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On Hallowed Ground: The Last Battle for Pork Chop Hill. By Bill McWilliams. Annapolis, Md.: Naval Institute Press, 2003. ISBN 1-59144-480-9. Maps. Photographs. Tables. Notes. Bibliography. Index. Pp. xx, 492. $29.95.
The last battles for Pork Chop Hill absorbed the attention of American soldiers in the U.S. 7th Infantry Division from March 1953 until the outpost's evacuation in early July. This Korean War history chronicles the heroic, yet futile, effort to prevent the "Chop" from falling into Communist Chinese hands. The heart of McWilliams's dramatic narrative-based on personal letters, interviews, and other unpublished sources-gives texture to the dry and impersonal official records of most military narratives. The author eschews an in-depth analysis of issues such as the role of international diplomacy, the progress of negotiations, and strategy in favor of a military...