Young joins ‘Mt. Chosin Few’ effort

MAT-SU — Efforts of local veterans to name a peak in the Chugach range after a harrowing Korean War battle has landed in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, introduced a bill June 14 to formally and officially name a currently unnamed peak 28 miles northeast of Cordova in the Chugach Range “Mt. Chosin Few” after the battle of the Chosin Reservoir.

The effort to name the peak began in the Mat-Su Valley with Palmer residents Richard Lilly and John Beasley, both of whom served at the Chosin Reservoir.

“Naming a mountain to commemorate these men is the least we can do,” Young said in a press release. “As someone who was drafted during the Korean War, I saw the bravery of the men and women who wore the uniform during this conflict. I am pleased that the Board on Geographic Names acted swiftly to name this mountain after some of America’s most courageous men and women.”

The Board of Geographic Names is a federal board. The Alaska Historical Commission signed off on the name in late March. The committee’s chair, Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell, said naming a mountain after a battle is unusual, but it is a fitting tribute to the service members who fought and died in the Chosin Reservoir campaign.

The battle was one of the most brutal in modern times. Chinese forces surprised and surrounded 20,000 Allied soldiers, primarily U.S. Marines. The Marines had been set to capture the northern end of the country, but the Chinese outnumbered them 10 to 1. The reservoir sits high in a mountain range. Temperatures were well below zero and winds were high.

Few, if any, escaped the fighting without frostbite. Many froze to death. But the Allies broke free and made it to the sea. The Korean War eventually ended without the Allied forces capturing the north, which is why the peninsula remains divided between a communist north and a democratic south to this day.

Young’s bill calls for the mountain to be named Mt. Chosin Few on all official documents and maps and takes effect 30 days after it passes Congress. It’s currently under review in a House committee.

Contact reporter Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.