Open Veils · Answer
What happened to C company, Argylls in Korea?
C Company, 1st Argylls was at the centre of one of the Korean War's most catastrophic friendly-fire incidents. On 23 September 1950 at Hill 282, C Company advanced toward the dominant Hill 388 while B Company held the crest — then US Air Force F-51 Mustangs, misreading ground panels and unable to raise friendly forces by radio, dropped napalm directly onto the Argylls' position and strafed it with .50 calibre fire. The battalion's second-in-command, Major Kenneth Muir, was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for rallying survivors back onto the burning hilltop before being mortally wounded — his last reported words indicting both enemy and ally simultaneously.
Evidence
- On the night of 22 September 1950, the 1st Argylls moved to assault Hill 282 near Songju as part of 27th British Commonwealth Brigade's drive following the Naktong breakout.
- At 12:15, two USAF F-51 Mustangs — confused by the positioning of identification panels and without radio contact with ground forces — struck the Argylls' hilltop with napalm bombs and .50 calibre strafing.
- Major Kenneth Muir, who had already led an ammunition and litter party to the crest under fire, watched the flames subside and saw that wounded men still held a small section of the summit.
- The final count documented two officers and 11 men killed, four officers and 70 men wounded, and two missing — 89 total casualties, of which approximately 60 were attributed directly to the friendly-fire strike.
- Before dawn on 23 September, B and C Companies climbed to the crest, surprising a Korean People's Army unit at breakfast.