My commanding officer, Col Lew Millet has died. He taught me lessons in

[alfredo]

leadership that I applied in my later life. His loyalty to us never wavered, and that instilled loyalty to him. He was a good man.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/19/us/19millett.html?_r=2&adxnnl=1&ref=obituaries&adxnnlx=1258813169-0hhPueMcLGqrQx6ZhstBPA

Col. Lewis Millett, Who Led ‘Bayonet Hill’ Charge, Dies at 88

By RICHARD GOLDSTEIN
Published: November 18, 2009
Col. Lewis L. Millett, an Army veteran of three wars who received the Medal of Honor for leading a rare bayonet charge up a hill in Korea, died Saturday in Loma Linda, Calif. He was 88.

His death was announced by his sister Ellen Larrabee.

Colonel Millett’s forebears fought in the Revolutionary War, the Civil War and World War I. He was so eager to follow in their footsteps that he deserted the American armed forces in the months before the Pearl Harbor attack and joined the Canadian military in the hope of seeing combat quickly. He was eventually court-martialed for desertion, but not before he had returned to the American Army and fought with distinction.

When he became a company commander in the Korean War, serving as a captain in the 27th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division, he seemed a visage from battlefields past with his red handlebar mustache. On Feb. 7, 1951, he employed a tactic of bygone wars with a fury that overwhelmed the enemy.

During the fighting near Osan, South Korea, Captain Millett’s unit encountered Communist troops atop a spot called Hill 180.

It would be remembered as Bayonet Hill for what the military historian Brig. Gen. S. L. A. Marshall would call “the most complete bayonet charge by American troops since Cold Harbor,” a reference to the carnage at an 1864 Civil War battle in Virginia.

[niyad]

1. requiescat in pacem, col. millet

[unhappycamper]

2. Cold Harbor.

5,000 American deaths in less than an hour. War is indeed hell.

[alfredo]

7. I remember when he got passed over for promotion to General. Instead of

grumbling, he threw a party for all us ASA guys.

They were trying to force him into retirement, but he wasn't ready for that.

[kenny blankenship]

3. I heard about this guy but didn't recognize his name - "the last bayonet charge"

pinned down, running out of bullets. Nothing to do but fix bayonets and go meet them. Just awe inspiring.

[alfredo]

4. He was proud that he never got the good conduct medal. He used to come

out to our escape and evasion village, bring us food and beer. He would tell stories, sing songs and generally entertain us as we were ankle deep in mud or thigh deep in snow. When some Navy Seals attacked and beat up one of us, he told their commander that if it ever happened again, he would march his 3,000 troops onto their barracks. We had no more trouble from them.

[kenny blankenship]

6. I'll bet they believed he'd do it

A man with a mustache like that does not get through life by bluffing. All in all, it sounds like you got to know an outstanding individual.

[alfredo]

8. At other duty stations, the ranking officers never talked with us face to face.

They'd never have a beer with us, and they'd never get down in the mud and muck with us. Blood and Guts Millett would.

Here's the "Vietnamese village" we built and maintained. Young officers were taught escape and evasion at this site. Life was made rather uncomfortable for those who got captured. Millett ran this operation.

Look for "ASA Southeast Asia Tactical Training Course" on this page:
http://www.armchairgeneral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=65809

[alfredo]

9. He made sure the North Koreans saw his men sharpening their bayonets.

That certainly unnerved the troops defending the next hill his men took. I believe the NK's on the next hill ran instead of fighting those bloody devils.

[alfredo]

10. He was mentioned this morning on ABC's "This Week."

http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=9148294

[Liberal_in_LA]

5. RIP