It is good to see that 2ID is honoring the veterans that served during the period of what has since been known as the DMZ War which few Americans or even military servicemembers know about:
Bob Haynes expected to be sent to fight in the rapidly escalating war in Vietnam like other men his age in the mid-1960s. Instead, he was assigned to the 2nd Infantry Division’s Camp Stanley, a world away from Southeast Asia’s steamy jungles.
“I looked at my orders and said, ‘Where the hell is Korea?’ ” said the McHenry, Ill., resident, now 67.
On Haynes’ first night at the Demilitarized Zone, North Korean forces launched a pre-dawn ambush on a 2ID patrol that killed six Americans and one South Korean soldier just a half-mile south of the heavily patrolled border. A seventh American was wounded.
When he learned of the skirmish, Haynes, then 19, was shocked.
“I turned to my buddy and said, ‘It’s too cold to be Vietnam here. What’s going on?’ ”
For Haynes and other 2ID soldiers, the November 1966 skirmish highlighted the ongoing danger of being stationed near the DMZ within close proximity of North Korean forces, even as the simmering conflict on the peninsula was overshadowed by the war in Vietnam.
Haynes returned along with 17 other 2ID veterans to mark the division’s 50th anniversary Wednesday. One of their first stops was a memorial at U.S. Army Garrison Yongsan that lists the 130 U.S. and South Korean troops killed in combat since the 1953 armistice, including those who died in the 1966 ambush. [Stars & Stripes]
Between 1966-1970 what became known as the “DMZ War” raged which saw soldiers stationed on the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in regular contact with North Korean infiltrators probing US military defenses as well as trying to enter the country in order to establish a communist insurgency in the South. However sometimes the infiltration by the North Koreans was for the single minded purpose of killing Americans and that is exactly what happened on May 22, 1967 at an isolated American installation on the DMZ known as Camp Walley. Camp Walley was an extremely small camp located adjacent to the north side of the Imjim River and short distance from the DMZ. The camp housed one company of infantrymen from A/1-23 Infantry Regiment. The camp was basically just a small collection of quonset huts to house the men in between their guard shifts and patrol duty along the DMZ. Here is an image of what the small camp looked like:
At dusk on May 21, 1967 a North Korean sapper unit infiltrated through the American patrolled area of the DMZ. The sapper team was carrying explosives that were intended to be used for the express purpose of bombing an American barracks. Prior infiltrations with the purpose of killing American soldiers had centered around small arms ambushes near the DMZ. This attack was going to be different and intended to send a message to the Americans that not even in their barracks away from the frontlines were they safe. The North Korean sappers infiltrated 6 kilometers behind the American lines before coming upon Camp Walley. The North Koreans were so skilled at infiltration that they were actually able to creep around the camp and look into the different buildings and determine which ones had the most people in it before blowing them up. Unfortunately for the men of 1st Platoon, A Company, 1-23 Infantry Regiment, their barracks were chosen by the North Koreans to be the one that was blown up. The saboteurs set their explosives on two different barracks and fled. At dawn the explosives went off destroying the two buildings. Here is how the May 24, 1967 edition of the Stars & Stripes reported the bombing:
This image of the barracks bombing was provided courtesy of Jim Skiff who was a lieutenant assigned to the unit:
The blast from the bombing shook the entire camp and immediately alerted everyone that the base was under attack. Some of the Alpha company’s men began to sift through the rubble to find survivors while the Company Commander Captain Duncan personally led the sweep into the surrounding countryside to find the infiltrators. Unfortunately the search team came up empty and were not able to find them; they had long since fled the scene. The bombing killed two soldiers and wounded 17 others. The soldiers killed were SP4 Carl R. Mueller from Texas and PVT Baron J. Smith from Washington State who were killed in their beds while sleeping. However, looking at the damage it is amazing that only two soldiers were killed in the bombing.
The North Korean sappers that conducted the operation were quite skilled according to Major Roger Donlon who was the first US Medal of Honor recipient in the Vietnam War who happened to be stationed on the DMZ at the time::
Maj. Roger Donlon, the first Medal of Honor recipient in the Vietnam war, poses outside his headquarters tent at the Advanced Combat Training Academy. With him is the camp’s mascot, “Lieutenant.”
WITH THE U.S. 2ND INF. DIV., Korea TV Maj. Roger Donlon looked with both bitterness and admiration at the mangled and blasted remains of what had been two large barracks.
It had been a fast, neat job of sabotage and killing this Donlon had to admit. The North Korean commando team came in after dusk and went out before dawn, May 22, 1967. They had done their work with lethal efficiency and two American soldiers were dead in a heap of shattered rubble.
“At first,” said Donlon, “you admire a professional job. Then it makes you mad.”
The death and sabotage was one of the first sights to greet Donlon when he came into the U.S. 2nd Inf. Div. in May, a major for only two months.
You could spot him as a soldier anywhere. The close-cropped blond hair, the steady blue eyes, the set and determined features, the erect posture it’s all there, to mark Donlon’s profession and trade.
But when Donlon came to Korea, he did not wear two distinctive marks of the career he chose several years ago. He left his green beret back in Vietnam when he left in 1964 as a severely-wounded casualty. And the blue, white-starred ribbon that marks him as a Medal of Honor winner is not worn on his plain, no-frills uniform. An all-business soldier, Donlon only wears his Combat Infantryman Badge.
Donlon, the first soldier to win America’s highest award in the Vietnam War, is now in Korea. But the infiltration, terrorism and sudden death Donlon knew in another land are still part of his life. As a Special Forces man, he appraised the bombing with a coldly professional eye. As an American and a soldier, he felt grief and anger.
Where once the enemy was a stealthy little man named Charlie, who wore black pajamas and fought from waist-deep paddy slime, now Donlon must deal with an expertly silent intruder named Joe. Joe breaches barbed wire and creeps over dead, winter-browned farmland to blast sleeping men and attack frontline guard posts along the 18-mile sector of the Demilitarized Zone manned by Americans.
Joe deserves a very respectful kind of enmity and Donlon knows it. But Donlon feels that Joe has a long way to go before he can match the Vietnamese farmer who turns into a death-dealing guerrilla at dusk.
“They (the North Koreans) are well trained, and no doubt they’re very professional. But they’re not as good as the Viet Cong not yet. If you look at that one incident, yes, they did a job. They’re just not as tough and smart as Charlie, though. And there’s not as many of them, thank God.” [Stars & Stripes]
The fact that the North Korean sappers received recognition from someone of Major Donlon’s stature gives a good indication of how skilled the North Korean infiltrators were at the time, especially to pull off something like this so far from the DMZ. The below tactical map shows how Camp Walley was located 6 kilometers away from the DMZ:
Really when you think about it, the fact that the North Korean infiltrators were able to cross mine fields, get through fencing, and evade hundreds of soldiers on patrol is really quite remarkable. The Google Earth image below gives an even better idea of the conditions and the type of terrain the saboteurs had to cross in order to accomplish their mission:
As Major Donlon indicated, you have to respect the enemy’s capabilities, but you can hate them for doing what they did. The bombing ended up not having the effect the North Koreans had intended. Instead of increasing fear in US troops it actually motivated them because of the cowardice of the attack. The bombing just made the soldiers serving on the DMZ more motivated to confront the North Korean threat and increased their vigilance while patrolling the DMZ. It was quite clear now that stopping infiltrations could literally mean the difference between life and death for the soldiers off duty in the rear.
Another unanticipated result of the barracks bombing was that units stationed even further in the rear then Camp Walley were ordered to conduct regular patrolling outside the camps. Units stationed at US military installations in Dongducheon and in Uijongbu were ordered to conduct regular patrols around their installations in search of North Korean infiltrators. These increased patrols created more difficulty for North Korean infiltrators to move around the countryside undetected as well as creating difficulty for spies to gather intelligence around American military installations. Instead of creating fear, the bombing simply strengthened the resolve of American units to confront the North Korean threat.
After the bombing the USFK Commander General Charles Bonesteel recognized the survivors of the attack with Purple Hearts. Here is how the May 30, 1967 edition of the Stars & Stripes reported this event:
Here is a list of the 17 soldiers presented Purple Hearts by General Bonesteel:
SSG Jose Ruiz-Rodriguez
SPC Erskine Clifford
PFC Billy Lee
PFC Arvie Cothren
PFC Clifford Butler
PFC Michael Key
PFC Raul Gallardo
PVT Danny Howarth
PVT Curtis Flewellen
PVT William Butzin
PVT Thomas Lawrence
PFC Stanley Isaac
PFC Joseph Kinchen
SSG Thomas Anderson
SPC Nathaniel Conley
PFC Thomas Rush
PVT Gerald Conley
As far as Camp Walley today, next to nothing remains of the installation:
In the above picture you can make out the remains of what could have been buildings on the side of the hill. Camp Walley and the bombing that happened there is largely forgotten by everyone except for the people that served there. The Korean War may have been known as the “Forgotten War”, but the “DMZ War” should been known as the “Really Forgotten War” since so few people know about this period in US military history. Fortunately the 2nd Infantry Division is beginning to embrace this part of the unit’s history and remembering the soldiers who served during the DMZ War. Maybe there should be a memorial of some kind to honor the victims of this cowardly bombing attack as well?
For more DMZ Flashpoints articles please click the below link:
Here is a rare method of defection from North Korea:
A North Korean soldier defected to South Korea through the inter-Korean border Monday, an official from the Ministry of National Defense said.
“A North Korean man presumed to be a serviceperson defected to our side earlier this morning,” a ministry official said, requesting anonymity.
“He crossed the border in Hwacheon, Gangwon Province, on foot, and expressed his will to defect,” he added, noting that he has been under investigation by relevant authorities.
Other details including the identity of the man and his motive are yet to be known.
Over the past several years, South Korea has seen a series of defection cases from the poverty-stricken communist neighbor. But it is not usual for North Korean soldiers to walk crossing the Military Demarcation Line to defect. [Yonhap]
You can read more at the link, but I hope this soldier did not have any immediate family because if he did they are likely heading to the gulag.
Via a reader tip comes a link to this State Department document from the minutes of the Washington Special Actions Group Meeting on August 18, 1976 after Washington policy makers became aware of the DMZ Axe Murder Incident. The document show the internal deliberations that Secretary State Henry Kissinger had with his staff, the Department of Defense, and the CIA in regards to formulating a response to the murders of two US Army officers by the North Koreans. Here is an excerpt from the document:
Secretary Kissinger: Well there are two problems as I see it. The first problem is that two American officers have been beaten to death. The second problem is to review the procedures we are following in the DMZ. Now, regarding the first issue, I agree with the CIA analysis. My impression is that it was a premeditated attack. There were some fifty other things they could have done to stop us from pruning the tree.
Now this letter Stilwell wants to send to Kim. Why should he send a letter to Kim? What standing does he have?
Mr. Habib: Well Stilwell is the Commander of the UN Forces and Kim is the Commander of the North Korean Army. Kim also signed the original peace agreement.
Secretary Kissinger: There have already been White House and State Department statements deploring these murders. Why do we now also need a Stilwell statement? Does he have the authority to make a statement?
Mr. Abramowitz: No. He needs Washington approval.
Secretary Kissinger: Well lets put that in abeyance. I have talked to the President today about this. He feels that some sort of strong action is necessary but does not know precisely what it should be. Now there are two things that come to my mind. A few weeks ago we turned off a B-52 exercise because it would be provocative to the Chinese. We might resurrect that exercise. The second possibility would be to alert all forces in Korea.
Adm. Holloway: We could go from DEFCON 4 to DEFCON 3.
Secretary Kissinger: What would that do?
Adm. Holloway: Unless we had a specific plan in mind or the North Koreans felt we had a specific plan in mind they probably would not react at all.
Secretary Kissinger: Well on that basis you could not threaten anything.
Mr. Abramowitz: Stilwell recommends that we finish pruning the tree.
Mr. Clements: I am in complete accord with that and think we should cut the God damn thing down.
Secretary Kissinger: I am in favor of that too but I don’t think we should do anything about the tree until after we do something with our forces. What is the meaning of the DEFCON alert stages?
Adm. Holloway: 5 is normal and 1 is war. Stage 2 means that war is inevitable and stage 1 is when the shooting starts.
Mrs. Colbert: If the alert were moved up to 3 how would the media and the U.S. people react to that in this campaign year.
Secretary Kissinger: That has nothing to do with it. The important thing is that they beat two Americans to death and must pay the price.
Mrs. Colbert: The North Koreans are looking for indications that they can create another Vietnam type mentality in this country. Therefore to disabuse them of this it is important to have the right kinds of expressions of support from the media and opinion makers.
Secretary Kissinger: What about resurrecting the B-52 exercise? The State Department hereby withdraws its objections to it. This is tow the best time in the world to run it.
Mr. Habib: It was a training exercise.
Mr. Abramowitz: Would it scare the Americans or the Koreans?
Mr. Gleysteen: There is another exercise planned.
Secretary Kissinger: But everybody already knows about that one.
Mr. Clements: Is it true that in the exercise we would fly the B-52s over Korea and then go back?
Adm. Holloway: Yes.
Secretary Kissinger: How long would it take?
Lt. Gen. Smith: We could get it going in 72 hours possibly less.
You can read much more at the link, but all these deliberations led to Operation Paul Bunyan where the tree was cut down backed by massive US firepower in case the North Koreans tried to retaliate. What else is interesting is that deploying B-52’s and other bombers is still something the US government does to this day to send a message to the North Koreans.
This month will be the 13 year anniversary of the 2002 West Sea Naval Battle that saw six South Korean sailors murdered by the North Koreans along the Northern Limit Line in the West Sea. What was probably the most disgraceful about this attack was how the then South Korean government did everything possible to cover up the attack to maintain the illusion of the Sunshine Policy. Even worse was that the deceased sailors were treated like they were criminals:
The father said, “My son is buried in the National Cemetery. But I’m going to take my son’s remains to my family burial site in my hometown.” Having watched the situation develop, he thought his son who was killed by North Korean soldiers was considered nothing more than a criminal.
Some parents said that they are more scared of people who consider the U.S. a bigger enemy than North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, who killed their son. We lose courage to defend the country, when we hear that a wife whose husband fell in the battle is preparing to leave this country. Reading a condolence letter from the USFK commander to mark the second anniversary, the wife said, “The Americans remember my husband and his brothers-in-arms better than Koreans… Frankly, I hate Korea.” [Chosun Ilbo]
You can read more about this attack at the below link:
However, times have changed and now with Sunshine Policy exposed for the fraud that it was the Korean movie industry is releasing a movie this month heroically depicting the ROK sailors that fought in the 2002 West Sea Battle:
The forgotten sacrifices made by young South Korean sailors during a bloody naval clash with North Korea 13 years ago will be portrayed on the silver screen in a new film funded partly by citizens.
The movie titled “Battle of Yeonpyeong,” to be released next week, is based on the naval skirmish between the two Koreas on June 29, 2002, in waters off the South Korean border island of Yeonpyeong in the Yellow Sea.
Six sailors were killed and 18 others were injured after a fierce exchange of fire, which was sparked when two North Korean patrol boats infiltrated the maritime border.
The occasion, which is known to also have caused some 30 casualties in the North, is called the Second Battle of Yeonpyeong, with the first battle taking place in 1999. “I’ve wanted to depict the ironic situation where the young sailors, who are someone’s beloved sons, fathers, and friends, were killed on one side, while others were overwhelmed by the 2002 World Cup,” Kim Hak-soon, director of the film, said Wednesday ahead of a press preview. [Korea Observer]
You can read the rest of the article at the link, but I look forward to watching this movie.
It looks like the Kim regime is intent to keep tensions high along the maritime DMZ:
North Korea is building military camps for shore batteries on a tensely guarded Yellow Sea border island, the South’s military authorities said Tuesday.
“Five bunker-shaped camps have been built on the island of Gal,” a military officer said, requesting anonymity, citing the North Korean island just above the de-facto inter-Korean western sea border of the Northern Limit Line (NLL).
“The North is expected to either deploy 122-millimeter multiple rocket launchers there or to use them as guard posts,” he said, adding the military is closely monitoring the movements there.
This file photo, dated May 28, 2009, shows a Chinese fishing vessel sailing past the island of Gal just above the de-facto inter-Korean western sea border of the Northern Limit Line in the Yellow Sea. South Korea`s military officials said on May 26, 2015. (YONHAP) (END)
The island is located just 4.5 kilometers away from South Korea’s Yeonpyeong Island, where the communist country launched an artillery attack in November 2010, killing two Marines and two civilians, and wounding more than a dozen others. [Yonhap]
Adm. Choi Yun-hee, the chairman of South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, visited the Navy’s western command headquarters on Saturday, vowing to defend the Yellow Sea border against possible provocations from North Korea.
Also on Saturday, North Korea test-fired three anti-ship missiles into the sea off its east coast in what was seen as its latest show of force against Seoul.
South Korean military officials identified the North’s anti-ship missiles KN-01 cruise missiles and said the missiles were fired off into the sea off Wonsan, a major port on the North’s east coast, in a span of one hour starting at 4:25 p.m.
The missiles with a range of 100 kilometers are believed to have been modified from Chinese Silkworm missiles, they said. [Yonhap]
You can read the rest at the link, but all though the North Koreans test fired the missiles into the East Sea in was clearly intended to send a message to the South Korean Navy operating ships along the NLL.
It appears that the North Koreans may be ramping up to justify a provocation in the Yellow Sea:
South and North Korea exchanged barbs on Friday over Pyongyang’s claims of South Korean ships’ violation of the western sea border.
In what it called “an emergency special warning,” the communist country’s Command in Southwestern Sector of Front claimed that South Korean Navy speedboats made a “military provocation” by deeply intruding into the North’s territorial waters in the Yellow Sea two or three times a day between May 1 and 7.
“From this moment, it will make a sighting strike without any prior warning at any warship of the South Korean Navy intruding into the extension of demarcation line in the hotspot (of the sea),” said the statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
North Korea also threatened to successively deal stronger blows to the South’s ships if South Korea makes counterattacks on the North, according to the KCNA.
Pyongyang does not acknowledge the border, known as the Northern Limit Line (NLL), which was drawn unilaterally by the U.S.-led United Nations Command when the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a ceasefire. The North has long demanded that the line be drawn farther south. [Yonhap]
This reminds me of people complaining about aircraft noise after they build a home near an airport:
South Korean officials say they will replace portions of a 16.4-mile stretch of barbed wire along the northeast coast with electronic surveillance equipment after residents complained the fence is ugly.
The barbed wire was meant to protect the coast against sea infiltration by countries such as North Korea, a Ministry of National Defense spokesman said Tuesday on customary condition of anonymity.
The fence will be removed in 41 areas in Gangwon province, which borders North Korea, in the first half of 2015, according to the ministry. North Korean subs were discovered along that stretch of coastline in the 1990s near the cities of Sokcho and Donghae.
The MND spokesman said officials are not concerned about reduced security because the unmanned surveillance equipment has already been tested. He would not comment on whether removing the fence would affect South Korean troop levels along the eastern coast. [Stars & Stripes]
