John H. Church

Brigadier General John H. Church was a U.S. Army officer who fought in World War I, World War II and in the Korean War.

Before Korea

John Church was born in the town of Glen Iron, Pennsylvania, on June 28, 1892. From 1915 until 1917, he was a student at New York University. When the United States entered the First World War, Church joined the army and was given the commissioned rank of second lieutenant. He fought valiantly and was wounded twice. After the war, Church decided to stay in the army. He instructed National Guard members and served in the Philippine Islands. When World War II broke out, Church, by then a brigadier general, became the assistant division commander of the 45th Infantry Division and later was given the same job in the 84th Infantry Division. He went back to the 45th in 1942 with the position of chief of staff. He helped lead the division from 1943-1944 in Sicily, southern Italy, Anzio, and Operation Dragoon, the invasion of southern France.

In September, 1944, he was sent back to the 84th Infantry Division to be the assistant commander. His division, along with several others, led the way to the Elbe River towards the end of the war. A year after the war ended, Brigadier General Church became the commander of the Infantry Replacement Training Center at Fort McClellan, Alabama. He was given the same post at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, where he was soon given command of the 5th Infantry Division. From 1948 until 1949 Church served as the Deputy Chief of Army Field Forces in Fort Monroe, Virginia. In 1950, Chuch was serving in General Douglas MacArthur's headquarters in Tokyo, Japan.

The Korean War

When the communist North Korean Army invaded South Korea, MacArthur sent Church to lead a survey team that decided that only American troops could stop the North Koreans. The 24th Infantry Division was sent over from Japan. A reinforced company of the division, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Brad Smith, was sent to Osan to try to halt the North Koreans. Church told Smith that all that was needed were American troops who didn't fear tanks. Task Force Smith was without tank support and had faulty communications. The first time it met in combat with the North Koreans it was promptly overrun. Major General William F. Dean gathered his troops in the city of Taejon and formed a strong defense. After a stubborn fight, the American troops retreated. Dean was captured. On July 22, Brigadier General Church was given command of the division.

The division was given a two-day period to rest, but then General Walton Walker, the commander of the U.S. Eighth Army, decided that he needed the 24th to guard his left flank. The North Korean 6th Division inflicted more losses on Church's men and gradually pushed the 24th back. Finally, Church was able to regroup his men, and they fought bravely, especially with the help of a Marine brigade, and eventually turning the tables on the Communist division that was fighting them. Church commanded the 24th Division until early 1951, when he became commandant of the Infantry School at Fort Benning, Georgia. On November 3, 1953, Brigadier General John Huston Church passed away in Washington, D.C.

Sources

*Encyclopedia of the Korean War-Spencer Tucker, editor
*The Coldest Winter-David Halberstam, author