THE FORGOTTEN WAR....KOREA

June 25, 1950 - July 27, 1953

Korean War Memorial, Washington, D.C., dedicated July 27, 1995,

forty two years after the cessation of hostilities.

The United States Armed Forces suffered 33,665 Americans killed in action in Korea; 3,275 died there from non-hostile causes. *TOTAL: 36,940 Americans gave their lives in the Korean Theater. There were 92,134 Americans wounded in action in 103,284 incidents. A total of 1,789,000 Americans served in the Korean theater during the Korean War from June 25, 1950 to July 27, 1953. There are still 8,176 MIAs.

South Korea sustained 1,312,836 military casualties, including 415,004 dead; casualties among other United Nations allies totaled 16,532, including 3,094 dead. Estimated Communist casualties were 2 million. The economic and social damage to the Korean nation was incalculable.

*Source: Office of Secretary of Defense, Washington Headquarters Services, Directorate for Information Operations and Reports (WHS/DIOR); Defense Prisoners of War/Missing in Action Office (DPMO). Data released 10January 2000.

To learn more about the Korean War Veterans Memorial, please CLICK HERE.

Some of us were fortunate enough to come home and resume our lives with our families. Others, never returned.

Our United Nations Allies who fought at the side of the American and South Korean forces also deserve a vote of thanks for their contribution!

Australia: Two Infantry Battalions; Naval Forces; One Fighter Squadron

Belgium: One Infantry Battalion

Canada: Reinforced Infantry Brigade (Division); Naval Forces; One Squadron of Transport Aircraft

Columbia: One Infantry Battalion; One Naval Frigate

Ethiopia: One Infantry Battalion

France: One Reinforced Infantry Battalion

Great Britain: Two Infantry Brigades (Divisions); One Armored Regiment; Three Artillery and Combat Engineer Regiments; The British Far Eastern Fleet; Two Sunderland Air Squadrons

Greece: One Infantry Battalion; Transport Aircraft

Holland: One Infantry Battalion; Naval Forces

Luxembourg: One Infantry Company

New Zealand: One Artillery Regiment, Six Naval Frigates

Philippines: One Infantry Battalion; One Tank Company

South Africa: One Fighter Squadron

Thailand: One Infantry Battalion; Naval Forces; Air and Naval Transports

Turkey: One Fighting Infantry Brigade

Denmark, India, Italy, Norway, Sweden: Medical Services

Key Events in the Korean War

1950

Jan.12: Secretary of State Dean Acheson excludes South Korea from U.S. defense perimeter in Asia.

June 25: North Korea invades South Korea; Seoul is overrun two days later.

July1: U.S. troops arrive in the southern port city of Pusan, move north to engage the enemy.

July-Aug: U.N. forces retreat steadily southward.

Sept. 10: North Koean offensive is halted at the Pusan perimeter.

Sept. 15: Inchon landing begins.

Sept. 27: Seoul is liberated after a week of fighting; South Korean president Syngman Rhee's government returns.

Oct. 7: Advancing U.N. forces push north across the 38th parallel.

Oct. 15: Truman and MacArthur meet on Wake Island.

Nov. 24: U.N. troops near Yalu River, their farthest northern advance.

Nov. 26: Chinese enter war and counteroffensive begins. Greatly outnumbered, U.N. forces begin to retreat.

1951

Jan. 4: Communist reoccupy Seoul.

March 15: Seoul again retaken by U,N. forces.

April 11: Truman fires MacArthur for insubordination.

July: Truce talks initiated at Kaesong, soon move to Panmunjom; "stalemate war" begins.

Sept.13-Oct.15: Battle of Heartbreak Ridge.

Nov. 27: 38th parallel agreed upon as line of demarcation.

1952

Aug. 12-16: Battle of Bunker Hill

Oct. 24: Eisenhower's "I shall go to Korea" speech boosts peace hopes.

1953

July 27: Truce agreement signed; fighting stops.

Aug. 5: POW exchange begins.

The 20 Deadliest Battles of the Korean War, 1950-1953

* This includes killed in action, died of wounds, died while POW and MIAs later declared KIA.

**In the first Battle of Pork Chop Hill on April 16-18, 1953, 112 Americans were KIA.

Source: Korean War veteran Dick Ecker compiled these statistics from a database he has developed. No known list of Korean War combat fatalities by battle previously existed.

As reported in the August, 2001 edition of VFW Magazine.

Draftees in the Korean War

The draft (August 1950 through July 1953) for the Korean War netted 1,569,141 men. For the entire era, which extended 18 months beyond the cease fire, draftees made up 30% of all those who served then. Some 83,858 Marines were drafted between August 1951 and October 1952. At the peak in January 1952, 12,220 leathernecks entered the Corps via ther Selective Service system.

In the peak year of this war's draft, 1952, 561,770 men were inducted. By December 1952, 63% of soldiers actually serving in Korea had been drafted. In 1953, 59% of all Army enlisted men were draftees.

Retired Army major general Walter L. Stewart, Jr., writing in Military Review in 2006, summed up the contributions of draftees best: "The power of America's drafted and draft-induced armies defeated fascism and (Japanese) imperialism and maintained the 38th parallel in Korea. It would defeat the North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong in every fight of significance in Vietnam."

Source: VFW Magazine, January, 2009 issue

WAS THE KOREAN WAR A SUCCESSFUL VENTURE?

"There is no more exquisite proof of what makes a failed state and what makes a successful state than the Korean peninsula.Here is one nationality divided into two countries, two forms of government and two economic systems.  One is free and connected to the world, the other enslaved and isolated.  The difference is breathtaking."

	North Korea	South Korea
GDP	$40 billion	$1.27 trillion
GDP growth rate	-2.3percent	+2.5 percent
Per capita GDP	$1,700	$26,000
Exports	$1.68 billion	$419 billion
Life Expectancy	63	78
Infant mortality rate/1,000 births	51.34	4.2

Information from the November, 2009 issue of American Legion Magazine

And yet, some people still say we didn't win the Korean War!  What more graphic proof is needed?

Congress Approves Acceptance of the Republic of Korea War Service Medal (August 20, 1999)

Forty-eight years after the South Korean government proposed decorating American troops who fought in the three-year Korean War, the Defense Department finally said it's OK (on August 20, 1999) for KoreFan War veterans to receive and wear the medals offered by the South Korean government in 1951. At that time, Army officials said it will take "a month or more" to work out the details concerning how the medals will be awarded. One of the details is who will pay for the medal: the U.S. government, the South Korean government, or the individual veterans.

1AUGUST2000

GOOD NEWS! The Pentagon has approved the minting of 300,000 Korean War Service Medals by the South Korean government. See "NEWS FOR VETERANS" PAGE for the toll-free number and address where to write for forms.

THANKS

So many years later,  we have received messages from South Koreans expressing their thanks for services the allied forces performed in saving their country from Communist rule.

To read these letters, Click Here

HARRY S. TRUMAN

He chose stalemate over an all out effort to win the Korean War. Was he right?

CLICK HERE to read the details and make up your own mind.

U.S. Government Website Highlights 50th Anniversary of the Korean War

The Department of Defense has a new Internet website to recall the lessons and legacies of the Korean War and honor the military veterans who served there. The Department's 50th Anniversary Commemoration Website, at http://korea50.army.mil contains a wealth of information, including a calendar of upcoming commemorative events, a chronology of the war, fact sheets, educational materials, photographs and biographies.

The website offers links to other sites of interest, including official POW/MIA information found on the DPMO home page at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo

There is also a Korean government website dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the Korean War. http://www.koreanwar.go.kr/english.htm The South Korean government is as involved as we are in the marking of the beginning of the conflict that engulfed their nation. Their losses were horrendous.

VETERANS TO SHARE HISTORIES WITH LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

The Veterans History Project hopes to chronicle the experiences of American veterans into a searchable collection of oral histories, letters, diaries and photographs.

There are approximately 19 million living war veterans today, and VA estimates some 1,500 die every day. So Congress unanimously passed legislation in October, 2000 to create the Veterans History Project. Created in the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress, the project calls for Americans to collect the experiences and stories of war veterans to educate future generations.

The projects mission is dictated by the legislation: "to collect the memories, accounts and documents of war veterans and of those who served in support of them during World War I, World War II, and the Korean, Vietnam and Persian Gulf wars."

The American Folklife Center provides a detailed instruction kit for those interested in participating. It gives the backround of the project and contains all the information needed to interview a veteran and submit the interview to the Library of Congress.

"I'm particularly interested in involving students and youth groups in this project," said VA Secretary Anthony J. Principi. "I can't think of a better way for a school class to observe Veterans Day and to learn American history than by recording veterans' histories."

The ultimate goal is to sort, shelve and cross-reference all the submissions and then make them available to the public. Researchers probably will able to search the records by fields of interest, such as theaters of war or particular battles. All submissions, including items housed with participating partners, will be part of the National Veterans History Collection.

This infomation obtained from the August, 2002 issue of VFW Magazine

There are a number of excellent WEBSITES dedicated to those of us who participated KOREAN WAR. Several of the more interesting Korean War pages are:

• KOREAN WAR PROJECT
• U.S. Naval Institute: Free Interactive Korean War Timeline Preview Downloadable "Interactive Korean War Timeline". A great resource!
• KOREAN WAR VETERANS ASSOCIATION
• THE AMERICAN WAR LIBRARY (All Wars)
• KOREA WEB WEEKLY Editorials and comments about the modern South Korea including data for Americans living and working there, and the military involved.
• VETERANS NEWS AND INFORMATION SERVICE
• THE KOREAN WAR, A FRESH PERSPECTIVE By Colonel Harry G. Summers, Jr., U.S. Army (ret). A must read for students of the political aspects of the Korean War.
• KOREAN WAR VETERANS MEMORIAL Information provided by the National Parks Service about the Korean War memorial.
• EXAMINING THE KOREAN WAR A senior thesis by Nathan Stanley about the Korean War, especially the history of the 24th Division Regimental Combat Team.
• ADVOCACY & INTELLIGENCE INDEX FOR PRISONERS OF WAR-MISSING IN ACTION Read especially the government internal studies on "The Transfer of U.S. Korean War POWs To The Soviet Union".
• VETS.COM MAGAZINE AVeterans Internet Guide and a source for much information for veterans and their families.
• 40TH INFANTRY DIVISION, KOREA Website of The Association of 40th Infantry Division Korean War Veterans.
• SECOND INFANTRY DIVISION ASSOCIATION Website of the "Second to None" Indianhead Division
• Korean War Veterans National Museum and Library A new endeavor needing the support of all Korean War veterans
• BOB WEST'S PAGE of information about the 40th Infantry Division and other units, including photos.
• Sgt Reg Kitchener's Royal Artillery Page describes activities of some of our British comrades during the war. Includes links to other British sites including the British Korean Veterans Association (BKVA).
• Seabees in the Korean War Learn about the activities of the U.S. Navy Seabees in Korea, Guam and other assignments during the Korean War. For additional information, visit http://www.weblube.com/seabeealbum.index.htm
• 143rd Field Artillery Korean War website includes a history of the 40th Infantry Division plus many other features.
• Korean War Educator As the name of this website implies, it contains much information about the Korean War.
• Kitchen Table Gang "Veterans helping hospitalized veterans and our troops overseas"
• Korea + 50: Forgotten No Longer This page is a joint project between the Harry S. Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Libraries developed to provide access to Korean War materials related to the two administrations occupying the White House during that period. Find exhibits, photographs, primary sources, timelines, documents, oral histories and much more.
• Center for the Study of the Korean War The Korean War history is being saved by this collection of primary source documents and artifacts. Acquisition of these materials is crucial over the next several years. The Center is dedicated to preserving the Legacy of Korean War Veterans.
• A Chinese Viewpoint of the Korean War Very pragmatic article from the Chinese standpoint. Their reasons for entering the war, and how the Korean War affected their and our attitude towards Taiwan.

United States Army Casualties During the Korean War, by Unit

(An Important Search Engine. Just click on the underlined link.)

SEARCH: Army Casualties by Unit

We ask the Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard and services of our allies in the Korean War to add their lists here. Sorry we don't have them now.

Another Search Engine available to us is the website for DEFENSE PRISONER OF WAR/MISSING PERSONNEL OFFICE (DPMO) at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo/index.htm. An extension of this site is the PERSONNEL MISSING-KOREA (PMKOR) database at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo/pmkor/index.htm

THE AMERICANS WE LEFT BEHIND

After the armistice ended the war in July of 1953, almost 100,000 POWs were exchanged. BUT, senior intelligence officers received reports stating that two and possibly three trainloads of U.S. prisoners of war, about 900 to 1,200 men, crossed into the Soviet Union. To learn more of this abandonment, please click on the following URL:

Lost Prisoners of War: "Sold Down the River?"

If the article doesn't come up, a place for an archive search will appear. Type in "Lost Prisoners of War". It will be the first article listed in the search results.

This is an article which appeared in the September 30, 1996 issue of TIME Magazine.

Please read the government's report "The Transfer of U.S. Korean War POWs To The Soviet Union AIIPOW-MIA , third article down.

CHINA'S ROLE

From the September, 1999 issue of VFW Magazine: "The quest (for Korean War MIAs has also turned to China. It wasn't until 1996 that the U.S. Army's assistant chief of staff for intelligence finally declassified reports dealing with Red China's complicity in hiding American POWs. The reports, once stamped 'secret', revealed that as early as December 15, 1951, Army intelligence was reporting that a 'careful assessment' led to the conclusion that about 2,500 POWs were improsoned in Manchuria with another 1,500 behind barbed wire elsewhere north of the Yalu River in China.

'Specifically selected groups', said the report, 'are sent to China in small numbers to undergo political indoctrination. Of those POWs processed in Manchuria, the ones not going to China are apparently being sent to mines and labor camps in Manchuria itself.

On June 20, 1952, a second report said that more than 1,000 American POWs were held in a former military prison outside of Nanking 'with a Russian colonel named Nokelov in charge.' Intelligence indicated that 'all POWs are 20-25 years old, brought here from Peking in December 1951 for re-indocrination in Communist thought.'

Another report dated August 20, 1952 said 'POWs were grouped according to perceived political leanings. Those judged by the Chinese to be promising for anti-Western propaganda were kept in what the Army described as 'peace camps.'' Because of obvious diplomatic complications, it follows that the Communiusts would neither wish to return these men to U.S. control nor admit to their existence.

What happened to Americans in Chinese captivity, how many died from disease, malnutrition or at hard labor, remains a mystery. The bamboo curtain that separated China from the United States began to part with Richard Nixon's visit in 1972 - but the fate of U.S. POWs there has remained as murky as ever.

In January of 1998, Defense Secretary William Cohen visited Beijing and asked that archives of the People's Liberation Army be opened for inspection. President Jiang Zemin listened, but Cohen came away with no promises. Another delegation visited China a year later, but came away empty-handed too. 'There are a large number of questions to be answered, and only the Chinese may have the answers.'"

See also the link given above A Chinese Viewpoint of the Korean War

Each branch of the United States Armed Forces has established a toll-free telephone number to keep MIA families fully informed on Korean War and Cold War remains recovery operations. Family members of these servicemen should contact the appropriate service casualty office to provide name, address and relationship to their loved one.

If the missing serviceman was in the ARMY, call 1-800-892-2490. The NAVY number is 1-800-443-9298. The AIR FORCE number is 1-800-531-5501. The MARINE CORPS number is 1-800-847-1597. Families of civilians missing from these conflicts may contact the State Department at 1-202-647-6769.

My personal Korean War Remembrance page would not be complete without the acknowledgement of my comrades from the 40th Signal Company of the 40th Infantry Division, especially the men of theVHF teams with whom I served at both the 223rd (Gibralter) and 224th (Galahad) Regiments. Bill Woll

In Honor of the Veterans of World War II to whom we owe our liberty and freedom.

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION OF PARTICULAR INTEREST TO VETERANS, PLEASE CLICK HERE

FOR PERSONAL SEARCHES AND INFORMATION ABOUT REUNIONS OF KOREAN WAR MILITARY UNITS, PLEASE CLICK HERE

PHOTO GALLERY

Gallery 1: Seoul, Korea. September, 1953

Gallery 2: 224th Regimental Hq and Hq Co., 40th Infantry Division, July, 1953

Gallery 3: Ch'orwon Valley VHF Relay Station and Scenery, 1953

Gallery 4: 223rd Regimental Hq and Hq Co., 40th Infantry Division, April/May, 1953

This award was presented by the AMERICAN WAR LIBRARY in April, 1997.

Please click on the medallion to learn more about this dedicated organization.

PLEASE E-MAILUS WITH ANY COMMENTS, QUESTIONS OR SUGGESTIONS.

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