James W. Gormley - United States Army
Field Artillery Observer (1950-1951)
James W. Gormley was born on
October 31, 1931 to Jeanne (Zitelli) and John W. Gormley. He was the
oldest of three brothers, James, Joseph and John. The Gormley family
made their home in East Brookline, at 1305 Brookline
Boulevard.
Jim attended Resurrection
Elementary School, graduating in May 1945. He then enrolled at the
Connelley Vocational High School. While in high school, Jim worked
evenings as a baker at Benvenutti's Bakery in Carnegie.
Joe, John and James Gormley with
their father John, and mother Jeanne, in 1940.
On August 18, 1949, two months
after completing his secondary education at Connelley, Jim enlisted
in the United States Army. He finished basic training and was
stationed with the Third Infantry Division, 7th Infantry Regiment
at Fort Benning, Georgia. His Military Occupation Specialty (MOS)
was "Baker." While stationed at Fort Benning, Jim became engaged
to his high school sweetheart, Rosemary Doyle, another Brookline
resident.
When the Korean War began in
June of 1950, the 7th Regiment, known as the Cottonbalers, was located
at Fort Devens, Massachusetts. The regiment set sail for the Far East
from San Francisco, California, on August 20. They landed in Japan on
September 16, one day after the start of the Battle of Inchon.
Rosemary Doyle and James Gormley
in 1949.
The Division spent two months
near the port of Moji, Japan, in preparation for their deployment to the
Korean Peninsula. During this time, James Gormley volunteered to change
his military specialty from 017-Baker to 3705-Field Artillery Liaison
Specialist.
After completing his artillery
training and receiving a promotion to the rank of Corporal, Jim became
a Forward Observer in Battery A of the Third Infantry Division's 39th
Field Artillery Battalion. His Forward Observer Team was assigned to
the 7th Regiment.
As the tide of the war turned
in favor of the United Nations, the Third Infantry Division, known
as the "Rock Of The Marne" for it's exploits during World War I,
was assigned to the Far Eastern Command Reserve, earmarked for
post-conflict occupation duty in North Korea. Soon, their intended
mission was to be dramatically altered.
When the Peoples Republic of China
entered the war in November 1950, the 7th Regiment was quickly dispatched
to Wonsan on North Korea's eastern coast. They landed on November 21, and
joined with the Division's 15th and 65th Infantry Regiments. The men
were transported to positions northwest of Hungnam.
The Hungnam harbor during the
evacuation (left) and the port being destroyed on December 24,
1950.
At Majon-dong, Third Division
established a defensive position and began fighting. They helped cover
the withdrawal of the Army's X Corps rearguard elements (1st Marine
Division and 7th Infantry Division) during the Battle of the Chosin Reservoir. Elements of the 7th Infantry Regiment
formed the nucleus of Task Force Dog, a relief force that advanced forward
to create a corridor for the approaching columns.
Once the withdrawing units had
reached the safety of the Port of Hungnam, the Regiment helped form
a collapsing perimeter around the area. Skirmishes broke out between the
Cottonbalers and the pursuing PVA 27th Corps. With strong naval fire
support provided by an offshore task force, the badly mauled enemy units
never breached the Hungnam perimeter.
In what U.S. historians called
the "greatest evacuation movement by sea in U.S. military history",
a 193-ship armada assembled at the port and evacuated not only
the U.N. troops, but also their heavy equipment and roughly a third
of the Korean refugees. Gormley's regiment was the last unit to disembark
before the harbor facilities were destroyed. The 7th Infantry Regiment
left Hungnam by sea on December 24, 1950.
James Gormley in January
1951.
From January 25 through
February 9, after the fall of Seoul, the Third Division was engaged
in Operation Thunderbolt, the initial phase of the Eighth Army
counteroffensive to recapture the South Korean capital.
In March, the Division saw
action during Operation Ripper, or the Fourth Battle of Seoul. On
the evening of March 15, elements of the Third Division entered
the city. Threatened with encirclement, the enemy abandoned their
positions and retreated north into the mountains.
A limited Eighth Army offensive
aimed at seizing the Chorwon-Kumhwa-Pyonggang area, an important enemy
communication and supply zone called "The Iron Triangle," began in
April. The Division crossed the Sinchon River and attacked north towards
Chorwon and Pyonggang along the road running from Seoul.
On the 25th of April, 1951,
Gormley and his Forward Observer Team were assigned to Company A,
1st Battalion, 7th Regiment. The unit was holding positions in the
rear of the Division's advanced units, along a ridge line next to
Hill 283.
With forward elements of the
Third Division only ten miles from their Chorwon objective, the enemy
counterattacked in force, not just at Chorwon but along the entire
United Nations front line. This was the start of the Chinese Spring
Offensive. The breadth and severity of the attack caught the Eighth
Army by surprise.
Map showing the Chinese attack
on Company A and Hill 283 near Chorwon.
Near Chorwon, the Third
Battalion was forced to retreat back to the ridge line near Hill 283,
where Gormley and his observation team were dug in with Able Company.
Plans were immediately put in place to withdraw the regiment to
defensive positions on the opposite bank of the river.
During the evacuation, Company
A was ordered to hold their hilltop position, which straddled the only
path off the hill, until all other units had passed through. When a key
outpost along the ridge was overrun, the Company's left flank was
threatened. Soon the enemy were also active on the right flank and
the situation became dire. Despite ferocious enemy pressure from both
sides, the soldiers stood their ground and held off
several waves of attackers.
At the height of the battle,
the Sergeant and others in the Forward Observation Team were wounded
and being evacuated. Instead of withdrawing with the rest of his team,
Corporal Gormley volunteered to stay behind with Company A and
continue spotting for the artillery.
The accurate and formidable
barrage laid upon the attacking force was devastating. The curtain of
fire provided by the heavy field guns succeeded in keeping the route
of retreat open. Gormley's efforts provided the men of First and Third
Battalion the necessary time to gather their equipment, evacuate the
wounded and abandon the hilltop in good order.
Exposed and under heavy enemy
fire, James and the remaining soldiers of the Company A covering force
held their position as long as possible before making a hasty retreat.
A final barrage of smoke and explosive shells covered their
withdrawal.
As Chinese soldiers finally
began to overrun the position, Jim and the remaining men in the
covering force successfully managed to navigate their way unharmed
to the safety of the river crossing. For his selfless actions on that
desperate day, Corporal James Gormley was awarded the Silver
Star for gallantry.
It is impossible to say at this
time, but it's safe to wonder if Corporal Gormley knew that one of the
soldiers in Bravo Company, which initially guarded the right flank and
then sent a platoon back up the hill to help defend the escape route
until all men were evacuated, was his neighbor from
Brookline, Corporal Gerald G. Hilliard from Edgebrook Avenue.
For a Detailed Report
on the Battle at Hill 283 from the
U.S. Army Center of Military History:
"Combat Action In Korea - A Rifle Company
As A Covering Force"
Note: Lt. Harley
F. Mooney, MSgt. Joseph J. Lock, SFC Thomas R. Teti and Lt. Colonel
Fred D. Weyand,
all mentioned in the Hill 283 engagement report,
were also awarded Silver Stars for their actions.
A Forward Observer team of the
39th Artillery Battalion in 1951.
James Gormley's
official Silver Star citation reads:
Corporal Gormley distinguished
himself by gallantry in action while serving with Battery A, 39th Field
Artillery Battalion, 3d Infantry Division, in Korea on 25 April 1951.
On that date, near Hill 283, Korea, Company A, 7th Infantry, was attacked
by an enemy force of estimated regimental strength. Corporal Gormley, a
member of the artillery forward observer team attached to Company A,
voluntarily remained in the position and continued to call for and adjust
artillery fire on the enemy after the forward observer officer of the
team had been wounded and evacuated. Despite his exposed position and the
hail of enemy fire, he continued to initiate fire missions until the
radio was put out of action by enemy fire. The gallantry and exemplary
courage displayed by Corporal Gormley reflect great credit on him and
are in keeping with the high traditions of the military
service."
For their efforts in helping to
stem the tide of the red onslaught during those first desperate days
of the enemy offensive, the 7th Infantry Regiment was issued a
Distinguished Unit Citation "...
for outstanding performance of duty and extraordinary heroism in action
against an armed enemy (Chinese Communist Army) near Choksong, Korea
during the period 23 April to 25 April 1951.
During the following month of
heavy fighting, the weight of the Chinese Spring Offensive continued
to gradually push back the United Nations front lines. By the middle
of May, the 7th Infantry Regiment had moved to positions seventy-five
miles to the east, defending hilltop strongholds near the village of
Habae Jae.
May 24, 1951 marked the start
of the United Nations Summer/Fall Counteroffensive. While units in other
sectors of the front were beginning their move against enemy positions,
the 7th Regiment near Habae Jae was still in a defensive posture and
under determined pressure from a combined force of Chinese and North
Koreans.
Members of the 7th Infantry Regiment
on a hilltop position on May 24, 1951.
On this day, under circumstances
similar to those a month earlier near Choksong, James once again
volunteered to remain behind and call in artillery fire to cover his
unit's withdrawal. His heroic actions helped blunt the enemy assault,
and aided in another successful evacuation.
When it came time to abandon
his position, Gormley began to work his way back towards the American
lines. On the way, Corporal James Gormley was struck by mortar fire
and killed.
Jim's remains were temporarily
interred in a military cemetery in South Korea. His casket arrived in
the United States in late-October 1951. Jim's remains were buried in
his final resting place by his family at Pittsburgh's Calvary Catholic
Cemetery on October 31, 1951. This sad occasion would have been the
date of his 20th birthday.
In addition to his Silver Star
and the Distinguished Unit Citation, James Gormley was awarded the
following ribbons and medals for his service during the Korean War:
Purple Heart, Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Medal, United
Nations Service Medal, Korean Service Medal and Korean Presidential
Unit Citation.
After Jim's death, the Third
Division went on to support combat missions of the Eighth Army until
1953 when it was withdrawn. Most notably, the Division distinguished
itself at the Chorwon-Kumwha area, Jackson Heights and Arrowhead outposts,
and blocked a determined Chinese push in the Kumsong Area in July
1953.
Known as the "Fire Brigade" for
its rapid response to crisis, the Third Infantry Division received a
total of ten Battle Stars during the Korean Campaign. Casualties during
the war included 2,160 killed in action and 7,939 wounded.
Return To
Korea - 1992
After the war, the circumstances
of James' death remained somewhat of a mystery to the Gormley family.
Years later, with the help of his brother-in-law, Lieutenant Colonel R.
Michael Shuler, James Gormley's younger brother John, who now makes his
home in Castle Rock, Colorado, learned the specifics of his older
brother's heroic actions.
In November 1992, John visited
South Korea on a business mission with the Colorado International Trade
Office. While in country, John took a couple of days off to travel from
Seoul on the northwest coast to the little village of Habae Jae on the
northeast coast. The trip was arranged by the South Korean trade
office.
Along the way, John visited a
number of memorials to the men and women of the U.S. and U.N. militaries
who defended the South Koreans during the war. He was accompanied
by, and an honored guest of, local and provincial government officials on
these visits. As an American, John was treated with the utmost respect
by the South Koreans.
When he reached Habae Jae, John
was introduced to an elderly gentleman who, as a young man during the war,
had the assignment of going into the forested mountains surrounding the
village to recover the dead after a battle. He guided John to the top
of a high hill, where there were remnants of a U.S. Army artillery
emplacement. From there, John Gormley was able to gaze upon the forested
mountains to the north where James fell in battle.
Looking towards the hills north of
an old U.S. Army artillery emplacement near Habae Jae, South Korea.
It was near this ridge line that Corporal James Gormley lost his life
on May 24, 1951.
In his notes,
John also mentioned the McKennas, a Brookline family who lived on Bellaire
Place, just a stone's throw away from the Gormley residence. John went
to Resurrection Elementary School with Mickey McKenna, the younger sister
of James E. McKenna.
As a member of the 2nd Combat
Engineer Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division, James McKenna fell while
fighting the enemy near Kunu-Ri, North Korea, on November 30, 1950.
The two neighboring families shared in the grief of their sorrowful
losses.
Brothers Joe, John and James
Gormley in 1949.
A Long-Overdue Recognition
In April of 2013, the Brookline Connection
began an initiative to seek James Gormley's nomination for induction into
the Hall of Valor at the Soldiers and Sailors National Military Museum and Memorial, located in Oakland. By virtue of his Silver Star citation,
James qualified for admittance to this prestigious community of wartime veterans. After
contacting the Gormley family, James' military credentials were prepared and presented
to the nomination committee for review.
John Gormley's family (left) with the commemorative
plaque that will hang in the James A. Dugan Jr. Hall of Valor;
Larry Meyers, who served on the Honor Guard, John Gormley and
Brookline Connection's Clint Burton.
On March 29, 2015, Corporal James
Gormley of Brookline was formally inducted into the Hall of Valor. It was a
wonderful day for the Gormley family and everyone who was blessed to have known
James. It was also a great day for the Brookline community. One of our native sons,
a courageous young man who made the ultimate sacrifice so that others might return
home to their loved ones, has finally received the recognition he so rightfully
deserved.
James Gormley joins fellow Brookliners
Thomas J. Cullison and Bruno P. Riccardi, both World War II veterans, in the ranks
of Pennsylvania soldiers immortalized in the hallowed hall.
* Thanks to John Gormley, younger
brother of James, for contributing this information. *
Written by Clint Burton - September 10, 2014 (Updated March 2015)
The Brookline
War Memorial
Listed below are
many of the sons of Brookline who gave their
lives to preserve freedom and contain aggression during
World War I, World War II, Korea and Vietnam.
It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died.
Rather, we should thank God that such men lived.
General George S. Patton
World War I
(1917-1919)
The World War I Memorial -
Washington D.C.
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World War II
(1941-1945)
Alm, William H.
Pioneer Avenue
Army
Details |
Arensberg, Roy T.
Fernhill Avenue
Army
Details |
Bracey, Bruce H.
Plainview Avenue
Army
Details |
Brickley, Edward G.
Woodward Avenue
Army
Details |
Capogreca, James J.
Merrick Avenue
Navy
Details |
Copeland, Clarence R.
Creedmoor Avenue
Navy
Details |
Cullison, Thomas J.
Birtley Avenue
Army
Details |
Dempsey, Howard F.
Berkshire Avenue
Army
Details |
Dempsey, Walter F.
Milan Avenue
Navy
Details |
Diegelman, Edward R. Jr
Norwich Avenue
Army
Details |
Dornetto, Frank P.
Jacob Street
Navy
Details |
Doyle, John F Jr.
Eben Street
Navy
Details |
Fagan, Gerald B.
Woodbourne Avenue
Army
Details |
Falk, Harold E.
Pioneer Avenue
Army
Details |
Fehring, Robert M.
Fernhill Avenue
Army
Details |
Gmuca, Joseph J.
Brookline Boulevard
Army
Details |
Heil, Robert F.
Bayridge Avenue
Army
Details |
Hynes, Richard E.
Waddington Avenue
Army
Details |
Kestler, Paul C.
Creedmoor Avenue
Navy
Details |
Ketters, Robert C.
Berkshire Avenue
Army
Details |
Mahoney, Michael J.
Oakridge Street
Army
Details |
Majestic, Arthur B.
Starkamp Avenue
Army
Details |
Mayberry, Alexander G.
Breining Street
Army
Details |
Mazza, John
Alwyn Street
Army
Details |
McCann, Robert F.
Edgebrook Avenue
Navy
Details |
McFarland, Hugh R.
McNeilly Road
Army
Details |
Meisner, Walter F.
Berwin Avenue
Merchant Marine
Details |
Miller, William J.
Norwich Avenue
Army
Details |
Napier, Edward J.
Brookline Boulevard
Army
Details |
Nicholson, John D.
Woodbourne Avenue
Army
Details |
O'Day, John R.
Creedmoor Avenue
Navy
Details |
Orient, Andrew D.
Fordham Avenue
Army
Details |
Pisiecki, Raymond A.
Wolford Avenue
Army
Details |
Reeves, Alfred M.
Brookline Boulevard
Army
Details |
Reitmeyer, John P.
Bellaire Avenue
Navy
Details |
Rhing, Vern M.
Norwich Avenue
Army
Details |
Ruane, Roy J.
Berkshire Avenue
USMC
Details |
Shannon, Harry C.
Midland Street
Army
Details |
Shannon, Jack E.
Midland Street
USMC
Details |
Simpson, James D.
Woodbourne Avenue
Army
Details |
Spack, Harry
Linial Avenue
Army
Details |
Tobin, Paul M.
Woodbourne Avenue
Army
Details |
Vierling, Howard F.
Fordham Avenue
Army
Details |
Wagner, Ralph G.
Shawhan Avenue
Army
Details |
Wentz, Walter L. Jr
Woodbourne Avenue
Army
Details |
Zeiler, Harold V.
West Liberty Avenue
Army
Details |
The World War II Memorial -
Washington D.C.
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Korean War
(1950-1953)
Korean War Memorial -
Washington D.C.
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Vietnam War
(1965-1973)
Vietnam War Memorial -
Washington D.C.
The Brookline
Monument - The Cannon
<Brookline
War Memorial> <> <Brookline
History> |