Skirmish Red, White and Blue: The History of the 7th U.S. Cavalry, 1945-1953 Edward L. Daily

Much about the Korean War still is hidden and much will long remain hidden. Nevertheless, an attempt was made by the author to give a historical account of the 7th Cavalry Regiment’s activities during Occupation Duty in Japan after World War II and combat actions within the Korean War. This was accomplished by exploring all known official existing records in the National Military Archives, which have been quoted freely and very often verbatim to give a truthful view of events as they existed at that particular time.

Throughout the years, the original records of the 7th Cavalry Regiment have suffered from many disasters. On March 30, 1952, a fire destroyed the regimental headquarters in Japan, and everything was burned except the regimental colors. To further complicate the matter, but to comply with orders, many valuable records were destroyed to accomplish what they thought was “cleaning out useless files.” What this actually caused or created was the existence of incomplete and often inaccurate records.

Perhaps this book will have an eye-opening effect for the reader and will stir memories and answer questions that still prevail or persist. For those who were there, survived the many struggles and hardships, and turned the tide of defeat to victory, I salute all of you. I apologize and ask forgiveness for any errors or omissions that annoy all of those who dare to analyze the confusion, the chaos of battle, to a smartly phrased story. —from the Preface