Category: Korean War

Here is one of the best good news stories from the Korean War when Chaplain Russell Blaisdell and Staff Sergeant Mike Strang helped to organized a large airlift of orphans to Jeju:

Chaplain (Lt. Col.) Russell Blaisdell, left, and Staff Sgt. Merle “Mike” Strang in an undated photo. (U.S. Air Force)

U.S. Air Force chaplains at two sites in South Korea recently marked the 75th anniversary of a humanitarian airlift that saved hundreds of children at a critical moment in the Korean War. Operation Kiddy Car began Dec. 20, 1950, as Chinese and North Korean forces advanced toward Seoul, forcing United Nations troops to withdraw, leaving hundreds of orphaned children without a safe way out of the city.

Nearly 1,000 children were flown to safety at Jeju Island aboard 16 Air Force transport planes thanks to the operation organized and led by Chaplain (Lt. Col.) Russell Blaisdell, according to the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force website. Ceremonies at Osan Air Base on Dec. 17 and at South Korea’s Gwangju ChoonHyun Babies Home Memorial on Thursday recognized the operation’s historical significance and the Air Force’s humanitarian role. In a short speech at Gwangju, Kyung-Ae Lim provided a personal perspective, shifting focus from official history to a child affected by the war.

“My name is Kyung-Ae Lim, and I stand before you as one who was once a Korean War orphan,” Lim said in the frigid air at the Gwangju memorial. Lim was 10 years old when Blaisdell helped her evacuate, an experience she said changed her life. Lim spoke for about five minutes next to a statue of Blaisdell. “We were transferred by U.S. C-54 cargo planes to Jeju Island,” Lim said. “Even now, 75 years later, the memories of those days remain vivid in my heart.” The Skymaster aircraft eventually carried about 955 children and several dozen caregivers to Jeju Island, in what historians consider a rare example of a chaplain-led humanitarian evacuation during active combat.

Blaisdell “saved many orphans from near certain death by collecting them from the streets” with the help of Staff Sgt. Merle “Mike” Strang and Korean social workers, according to the museum. Blaisdell found shelter and medical care for the children, while he and Lt. Col. Dean Hess arranged contributions of food, money and clothing.

Lim said that after arriving on Jeju, the children were sheltered by U.S. and Korean caretakers, and that Blaisdell remained a constant presence during a time marked by fear, displacement and uncertainty. “We may be from different countries, but I sincerely thank Chaplain Blaisdell for taking care of us with God’s love,” Lim said. “I sincerely thank Chaplain Blaisdell for giving me a second chance at life.” 

Stars and Stripes

You can read more at the link or check out my prior posting about Chaplain Blaisdell that is part of my Heroes of the Korean War series below:

Heroes of the Korean War: Chaplain Russell Blaisdell

This is an interesting story from the Korean War I had not heard about before that may lead to the awarding of a Medal of Honor:

A 100-year-old Korean War veteran involved in a secretive dogfight with seven Russian fighter planes more than 70 years ago would be eligible for the Medal of Honor upon the passage of a new defense spending bill expected to be voted on later this week. The National Defense Authorization Act for 2026, finalized on Sunday, includes legislation that removes a five-year statute of limitations rule so that Royce Williams, whose exploits as a Navy pilot are now part of military lore, can be considered for the nation’s highest award for courage under fire.

On Nov. 18, 1952, Williams was piloting an F9F-5 Panther when he encountered seven Soviet MiG-15s. Williams, a lieutenant at the time, shot down four of the fighters and survived a 37-millimeter round to his fuselage. Though his plane was badly damaged, he managed to make a safe landing on the deck of the USS Oriskany aircraft carrier off the North Korean coast.

After the mission, he was directed to keep silent about the high stakes dogfight that pitted him against Soviet aviators at the peak of the Cold War.  “In the moment I was a fighter pilot doing my job … I was only shooting what I had,” Williams said in an earlier Navy account of the dogfight. “They had me cold on maneuverability and acceleration — the MiG was vastly superior on those counts to the F9F. The only thing I could do was out-turn them.” Williams battled the Russian pilots for 35 minutes, making the encounter the longest dogfight in U.S. military history, according to the Navy.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

This is a pretty cool family legacy to have. Congratulations to LTC MacKnyght or her recent retirement:

The great-granddaughter of U.S. Army Gen. Matthew Ridgway recently visited South Korea to see the place where United Nations troops waged a desperate fight to finally halt a Chinese counteroffensive nearly 75 years ago. Julie MacKnyght, a retired Army lieutenant colonel, toured Chipyong-ni, where U.S. and French troops under the United Nations Command held off waves of Chinese attacks Feb. 13-15, 1951.

Her great-grandfather, at the time commander of Eighth Army, ordered the U.S. 23rd Regimental Combat Team, along with the French, to hold the vital crossroads village and halt the Chinese army advance. U.N. troops, surrounded and outnumbered five to one, held on for three days, according to a U.S. Army account of the fight. “It’s been amazing to be able to come here,” MacKnyght said Tuesday during a tour of the Chipyong-ni battle memorial about 40 miles east of Seoul. “I’ve been fascinated by my great-grandfather since I was a little girl. So, it’s really cool to see firsthand his impacts here in Korea.”

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

This week is the 75th anniversary of the Incheon Landing Operation that turned the tide of the Korean War.  With the Lee administration trying to play nice with North Korea, it will be interesting to see how visibly ROK government officials will attend official events commemorating the Incheon Landing.

You can read more about the Incheon Landing Operation at my prior postings at the below links:

The Inchon Landing: Operation Chromite

For anyone visiting Incheon the memorial hall there dedicated to the landing is well worth checking out as well: 

Places in Korea: The Incheon Landing Operation Memorial Hall

Long time ROK Heads may remember how in 2005 huge riots broke out in Incheon as ROK veterans groups defended the MacArthur statue in Incheon commemorating Operation Chromite from the anti-US groups that had vowed to tear it down.

Fortunately the anti-US groups failed to tear down the statue after their Braveheart style attack was foiled by police and pro-US groups.  For those that haven’t been there before Jayu Park in Incheon where the MacArthur statue stands is well worth checking out as well as taking a walk through Chinatown below the hill. Hopefully you don’t run into any anti-US leftists this week if visiting the park.

This is a great idea to help people learn more about the Battle of the Imjim when visiting the battle site:

British Korea War Memorial Committee co-chair Andrew Salmon talks about the Battle of Imjin River during a press conference at the British Embassy in Seoul, South Korea, July 25, 2025. (David Choi/Stars and Stripes)

British expatriates commemorating the United Kingdom’s role in the Korean War have launched a video walking tour marking their country’s bloodiest battle since World War II. The Seoul-based nonprofit British Korea War Memorial Committee unveiled the video series, “Stand in the Bootprints of Heroes: Battle of Imjin River,” on Friday.

The series recounts how a British brigade held off the largest Chinese assault of the war, beginning April 22, 1951. Visitors to the battlefield in Paju, about 25 miles north of the capital, can scan QR codes on 11 signs to access English-language YouTube videos, which include Korean subtitles.

The $22,000 project was funded by private companies and Dulwich College, committee treasurer Daniel Fertig said during a press conference at the British Embassy in Seoul. The digital memorial is a passionate tribute for Korean War veterans and a way “to keep their stories alive,” British Ambassador to South Korea Colin Crooks told reporters.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link, but one of the people leading this effort is the author Andrew Salmon who wrote a great book about the Battle of the Imjim titled, To the Last Round which is worth reading. I also recommend reading my prior Heroes of the Korean War article about the commander of the Gloucestershire Battalion, Lieutenant Colonel James Carne who fought in the Battle of the Imjim.

Today, we honor those who gave their lives during the Korean War. The signing of the Armistice, marked not only the end of active hostilities but also the beginning of a steadfast commitment to peace and security on the Korean Peninsula. pic.twitter.com/lyPBxfj4M4

— United Nations Command 유엔군사령부/유엔사 (@UN_Command) July 27, 2025

This week is the 75th anniversary of the beginning of the Korean War. In honor of this milestone I recommend that ROK Heads spend some time reading about some of the great military personnel that proved themselves as true Heroes of the Korean War.

1950:
Lieutenant Colonel Charles B. Smith (USA), Commander 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, Taskforce Smith Battle

Major General William Dean (USA), Commander 24th Infantry Division, Battle of Taejon

Corporal Mitchell Red Cloud Jr. (USA), Squad Leader 2-19 Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division, Battle of the Chongchon River

Captain Charles M. Bussey (USA), Commander 77th Engineer Combat Company, Firefight at Yechon

General Tahsin Yazici (Turkey), Commander 1st Turkish Brigade, Battle of Kunu-ri

Ensign Jesse L. Brown (USA), US Navy 32nd Fighter Squadron, Chosin Reservoir

Lieutenant Colonel William W. Harris (USA), Commander 65th Infantry Regiment, Chosin Reservoir

Lieutenant Colonel Russell Blaisdell (USA), Chaplain US Air Force, Operation Kiddy Car Airlift

1951:

Captain Lewis L. Millett (USA), Commander E Co. 27th Infantry Regiment, Battle of Bayonet Hill.

Colonel Paul Freeman (USA), Commander 23rd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division, Battle of Chipyong-ni

Lieutenant Colonel Ralph Monclar (France), Commander French Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division, Battle of Chipyong-ni

Lieutenant Colonel James P. Carne (UK), Commander Gloucestershire Battalion, Battle of the Imjim

Lieutenant Colonel J.R. Stone (Canada), Commander Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, Battle of the Kapyong

Lieutenant Colonel Dionisio Ojeda (Philippines), Commander Philippines Expeditionary Force To Korea (PEFTOK), Battle of the Yultong

First Sergeant Benjamin Wilson (USA), First Sergeant Company I, 3d Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division, Battle of Hell Hill

Private First Class Anthony T. Kaho’ohanohano (USA), 17th Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division, Battle of Chup’a-ri

1952:
Brigadier General Haydon Boatner (USA), Commander Geoje POW Camp

Colonel Young-oak Kim (USA), Commander 1-31 Infantry Regiment, First Asian-American Battalion Commander

1953:
Lieutenant Colonel George Koumanakos (Greece), Commander Greek Battalion, Battle of Outpost Harry

Post-Korean War:

Lieutenant General Subayya Kadenera Thimayya (India), Commander of the Neutral Nations Repatriation Commission (NNRC), Operation Big Switch

It is pretty surprising that the ROK government is not providing children drafted to fight in the ROK Army during the Korean War the same benefits of normal veterans:

Park Tae-seung, 92, vividly remembers the day he was conscripted into the South Korean military to fight against North Koreans. It was near the end of August 1950, only three months after the 1950-53 Korean War began. He was 17.

“Age didn’t really matter — if we were physically big enough, then the country deemed us sufficient to enter the war,” Park, who now lives in the quiet city of Yeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, told The Korea Herald on Wednesday.

“I saw so many of us — both allies and enemies — fighting in the war and getting killed. It still haunts me to this day how I had to leave behind my friends on the battlefield just to survive,” he added.

Park is one of the 29,603 soldiers aged 17 and under who were conscripted for the Korean War, according to data provided by the Institute for Military History under the Defense Ministry in 2011. Among them, 2,573 were killed in the war.

Korea Herald

Here is the rights these child soldier veterans are fighting for:

Under the current law, former child soldiers are recognized as war veterans but not as registered patriots. Registered patriots receive bigger rewards and better health benefits compared to those classified as war veterans. Bereaved families of registered patriots can also continue receiving similar benefits after his or her death. Families of war veterans cannot.

A bill to amend the Act on Honorable Treatment of War Veterans and Establishment of Related Associations, aiming to establish a compensation and support system for child soldiers, has been repeatedly drafted, yet scrapped at the National Assembly throughout the past decade. It has never been prioritized, according to attorney Ha Kyoung-hwan, who has worked closely with the survivors of the forgotten group since 2014.

You can read more at the link.

UNC members recently joined in honoring the #Commonwealth forces who stood firm at the #Battle_of_Kapyong in 1951. Their courage helped defend freedom on the Korean Peninsula and laid the foundation for lasting peace. #LestWeForget #KoreanWar pic.twitter.com/QqZjOzCID9

— United Nations Command 유엔군사령부/유엔사 (@UN_Command) April 29, 2025

This is cool that the 2ID commander was able to honor his great uncle that was killed during the Korean War:

U.S. and South Korean troops joined family members of 1st Lt. Thomas A. Lombardo this month to rededicate the athletic field at Camp Casey that honors the fallen Korean War hero. Lombardo, commander of I Company, 3rd Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division, was killed in action on Sept. 24, 1950, during a mission near Ch’ogye, shortly after the North Korean retreat that followed the Pusan Perimeter breakout.

Among the family members attending the ceremony on April 8 at Lombardo Field were the lieutenant’s daughter, Joanne Showman; son, Thomas Lombardo III; and grandnephew, Maj. Gen. Charles Lombardo, the current commander of the 2nd Infantry Division. The general, a St. Louis native like his great uncle, described the lieutenant as a leader committed to serving on the front lines. “He could’ve stayed up in a division staff — he fought so hard to get down,” he said in remarks provided Wednesday by division spokesman Sgt. Alexander Knight. “He wanted to be with soldiers, lead from the front, and didn’t want to be in the staff.”

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.