Tag: Korean War

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

What is notable about this report is that Kim Jong-un did not launch any criticisms towards South Korea or the U.S. signaling that Kim may not have any current animosity towards ROK President Lee Jae-myung or U.S. President Donald Trump:

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has visited the Friendship Tower in Pyongyang on the anniversary of the signing of an armistice that ended the 1950-53 Korean War, pledging not to forget the contributions of fallen Chinese soldiers, state media reported Sunday. 

Kim also appeared to refrain from criticizing South Korea or the United States, as state media made no mention of him making such remarks during the ceremony.

Kim laid a wreath before the tower the previous day, saying that North Korea “would never forget the militant feats and merits of the fallen fighters of the Chinese People’s Volunteers,” the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.

The armistice was signed on July 27, 1953, bringing the Korean War to a halt. Since 1996, North Korea has marked the date as Victory Day, claiming it won the Liberation War against U.S.-led aggression.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

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.