Battle for the Punchbowl: The U. S. 1st Marine Division 1951 Fall Offensive of the Korean War Page: 209
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consolidated the ground." Wawrzyniak would receive the Navy Cross (his first of two in
Korea).76
The squad's 1st Fire Team made an attack against "a particularly troublesome
bunker." "A sudden hail of grenades and bullets" made the Marines hug the ground.
Corporal Barczuk (no first name supplied) was the fire team leader. He belly-crawled
toward the bunker, "turkey looked" (a technique whereby a Marine under cover quickly
lifts his head to see and then immediately ducks back down) to assess the situation a
few times, and carefully planned a final assault. He used all available cover and
concealment to maneuver his men closer to the emplacement and led them in a final
rush on the position with bayonets fixed. Barczuk had already been wounded by
shrapnel, but was still the first to reach the bunker to lob several grenades through the
aperture. Seconds later there was a crunching "WHUMP, WHUMP, WHUMP" as these
burst white hot steel in the confined space, and there was nothing left of the four
soldiers within but bloody, smoking husks. Barczuk was not done. He ignored his own
wounds to take charge of the 1st Squad when Sgt Livingston was hit, and directed the
final assault. 77
Fox's 2nd Platoon set to eliminating the last of the enemy resistance on that
slope. The remaining North Koreans there fled their bunkers when they heard the
"Banzai!" screaming Marines descending towards them. By 1136, the "grim-faced,
bayonet wielding troops. . . had secured the entire finger ridge and occupied the enemy
76 "Historical Diary," Second Battalion, Fifth Marines, 44; Navy Cross Award Citation for Stanley J.
Wawrzyniak.
77 "Historical Diary," Second Battalion, Fifth Marines, 44-45.209
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Montandon, Joshua W. Battle for the Punchbowl: The U. S. 1st Marine Division 1951 Fall Offensive of the Korean War, thesis, August 2007; Denton, Texas. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc3938/m1/224/?rotate=90: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; .