(Corbett has reservations about Hansen, concerned that he will play it safe in order to return to his wife and two daughters.)

As they near the border with China, Corbett informs McDermid, as the last surviving son, that he is being sent home at his mother's request.

With the United States Marine Corps's fight for life at the Battle of Chosin Reservoir against the Chinese Communist Forces offensive in the winter of 1950 being anxiously followed in the news of the day, Warner Bros. submitted a proposal on 7 December 1950 to the Marines to make a film about the events.

[3] The Hollywood Production Code Office originally refused to approve the title because of its ban on the word "hell", but changed their mind after requests from the Marine Corps.

While the film uses fictional characters, it faithfully follows the true story of the First Marine Battalion's battles at Inchon and Seoul and is therefore ranked as one of the most realistic movies ever made about the Korean War.

During World War II, Lewis directed United States Army training films about the M1 Garand rifle that were shown well into the 1960s.

This was the case at a series of locally owned drive-in theaters in Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin.

As a result, in the Wisconsin counties of Polk, Barron, Price, Clark, Marinette, Oconto, Shawano, Waupaca, Dodge, and Taylor, it was the only movie one could see in a drive-in for multiple consecutive months.

[7] In an oral history interview with Donald H. Eaton, a Korean War black veteran, he recounts how he and several friends watched the film when it came out.