The summer of 1967 was a deadly year for U.S. troops stationed on the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in South Korea. In May a barracks building at Camp Walley was bombed, in August a work detail was ambushed, and Camp Liberty Bell were attacked. These attacks were part of a North Korean campaign against the U.S. military presence in South Korea called the “DMZ War“.
Before and after the August 28, 1967 attack on Camp Liberty Bell, North Korean commandoes secretly emplaced mines on roads used by U.S. troops along the DMZ. The mines used are called box mines and is the same type of crudely constructed mine that maimed two ROK soldiers back in 2015.
The first U.S. soldier killed by one of these mines in August 1967 was Specialist Billy J. Cook from the 2nd Infantry Division. The Jeep he was traveling in on August 22, 1967 was destroyed by a mine killing him and wounding one other soldier. Cook was originally from Virginia and left behind a wife who was living in Indiana at the time.
One week later and one day after the Camp Liberty Bell attack, three more U.S. soldiers were killed on August 29, 1967 by another landmine attack. A group of 2nd Infantry Division soldiers were traveling in three trucks, 2 kilometers south of the DMZ, when at approximately 6:30 PM two of the trucks hit landmines. The explosions killed Sergeant Phillip M. Corp, Private First Class Edgar W. McKee Jr., and Private First Class Paul G. Lund. Two other U.S. soldiers were wounded by the explosions. Three more soldiers from the Medical Evacuation vehicle sent in response were wounded as well when they hit a land mine.
These landmine attacks were just one of hundreds of attacks against U.S. and ROK forces between 1963 – 1969. North Korea was attempting to launch an insurgency within South Korea during a timeframe that the U.S. military was bogged down in Vietnam. The U.S. and ROK military’s ultimate success at defeating these attacks caused North Korea’s strategy to fail and popular support for the ROK government to grow within South Korea. Unfortunately the three U.S. soldiers killed by these landmines would not live see this.
———————————————————————————————-
Please click the link below for more DMZ Flashpoints articles:
1969 began as a particularly deadly year for U.S. troops in South Korea. In January an EC-121 intelligence gathering plane was shot down over international airspace by a North Korean MIG jet that killed 31 American servicemembers. The deadly attack was just one of many from this time period has been called “DMZ War“. North Korea continued its DMZ War when in on October 18, 1969 it ambushed a U.S. Army truck traveling near the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) killing 4 U.S. Soldiers.
The four U.S. Soldiers from the 7th Infantry Division were traveling in a truck marked with a white flag and labeled with a sign that said “DMZ Police” when they were ambushed by a North Korean patrol with rifle fire and grenades. The North Koreans then went up to the truck and shot each soldier in the head at close range to ensure they were dead. The ambush killed Staff Sergeant James R. Grissinger, Specialist Charles E. Taylor, Specialist Jack L. Morris, and Private First Class William E. Grimes.
Following the attack U.S. and ROK troops patrolled the area in an attempt to locate the intruders. Four North Korean commandoes were spotted and engaged by a U.S. patrol. However, the commandoes successfully escaped back across the DMZ into North Korea with no casualties. Three days later the four soldiers were remembered during a ceremony prior to their honor flight back home.
Few know or remember this period of increased North Korean attacks that killed and wounded hundreds of U.S. soldiers who served on the DMZ. The U.S. and ROK military’s success in the DMZ War had important strategic consequences that unfortunately the four 7th Infantry Division soldiers killed in the truck ambush would never live to see.
For more DMZ Flashpoints articles please click the below link:
This weekend is the 69th anniversary of the Incheon Landing Operation that turned the tide of the Korean War. It will be interesting to see who in the current Moon administration will take the time to attend any memorials to the U.S. troops that died executing the operation.
You can read more about the Incheon Landing Operation at the below link:
Some ruling party politicians in Busan are demanding an investigation into a tower that honors UN nations that fought for South Korea in the Korean War, because they think — hold your breath — it resembles Japan's rising sun flag https://t.co/LDqvJKnqCi pic.twitter.com/Q1kcGmPNnt
— Sam Kim 김혜성 (@samkimasia) August 12, 2019
This is good news for the families of Korean War veterans that were missing in action. Some of them may be notified this week that their family member has been identified:
Defense Department officials have identified 25 more missing servicemembers from the cases of remains turned over by North Korean officials last year, a major advance for dozens of families who have waited decades for closure in the deaths of their loved ones.
The identifications were first announced by Vice President Mike Pence on Thursday afternoon and later confirmed by officials at the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency during their annual briefing to families of the Korean War, held in Washington D.C.
On Friday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called the news “A promise kept from the agreement between (North Korean) Chairman Kim (Jong Un) and President Donald Trump … to return all of our fallen heroes.”
DPAA officials said specific identifications will be made public in coming weeks, after family members have received formal notification from the individual services. Most of the service members identified are from the Army.Defense Department officials have identified 25 more missing servicemembers from the cases of remains turned over by North Korean officials last year, a major advance for dozens of families who have waited decades for closure in the deaths of their loved ones.
The identifications were first announced by Vice President Mike Pence on Thursday afternoon and later confirmed by officials at the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency during their annual briefing to families of the Korean War, held in Washington D.C.
On Friday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called the news “A promise kept from the agreement between (North Korean) Chairman Kim (Jong Un) and President Donald Trump … to return all of our fallen heroes.”
Military Times
You can read more at the link.
