program from the United States Mint. It celebrates the founding ideals that have long shaped our coinage. Available one year only, this historic collection features new coin designs, limited edition releases, and reissues.
Shop new official coins at usmint.gov forward slash semi-q. That's usmint.gov/slash S-E-M-I-Q. This July 4th, come celebrate at America's Block Party, hosted by American. America 250. America's Block Party is a camp miss 4th of July concert happening at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
Experience music performances by major artists, patriotic tributes, and the kickoff to Giving Forth, helping to make July 4th the largest day of giving in American history. It's more than just fireworks. Join this landmark celebration and get your America's Block Party tickets now for $17.76 at America250.org slash LA. I turned off news altogether. I hate to say it, but I don't trust much of anything.
It's the rage bait? It feels like it's trying to divide people. If we got clear facts, maybe we could calm down a little. NBC News brings you clear reporting. Let's meet at the facts.
Let's move forward from there. NBC News reporting for America. You're locked into a lot of things you can't change. Weather, traffic. Hey, stay in your lane.
Your wireless carrier's latest price hike, but you can unlock a better way. Unlock the savings at Boost Mobile and save up to $600 a year. Switch to the $25 a month unlimited wireless plan. No contracts, no price hikes, and you keep your phone. Stop being locked into their games.
Unlock the savings at boostmobile.com/slash unlock based on average annual single line of payment of ATT Verizon and T-Mobile customers compared to 12 months on the Boost Mobile Unlimited Wireless Plan as of January 2026. For full offer details, visit boostmobile.com. Hi, it's Karen in Georgia from My Favorite Murder. We cruised around LA in the Hyundai Ionic 5 and dove into the fascinating life of actress and inventor Hedi Lamar. Want the full story?
Take a listen. Hedy, she starts dating Howard Hughes, the aviation tycoon. Do you know a lot about him? I mean, I watch The Aviator, so I know everything Leonardo DiCaprio has allowed me to know about him, but incredible innovator. Right.
She says he's a, quote, very strange man. Oh. But they do get along really well. Give us exams. I know.
They do. get along intellectually. And in fact, she helps him design a faster plane. She takes a look at what he's designed. It's got these square wings and she's like, that doesn't make sense.
And so she finds the fastest bird and the fastest fish and sketches out a drawing of like what the two would look like as a plane. And that becomes the plane that we know today. And he calls her a genius. Check out our new episode, Spotlighting Groundbreaking Innovators like Hedy Lamar and Billie Jean King. Presented by the Hyundai Ionic 5.
Goodbye. And we continue with our American stories and with Tom Clavin, author of The Last Stand of Fox Company. We just learned that of the 246 original troops, there to defend Taktong Pass. only 175 after night one were quote effective that is not killed or seriously wounded Let's continue the story. Here's Clayton.
They couldn't light fires. I mean, they could maybe during the day sneak in a few fires to try and heat something up, but certainly not at night to give away their positions.
So, what was happening is as time was going on, these men were not able to eat any food. Maybe they would be able to melt a a Tootsie roll. A little detail that's interesting, I'm glad I remembered is that. A benefit to the cold is that in many cases, when one of these Marines was shot, and the wound started to bleed. Because of the intense cold, the blood froze.
It stopped the bleeding.
So some of the fellas alive today are because They did not bleed to death. The other thing about the corpsmen is they were going around treating people who had gotten wounded. They had to keep these these these morphine cigarettes. They kept them in their mouths to keep them from freezing.
So, when they found somebody who was wounded, they would take something out of their mouth and inject it.
so that they can get that relief, because if they didn't, the morphine would freeze and it would be no good.
So they got through the first night. There's the next day where they're trying to regroup. They had to contract their perimeter a little bit. Captain Barber is going around to the men in the different platoons. He said to them, He said, we'll be okay as long as we fight like Marines.
That's what he kept saying to them, to sort of rally them and keep their spirits up.
Now while he's doing this, of course, the Chinese snipers are after him and his bullets pinging and bouncing off all over the place. And a couple of his men kept saying to him, Captain, would you get down? I mean, you're exposing yourself to the enemy fire. And he made this declaration that I know sounds like like uh Maybe uh silly bravado in a way but But he said to his men, he said, they haven't yet made the bullet that can kill me. And they were like Oh wow, this is a captain.
And he turned out to be right.
So he's going around rallying the troops, having them try and dig in some more, if they can get some rest in some ways. And the Chinese second night came and the Chinese attacked again. and they had since been reinforced.
So there were more of them, and they came at Fox Hill again. And Sometimes, what it came down to was individual Marines or small groups of Marines. deciding that We might be surrounded, we might be overrun, but we're not leaving our position. And that's what happened in many of these cases. They were not necessarily ordered by somebody, you have to stay here until you die or until you can't do anything else.
These young men decided we're not giving up. We're going to hold our position. You're not talking about long-term regular Marines who made up the majority of Fox Company. A lot of these guys were reserves that were called up and sent overseas when the Korean War broke out.
So they were not people that had this great experience, this battle-hardened experience. They were 18. The youngest was 16 years old. He had sort of snuck in, and here he finds himself in Korea. There's a fellow named Hector Cafferata.
who is a screw-up. Who would get a promotion and then do something wrong, get busted again? and do something good, but then get busted again. and his friend Kenny Benson, both from New Jersey. Kenny Benson was a guy who wore these big thick glasses and, like Hector, always did the wrong thing.
and always getting in trouble from his commanding officer. Um They they were sharing what they what they could call a foxhole together. And there came a point where the Chinese attacked, were coming up from up the hill. at their position Um Caferata, what would happen is that the Chinese were throwing grenades and one of them went off as as Benson. was trying to reach for it.
And it went off, and it shattered his glasses, and pieces went into his eyes, and he was blinded. He couldn't see. There was another grenade that came up there that Cafferato went to toss away with his left hand, just as a left hand, it exploded. cost him a couple of fingers. This made them angry.
And so what happened was Cafferatta just got out of the foxhole and he just started firing. at these China advancing Chinese soldiers. When his gun ran out of ammo, he gave it to Benson. Benson's blind, but he's a marine who trained as a marine. He could he could reload without being able to see.
He reloads. Kafarat is firing away, kills Samor. And these they did this is going on. Then the Chinese decide after countless numbers have fallen down being shot. What do we do in charging this guy?
Why don't we throw grenades at him and blow him up?
So they start throwing grenades.
Now, Cafferata, the only sport he was interested in at any time in his life was hunting. He didn't know baseball, football, or anything like that. He picks up a spade. And he starts batting of grenades. The grenades go back and start blowing up the Chinese that are running up the hill.
It sounds funny, but this is what happened. And not only the eyewitness accounts, but as I, again, getting ahead of the little story a little bit. But it was this description, which was by his commanding officer, lieutenant of his platoon, witnessed this going on, in addition to a few others, which is why Hector Cafferada was one of the three winners of the Medal of Honor for the Battle of Fox Hill. The man who put him in for the Medal of Honor with Lieutenant Robert McCarthy. listed that during the course of of that night that Kafrata killed uh something like 41 Chinese.
Uh The actual count by those at Fox Hill that day was that over 100 Chinese were dead thanks to Caferata between his guns and the br. But when McCarthy was asked about it, he said, No way any would believe me.
So I put a lower number.
so that they wouldn't think I was making it up.
Okay. Anyway, that position held throughout the night. Mm. Uh and Cafera only realized towards morning that he had left his sleeping bag when the attack began without putting his boots on.
So he's there in his stocking feet and 30 below zero. Fighting these guys off, as if the odds weren't bad enough. Dick Benelli, Dick Benelli, the guy who stole a car and ended up in Fox Company. There's a point where he has to take over a machine gun because everybody around it, he's the only one left. Everybody else has died.
He hasn't used a machine gun since BASIC, but his lieutenant says to him, You either man that position or I find you dead over that gun. And so he does. He keeps his position, and then the point comes where they're starting to surround him, and they see some other people surrounding. He actually, what we would call now a Rambo moment. He just puts the bandoliers over his chest, picks up the gun, and starts working his way down the hill.
As he's mowing down the Chinese, he ended up with the silver star. The other thing that they, which you didn't mention but is also relevant to this, is that they discovered when they started to count the Chinese dead and look them over the bodies, that many of the Chinese soldiers had already tied tourniquets on their legs and their arms.
So that If they get shot in those areas, the legs and the arms, They would not bleed to death. They can keep coming. They could keep fighting.
So they like pre-treated themselves for wounds to their limbs.
So pretty pretty fanatical and as you can imagine it it's even more amazing. That any of Fox's companies survived, because not only were they being trying to hold back 10,000 troops, but some of them just got up and kept coming again. There's another story of what happened to another one of our characters, Walt Hiskett, born and raised in Chicago. He gets wounded, he's wounded the first night, very seriously wounded, and he's in the med tent that they set up. And At some point on the second night, A sergeant comes in the medical tent.
and says, listen fellas, we're being overrun. We don't know who's going to come, the next one in this tent's going to be. If it's Chinese, maybe if you just lie there, don't pick up a gun or anything, they'll let you live. I don't know what to tell you, but start praying. He runs out again.
So, for the next few hours of the night, different prayers are being said. They hear all kinds of sounds and the noise outside of the fighting, and the bullets, and the grenades, and the. mortars and everything else and there's all kinds of bullets that are flying through the tent. because of the crossfires going on. And then Walt Hiscott had this wonderful story of when he's lying there, and this is after he said to the guy next to him, he says, I tell you what, he's not a religious guy.
He said, he said, if I make it through tonight, I'm going to dedicate my life to God. And he meant it very sincerely. Anyway, he's lying there, and they know if they make it till dawn, they've survived. And then all of a sudden they start to see these thin beams of sunlight come through the bullet holes in the tent. Because the sun is rising.
I just love that image. Then beams of sunlight coming through and they know everybody knows the wounded know we've survived. We've made it through another night. And you're listening to Tom Clavin, author of The Last Stand of Fox Company. And what a story he's telling us.
And my goodness, the story of just what some of the reserves did, particularly Hector Albert Cafferada, Medal of Honor winner. He killed over 100 Chinese, but they had to lower the number because no one would have believed he could have killed that many enemy soldiers. When we come back, More of the remarkable story. the last stand of Fox Company here. on our American stories.
Liberty has never been just a word to we Americans. It has guided every one of our endeavors for the past 250 years. And now it takes form in a new way. The 2026 Semi-Quincentennial Coin and Metal Program from the United States Mint. It celebrates the founding ideals that have long shaped our coinage.
Available one year only, this historic collection features new coin designs, limited edition releases, and reissues. Shop new official coins at usmint.gov forward slash semi-q. That's usmint.gov/slash S-E-M-I-Q. This July 4th, come celebrate at America's Block Party, hosted by America 250. America's Block Party is a camp miss 4th of July concert happening at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
Experience music performances by major artists, patriotic tributes, and a kickoff to Giving Forth, helping to make July 4th the largest day of giving in American history. It's more than just fireworks. Join this landmark. Celebration and get your America's Block Party tickets now for $17.76 at America250.org/slash la. I turned off news altogether.
I hate to say it, but I don't trust much of anything. It's the rage bait. It feels like it's trying to divide people. If we got clear facts, maybe we could calm down a little. NBC News brings you clear reporting.
Let's meet at the facts. Let's move forward from there. NBC News reporting for America. You're locked into a lot of things you can't change. Weather, traffic.
Hey, stay in your lane. Your wireless carrier's latest price hike, but you can unlock a better way. Unlock the savings at Boost Mobile and save up to $600 a year. Switch to the $25 a month unlimited wireless plan. No contracts, no price hikes, and you keep your phone.
Stop being locked into their games. Unlock the savings at boostmobile.com/slash unlock. Based on the average annual sable line of payment of ATT Verizon and T-Mobile customers compared to 12 months on the Boost Mobile Unlimited Wireless Plan as of January 2026. For full offer details, visit boostmobile.com. Hi, it's Karen in Georgia from My Favorite Murder.
We cruised around LA in the Hyundai Ionic 5 and dove into the fascinating life of actress and inventor Hedi Lamar. Want the full story? Take a listen. Hedy, she starts dating Howard Hughes, the aviation tycoon. Do you know a lot about him?
I mean, I watch The Aviator, so I know everything Leonardo DiCaprio has allowed me to know about him, but incredible innovator. Right. She says he's a, quote, very strange man. But they do get along really well. Give us examples.
I know. They do. get along intellectually. And in fact, she helps him design a faster plane. She takes a look at what he's designed.
It's got these square wings and she's like, that doesn't make sense. And so she finds the fastest bird and the fastest fish and sketches out a drawing of like what the two would look like as a plane. And that becomes the plane that we know today. And he calls her a genius. Check out our new episode, Spotlighting Groundbreaking Innovators like Hedy Lamar and Billie Jean King.
Presented by the Hyundai Ionic 5. Goodbye. And we continue with our American stories and with Tom Clavin. And he's the author of The Last Stand of Fox Company. Let's pick up where we last left off.
What ended up happening is Colonel Listenberg had radioed Barber and said, listen. We're sort of out of harm's way. You can leave now. And then Barbara looked around and He said, we're surrounded. He didn't know the exact number.
It turned out that there were 10,000 Chinese around them. There's no place for us to go. Basically, he was not saying it, but he knew this had turned into a suicide mission. And he said, goodbye and good luck. We will hold as long as we can.
And that was how he signed off.
Well they held. First night, the second night, the third night. When they ran out of ammunition they fought with knives, with rocks, with their helmets. And Barber at one point was shot. Took a bullet in the groin, ouch, of all places.
He refused to To lie down, he refused. They offered to make a stretcher for him. He grabbed a tree branch and he would go from position to position, limping on his tree branch. To encourage his troops, to tell them, you know, we'll hold, we will hold, we will hold. That became like his mantra.
Now, after three nights of this and contact that eventually been lost with regimental headquarters. A character comes into the story, a gentleman named Raymond Davis. He was a lieutenant colonel at the time. He was the head of the 1st Battalion, 7th Regiment. And he and his men had made it to Death to Hagaroo Ree and were basically safe.
But he said we can't leave Fox company behind. Maybe we can get enough guys to relieve them.
So he raised 400. Marines and they did something Instead of going the main route where they would be totally exposed to the Chinese, They went over the mountains basically, over the ridges.
Sometimes the snow was chest deep. And they did it to try and avoid engaging the Chinese. They wanted to sneak past them to get to Fox Company, to relieve them if they could. There were some firefights, they stumbled upon some Chinese positions. But otherwise they went It took them two nights to do this, and sometimes they went off course, sometimes they were so exhausted they couldn't see what they were doing, but they kept plunging on in the snow, trudging, trudging, trudging.
And finally on the fifth what turned out to be the fifth day, They get to, they would eventually be called the ridge runners, because that's what they did, as fast as they could, up and down the ridges. And they got to, came over the hill where Fox Company was, not knowing if they were going to find anybody alive. And There was an astonishing sight that they saw, and there's a character in the book named Joe Owen, who was one of the Ridge Runners. Who described it for me? He got to a certain point where he could see, you know, the Fox company guys were waving.
We're still here, we're still here, some of them, anyway. And he got to the point where they were advancing so that they could walk to where the Fox Company perimeter was, the little bit that was left of it. And he walked something like the last hundred yards or so. his feet never touched the ground. the reason why it was littered with Chinese corpses.
There were 100, it turned out to be there were 2,000 of them. They were all over the place. And they had just been mown down over the three, four nights of fighting by Fox Company. And there was this rather emotional meeting between Colonel Davis and Captain Barber. because they didn't know if they'd see each other alive and Davis was uh very emotionally affected by seeing barber, you know, standing there staggering on his tree limb.
and the few guys who were left in this little perimeter. You know, it had become like the Alamo, but with a few survivors. And Barbara was thinking, oh my god, you guys came back for us. You know, you didn't abandon so Marines don't leave other Marines behind. And so there's kind of this emotional meaning in which It was emotional for the people witnessing it, but they couldn't say anything to each other.
They couldn't find the words.
So anyway, out of the 246 that went up that hill, let me mention something about the Chinese too. After the after the fifth day The commander of the Chinese was saying, you know, we've been trying to dislodge these guys, and it's not going to happen. I can't afford to lose any more guys. I mean, I've lost 2,000 soldiers already.
So they turned around and left. You know, and so Fox Company, excuse me, Colonel Davis's men could make stretchers and stuff like that. Out of the 246 that went up Fox Hill, 60, we're able to walk off it. The rest were either dead or were Had to be carried off in stretchers, including the point finally came where Colonel Captain Barber couldn't stand anymore, couldn't walk.
So they put him on a stretcher and he had to turn over command. of of the company to uh Elmo Peterson. Elmo Peterson was by this point He had not eaten or slept in like five days. And he had by this point had three bullets in him. He refused to lie down, he refused to he he was going to command his platoon and co-command the company.
What uh what Fox Company had to do at this point was um They had to walk Hike down the MSR, the main supply route. to the American perimeter, newly established American perimeter in Hagaruri, which was a safe point. and which was fortified enough that that the Chinese would not attack it. They had tried a few times and been re repelled. And so that's what they did.
It took them uh something like twenty hours of hiking. These guys are frostbitten. And they get to like about whatever it is, 100 yards of the American perimeter. And that's when Elmo Peterson finally falters. Like I said, by this point, it's six days, he hasn't slept or eaten.
He's got the bullets in him and everything. And he finally gets to a point where he just goes like this and he falls to his knees in the snow. And then he goes over on his face. And a couple of the guys at Fox Company, who we, of course, we interviewed for this, went over to him. They pick them up, they think there's still a pulse.
You know, they put his arms around their shoulders, they're dragging him towards the American perimeter. And then he gets closer to it and he regains consciousness and he says, no. I'm walking. I'm walking across. I'm walking in.
So, meanwhile, the rest of the company, they're not in great shape either. You think of the old painting, The Spirit of 76. One guy's got a bandage around his eye, and the other one's got this. That's what these guys look like. You know, in awful shape.
And they actually get to the point where they're about to cross into the perimeter. And Peterson and a couple other officers say, no, we're going to enter like Marines. They actually have these guys, the 60 guys who were left, the Fox Company, straighten up. Get your back erect. And as they cross into the American perimeter, they sing the Marine Corps hymn.
You know, even Hollywood couldn't make this up. We really felt that people would want to know: okay, we've been spending whatever it is, 285 pages with these guys. And all the things they went through, what happened to them? Yeah. I won't go into everybody, but Walt Hiskett is because it leads to the next thing I'm going to say.
An amazing story. He did survive. He goes back to Chicago. gets a job in construction and finishes his high school equivalency diploma. goes to college, finishes college, goes to the seminary, becomes a a A minister?
Uh and Then he he was out of the Marine Corps by this time. He enlisted in the Navy. And he spends 24 years in the Navy as a chaplain. When he retires, he is the head of the Marine Corps Chaplains of the Navy. And in 1967 and 1968, He is the chaplain for Fox Company when it was deployed to Vietnam.
This is an amazing story of Walt Hiskid. I'm glad to report he's alive and well, living in Arizona. He's a wonderful, wonderful man. Most of the surviving members of Fox Company to this day still suffer from the consequences of the frostbite. They suffered.
uh during the Battle of Fox Hill. Dick Benelli. Joined the U.S. Postal Service when he came back to the United States. And during his career, There.
he could not work in a facility in which the temperature fell below 68 degrees. He just couldn't. His hands would stop working. you know, because of the frostbite that he suffered. And so he had sometimes had to be transferred, you know, and he ended up in Florida, which worked better for him.
He and Hector Cafferada are practically neighbors. I I should mention, I think I forgot that Hector Cafferada I did mention, I think, got the Medal of Honor.
So did Captain William Barber and so did Colonel Raymond Davis.
So there were three Medal of Honor winners out of this event. A lot of times when people, when authors write their books, they'll say, this is dedicated to my wife or my children or my this, but our dedication is to the United States Marines who fought and died on Fox Hill. And a terrific job on the editing of this story by Greg Hengler. And a special thanks to Tom Clavin and his co-author, as always, Bob Drury, for telling this story in the first place. We care about these stories here in our American stories.
Americans care about these stories. That's why their books are bestsellers. Hearing stories like this, these stories of valor, honor, courage. And my goodness, the idea that you're going to leave no Marine behind. And how breathtaking it is to see that in action.
Even these Marines were stunned that others were coming to their aid under such treacherous circumstances, and that we'd all want something like that in our life. that someone would do something like that for us. Risk all for us. Three Medal of Honor recipients. Captain William Barber.
Colonel Raymond Davis. And of course Hector Albert Cafferada. And Cafferada. Was a Marine Reserve, and so many of these guys were reservists with not a lot of military experience. Boy, they got it quick.
246 started the mission. Sixty were able to walk off. The Story of the Last Stand of Fox Company. of beauty. Here on Our American Stories.
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