During the war years, cargo ships hauled contents as individual pieces that were crated, boxed, bagged or in drums or barrels. These ‘break bulk’ freighters were unloaded manually by stevedores or longshoremen who, in uniform of the United States Army, formed port battalions and port companies. It took a huge amount of labor to load and unload ships and run the booms – all done by hand before forklifts were available. The Army Port units were used to ease the demand on ships’ crew and expedite the process, especially when cargo ships were subject to enemy attack and needed to exit port as quickly as possible.
From his occupation as a Job Setter – installing cutting tools into machinery – Elmer Gainok was drafted in February 1943. In only five days, he was assigned to A Company, 492d Port Battalion at Camp Hathaway on the north side of Vancouver barracks. Along a bend of the Columbia River that marked the border between Washington and Oregon, it was a newly constructed sweeping expansion of Vancouver Barracks that served as a staging area and processing center for Portland's port of embarkation and largely comprised of black soldiers working the port or heading overseas. It was Elmer’s home for the next year as he worked as a winch operator, interrupted from July to October when he attended Stanford and then Berkley as part of the Army Specialized Training Program.
He sailed for England in May 1944 on the eve of the invasion of the European continent. There he joined the 102d Port Marine Maintenance Company, a similar port organization trained to maintain and repair the ships and harbors used by the allies. The 102d had just been activated in England and all personnel carefully selected from workers who had expertise in mechanical fields in their civilian lives. Most came from harbor craft maintenance and all were highly skilled in trades of marine mechanics, machinists, iron workers, carpenters, ship fitters, steam and pipe fitters, riggers, general mechanics, drivers, riveters, welders, painters, and electricians. Those who were not old timers were, like Gainok, graduates of technical schools operated by the Army.
In early August, Gainok arrived on the very beaches where the first waves of Americans crashed into the Atlantic Wall. The 102d built workshops from shattered fragments of lumber left behind from mangled coast strongholds held by retreating Nazis. The incredible speed with which the soldiers transformed the demolished ports into operating traffic centers for supplies into northern France became a prime reason for the successful thrust of the allies across Europe. The marine unit repaired launches, motor and steam tugs, floating cranes, and barges with great ingenuity and scavenging of plenty of German equipment.
Until September, allied troop movement through Cherbourg was of secondary importance, but as swaths of convoys from the United States began arriving, the ports were soon full. The incredible number of men and cargo compounded by high winds and heavy rains made a huge burden for the 102d. They remained on the shore with the Normandy Base Section for the duration of the war while the land armies stormed across the continent. Elmer worked long days with the tradesmen keeping up with the immense flow of troops and supplies. He only took a break from the arduous work in March 1945 when he left the company for Officer Candidate School. He graduated and joined the 65th Division just days after the war ended and his career as an infantry officer began.
CHOCHIWON
On the outskirts of Chochiwon on July 7th, the 21st Infantry Regiment received strict orders to hold the town at all costs and they would not have any help for four days. In the overwhelming heat of the Korean summer, Gainok’s weapons platoon of K Company marched several miles north and back again anticipating defense of A and D Companies. They were outfitted with a meager arsenal of two 60mm mortars and no recoilless rifles. Ahead of them, a small task force of B and C Companies had been riddled for days already and the regiment’s reinforcements arriving directly from Japan anticipated the same fate. It was a rapid reintroduction for combat for El after he was reactivated from the reserves in April 1950. He left the comfort of his home for Japan and a month later came news of the North Korean invasion.
As the North Koreans inevitably grew nearer, Chochiwon was evacuated of all civilians, particularly young able-bodied men who might be guerillas or spies. After an attack on A and D Companies, Colonel Stephens ordered a withdrawal and directed 3d Battalion to counterattack against the tanks and thousands of infantry that overran 1st Battalion. They surprised the Koreans and drove them back 2000 yards, holding until near midnight when General Dean suggested withdrawing the 3d Battalion from this position, but he left the decision to Stephens, saying, "If you consider it necessary, withdraw to your next delaying position prior to dawn. I am reminding you of the importance of the town of Choch'iwon. If it is lost, it means that the SKA [South Korean Army] will have lost its MSR [Main Supply Route]." An hour later, in talking to a regimental staff officer, Dean authorized falling back four miles to the next delaying position two miles north of Choch'iwon, but ordered, "Hold in your new position and fight like hell. I expect you to hold it all day tomorrow."
On withdrawing to their original positions, K Company was startled to find the North Koreans had inhabited their original foxholes. They had to fight their way back in with rifles and machineguns over the course of an hour. With hardly any time to rest from the day of marching and their quick fight, the North Koreans attacked again near sunrise. Elmer deployed his weapons platoon in defense positions as riflemen and his platoon sergeant, John Steele, was inspecting positions along their front when the sound of tanks came from beyond the mine field. Mortar fire rained down simultaneously on the battalion command post, blowing up the communications center, ammunition supply point and inflicting heavy casualties among battalion headquarters. With the support of four tanks, a thousand troops swarmed around 3d Battalion and soon they were overrunning company positions at a ratio of eight to one.
When he noticed a line platoon had been overtaken, Gainok gathered his men and prepared a counterattack. Within fifty yards, heavy machinegun fire from their flank stopped them, but Elmer unhesitatingly charged the enemy while hurling grenades and firing his carbine. He managed to kill or wound most of them with expertly tossed grenades. Those he did not hit dropped their weapons and fled. His weapons platoon filled the gap of the line platoon.
Along with a messenger, the Lieutenant set off for K Company command post and on to M Company to evaluate their situation. On their return trip to his platoon, a T34 fired at them and a machinegun bullet grazed the messenger’s helmet.
He panicked, imagining he was hit and exclaimed, “Sir, I’m wounded!”
“Sir my ass!” Gainok grumbled. It took little examination to see the man was not wounded. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”
He wasted no time fleeing the sights of the tank. They came under torrential artillery, mortar, and gun fire again and El ducked for cover. When the fire lifted, he looked up and realized they had become separated and he was alone. What should have been a short trip was drawn out to moments and inches of advancement. At one point, Gainok was pressing himself as deep as he could into a paddy dike when a bullet clipped his belt buckle.
It was not until that evening that he made it back to weapons platoon two miles down the road from their original positions. He learned that Sergeant Steele and several others had been killed. The only other surviving officer of K Company was Lieutenant Childers. In all, about half of the company was killed or missing, though they fared better than I and K Companies who faced incredible losses near two thirds. The battalion had held against 2500 enemy until all supply and evacuation routes were severed. After four hours of fighting against these odds, while Gainok was sprinting and crawling through rice paddies, the battalion began to withdraw back to Chochiwon where Gainok found them after his escapades.
They had only been in the fight for two days. The 19th Infantry relieved them on the line and the regiment regrouped at the air strip north of Taejon for a three-day rest. The 3d Battalion reorganized into just two companies: I Company was integrated into K Company under Lieutenant Childers and L Company merged into M Company under Captain Rainville, resulting in one rifle and one weapons company. They were attached to 1st Battalion to give Colonel Smith a seven-company battalion. They had a mild break from hard fighting and spent the ensuing days reorganizing and moving south by train to Kyonju where they were able to rest and bathe in a nearby river. Days of grime, stench, blood and paddy swill washed downstream.
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After the fall of Taejon, the 24th Division clung to the defense of the Naktong River line. On the opposite side of the river ran a road between the opposite bank and the high ground further west. The platoon spotted movement along the route and they attempted to hit the enemy troops and vehicles with 3.5” rockets, but found the range to be too far and their shots dropped off before reaching their targets. The Lieutenant set off the next day to find someone who could loan him a 57mm recoilless rifle, which he still did not have in his arsenal, but no one was willing to part with theirs or there were none available and he resorted to lobbing 81mm mortars across the waters.
Just prior to dusk, the North Koreans began moving a truck convoy down the road and offered a clear shot for Gainoks mortars. A well-placed shot to the lead transport disabled it and blocked the road. They walked their shots back along the column to inflict as many casualties as they could and they saw no more targets, continued with harassing fire as the sun set.
Days later, the enemy crossed into the K Company area and once again, the platoon was surrounded despite holding high ground. Elmer sent two messages out with no response and realized he was cut off from his commander. He held and waited all night, only to learn later that the entire battalion had pulled back to new positions. At dawn, armed with an M1 rifle, he followed the communication wires back to a deserted K Company Command Post. He continued down the road and finally met the battalion who were moving back to their original positions. The Lieutenant had ‘a few unkindly words for the Battalion S-3 leading the column’ before returning to his platoon area, just ‘a bit angry.’ In a few months he would take over the S-3 position himself.
Those first weeks in Korea were the hardest for every man of the 24th Division. For a platoon leader like Elmer, life could be horribly short, but he managed to survive unscathed and kept command of his weapons platoon for the rest of 1950. He moved up to battalion headquarters to take over the Assistant S-3 position, but only worked there for a month before taking over L Company from February to May 1951.
VIETNAM
Between 1962 and 1963, the Army of the Republic of Vietnam won hundreds of battles against the Viet Cong and survival and independence for South Vietnam seemed within reach. Despite their victories, no ARVN unit saw public recognition until single instances of unavoidable difficulties brought negative attention from friends and allies who did not hesitate to slander them. From these occasions grew a negative view of the South Vietnamese military and as attention shifted to the American phase of the war in the following years, the ARVN never recovered their reputation.
Prior to these overshadowed successes, in 1961 the Viet Cong were a serious threat to the non-communist government of the South and the Kennedy Administration decided to bolster the United States Advisory effort. During the following year, the number of Americans stationed in Vietnam increased from 2,600 to 11,500 and within three months of involvement, the advisory program proved to be effective. The ARVN turned the tide to the South’s favor and went on the offensive, controlling the initiative and soon choosing where and when to engage the Viet Cong.
This was largely the result of good intelligence. Local peasants worked with the ARVN to notify the government of guerilla locations. This support from the population showed they were not only winning battles, but earning the support of the people – something vital in a counterinsurgency campaign. With the help of American mobility and firepower, 1962 became a momentous year for South Vietnam. One of the North’s official histories recognized this fact writing, “our people’s war forces were unable to stop the enemy’s helicopter borne and armored personnel carrier assaults, and so [we] became confused and hesitant, and our losses increased … many units were forced to disperse.”
Still, it was impossible to fight and win sweeping victories in a counterinsurgency, especially when so much focus was in the West over the crisis in Berlin. Little attention was ever given to the expanded advisory effort in Vietnam. Tactical advisors deployed to the sweltering jungles to assist Vietnamese battalion commanders in operational, communication and logistical support matters with an understanding they were not to engage in actual combat. The United States tactical advisory system was present in every ARVN combat arm. The battalion was chosen as the lowest tactical level to employ men to as it was the core of ARVN combat forces and the lowest level unit to have headquarters with appropriate planning and control capabilities in a tactical unit.
It was this type of battalion advisory team that Major Gainok joined in late 1961. He arrived in Saigon in October among the first of the advisors sent as a part of the expansion plan. The capital city was well removed from the effects of the insurgency and offered plenty of accommodations and sight-seeing. Such recreation was available throughout his tour and a reel of 8mm film would make it appear it was a leisurely excursion, but beyond the city lay country teeming with the shadow of Viet Cong.
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He found his assigned 1st Battalion, 48th Regiment to have a disorganized staff, inexperienced commander with little confidence, troops with little or no training, neglected logistics, and ineffective communication. He encountered every problem the advisory effort intended to repair within the Army – an extremely formidable problem especially as a foreigner with little knowledge of the language, country or culture. He had only just completed the Army’s counterinsurgency course before embarking on a year in country.
Through tactful diplomacy, persuasion and professionalism, he won the respect of the battalion commander. He reorganized the entire staff, chain of command and enforced adequate operational planning. With this organization in place he finally convinced the commander to delegate authority and have confidence in his subordinates.
Despite the requirement that advisors avoid combat, El ended up accompanying such operations to ‘render timely recommendations.’ Between February and August 1962, he participated in combat patrols, security missions, and training exercises in Baria and Phouc Le Province which all inevitably drew fire from lurking Viet Cong. Sharing the hardship of combat proved his dedication to the ARVN troops and he developed a commendable relationship between the ARVN and the American advisors.
By the close of his tour, the 48th Regiment earned praise as one of the best trained units in the Army of Vietnam. For El, it was a meaningful achievement for which he received a Commendation Medal. In a way, it was more effort and dedication than his instance of valor at Chochiwon over ten years prior when he earned his Distinguished Service Cross. Both decorations represented a career far from his humble beginnings as a winch operator.