DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY -- NAVAL HISTORICAL CENTER

Of the numerous islands in the Bay of Wonsan, UN forces eventually occupied and used seven: Yo-do, Mo-do, Sa-do, Sin-do, Tae-do, Ung-do, and Hwangto-do. The first island captured was Sin-do.

Yo-do was approximately 2,500 yards long and 1,500 yards wide, with an elevation of 377 feet. One cove and beach, suitable for landing, were located on the western side of the island. Nearby was the tiny fishing village of Yodo-ri, with a population of some 70 men, women, and children. The town consisted of several huts and one school. The size, location, and topography of Yo-do made it an ideal base for implementing the siege.

In mid-March, the Communists made an attempt to make a sampan landing on Tae-do, but were driven off by gunfire from the destroyers. Three days after this attempt, 24 March 1951, the U. S. destroyer English (DD-696) (CDR R. J. Toner) landed a shore fire control party on Tae-do. Except for a leper colony of one hundred fifty people, Tae-do was not occupied. The island was also the site of a former Japanese fort, and lay even closer to Wonsan. On the following day, the cruiser Saint Paul and four destroyers, including the USS English, fired on targets in Wonsan with good results, their gunfire being corrected by the spotters on Tae-do.

Operating from Yo-do, the Korean marines gradually expanded control over several other islands in the bay: Mo-do, So-do and Hwangto-do. The latter island was the best spotting and observation post of all.

The first naval officer assigned to the Wonsan harbor islands was LT James S. Lampe, Jr., an intelligence officer from the staff of Commander Task Force 95. Lampe, the son of Presbyterian missionary parents, spoke fluent Korean having been born in Korea and having lived there for eighteen years.
"I landed on the island of Yo-do on 13 June 1951, with orders to report to CTG 95.2," said Lampe. "At this time, we held and were using five of the harbor islands: Yo-do, Hwangto-do, Sa-do, Mo-do, and Sin-do. By far, the most important were Yo-do, our base island, and Hwangto-do our naval gunfire spotting island. (Jim Lampe is the one that took me into Hwangto-do)

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