Tag: Korean War

Here is an update on the search for American Korean War POWs taken to the Soviet Union:

Pentagon officials leading efforts to recover missing American service members told their Russian counterparts in May there is no evidence that U.S. prisoners of the Korean War were brought into the Soviet Union, dismissing intelligence reports and eyewitness testimony compiled over the last two decades.

American officials made the claim during a May meeting of the U.S.-Russia Joint Commission on POW/MIAs, and experts say it could undermine the Defense Department’s efforts to recover further information about the more than 7,800 military personnel still unaccounted for from the Korean War of the 1950s.

Michael Linnington, who until recently directed the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, or DPAA, told Russian officials participating in the forum that the Pentagon has “no evidence” that missing troops ended up in the Soviet Union by way of China.

Linnington’s comments angered experts who say the move will signal to the Russians that the U.S. government is no longer interested in pursuing a lead that it has chased for decades.  [Free Beacon]

You can read more at the link, but there has been pretty convincing evidence shown over the years that Korean War POWs were taken to the Soviet Union for intelligence gathering of American aircraft technology.  The book American Trophies provides a detailed look at the evidence of these POWs being taken to the Soviet Union that is discussed in the rest of the article.

Facing the U.N. Memorial Cemetery in Busan that honors U.N. troops killed in the 1950-53 Korean War, crew members of the South Korean Navy’s destroyer Wanggeon observe a minute of silence at a naval base in the port city on Nov. 11, 2016, in this photo provided by the Republic of Korea Fleet Command. Organized by the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs, the Turn Toward Busan ceremony was simultaneously held in 21 other countries that fought for the South Korean side against invading North Korea under the U.N. flag in the three-year conflict. (Yonhap)

Welcome home Corporal Minard:

Wayne Minard knew at an early age that he wanted to be a soldier.

He joined the Army when he was 17 after persuading his mother to sign his enlistment papers. His family thought he would go on to build a lifelong career in the military.

But his career as a corporal in North Korea lasted only two years.

Minard was reported missing in action on Nov. 26, 1950, the day after Chinese communist troops attacked United Nations forces and allies near the Ch’ongch’on River in North Korea, according to the Pentagon.

Minard’s unit was later ordered to withdraw. The farm boy from rural Kansas, then 19, was never seen or heard from again.

He was taken to a prison camp and starved, Bruce Stubbs, Minard’s great-nephew, told The Washington Post.

On Feb. 16, 1951, Army Cpl. Wayne Minard died, according to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency.

Now, after 65 years, Minard is finally coming home. His remains will arrive in Wichita on Wednesday.

Minard’s loved ones had always thought he would never be found, his great-nephew said.

But the family saw a sliver of hope in spring 2005, when an Army recovery team learned of a North Korea burial site that contained the remains of an American soldier. Scientists had obtained DNA samples from two of Minard’s sisters, according to the Pentagon. It would take another 11 years for his remains to be positively identified.

The Pentagon released a statement in September saying that Minard was finally accounted for.

DNA tests also showed that 32 other people, including two soldiers from Minard’s unit, had been buried in that site, Stubbs said.  [Washington Post]

You can read more at the link.

For those with an interest in the Korean War, PBS is showing a high anticipated documentary about the Battle of the Chosin Reservoir tonight:

On November 1st, the PBS documentary series American Experience premieres a powerful documentary called The Battle of Chosin, one of the most important and least known battles in U.S. military history. The program will air from 9-11pm ET in most cities but, as always with PBS, check your local listings and will be available to stream from the PBS apps and website. We’ve got a video clip from the program below. [Under the Radar]

You can read more at the link.

U.S. Forces Korea Commander Gen. Vincent Brooks (C) offers flower at a memorial ceremony for Australian soldiers who were killed in action during the 1950-53 war during a memorial ceremony at Taepung Observatory in the South Korean border town of Yeoncheon, on Oct. 26, 2016. Australia and 15 other nations fought for South Korea against invading North Korea under the U.N. flag during the war. (Yonhap)

South Korean honor guard carrying the portrait of the late French Korean War veteran Andre Belaval and a box containing his ashes enter Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, on Oct. 24, 2016, followed by his bereaved family members. Belaval, who took part in the 1950-53 Korean War, died at 87 in July 2015 and left a will expressing wish to be buried in South Korea. Soldiers from France and 15 other nations fought for South Korea against invading North Korea under the U.N. flag during the war. (Yonhap)

A Hero of the Korean War, French General Ralph Monclar will be remembered during a ceremony today in Seoul:

A publication ceremony for a book featuring photos of the legendary French Gen. Ralph Monclar will be held at 2 p.m. today at the Soorim Arts Center in Dongdaemun District, central Seoul, by the Foundation for the Remembrance of the Chipyong-ni Battle (FRCB).

Raul Charles Magrin-Vernerey, who later adopted the name Ralph Monclar, was a French soldier with over 30 years of service in the armed forces.

In order to lead his soldiers in the 1950-53 Korean War, the general famously reduced his rank from that of a three-star general to lieutenant colonel to avoid a disruption in the chain of command.

The book features some 30 photos of Monclar and his personal items as well as stories on the bravery of the French battalion Monclar had commanded at the height of the war.

FRCB was founded by veteran lawyer Kim Soung-soo, 73, in 2009 to promote a campaign to raise public awareness of the contribution made by Gen. Monclar during the war.   [Joong Ang Ilbo]

Further Reading:

https://www.rokdrop.net/2006/12/heroes-of-the-korean-war-ltc-ralph-monclar/

If the Japanese made such a film that gloats about marching into Seoul I am willing to bet the reaction from South Korea would be much different.  However, since it is China making a film gloating about marching into Seoul I bet there will hardly be any notice:

A teaser for a patriotic film that features Chinese veterans of the Korean war has ignited controversy in China and revived debate over the country’s controversial role in the deadly conflict six decades ago.  It has also triggered calls on Chinese social media to boycott My War, by Hong Kong director Oxide Pang and due to premiere on Thursday, as some internet users said the film treated poorly historical facts of the war that killed hundreds of thousands of soldiers from China and more from the two Koreas, which remain divided and hostile to each other.

The two-minute teaser shows a group of elderly Chinese tourists on a bus in Seoul as a young Korean tour guide welcomes them on their first trip to South Korea’s capital city.

An old lady interrupts, telling the guide they had visited before in the past.

“Lady, we came here before, about 60 years ago,” an old man says.

“We held the Chinese flag and came here,” another man explains.

The tour guide, wearing traditional Korean dress, looks puzzled, asking how they would hold the Chinese flag in Seoul.

The tourists tell the guide she will realise how they did so after she sees My War.

“Resist US aggression and aid Korea, protect our home and defend our country,” the tourists chant at the end of the teaser.

The slogan is widely used in Communist propaganda to describe China’s role in coming to North Korea’s aid in 1950, resulting in the deaths of between 149,000 and 400,000 Chinese soldiers.  [South China Morning Post via a reader tip]

You can read the rest at the link, but if someone made that such comments to me I would have responded if they brought their Chinese flag back with him when they ran with their tails between their legs out of the city from the United Nations forces?

Anyway here is a Youtube clip of the movie’s controversial promotion video:

A tank with the North Korean flag and soldiers in North Korean uniforms cross the Nakdong River during a re-enactment of a crucial battle of the 1950-53 Korean War along the river in Chilgok, about 280 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on Sept. 22, 2016. The event is designed to mark the victory which historians say decisively turned the tide of the conflict in favor of the U.N. forces fighting for South Korea. (Yonhap)

South Korean National Assembly Speaker Chung Se-kyun (front row, 2nd from R) pays tribute at the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 12, 2016, during his visit to the United States, in this photo provided by the parliament. Chung is to hold talks with U.S. parliamentary leaders to discuss ways to cooperate amid heightened tensions caused by North Korea’s latest nuclear test. (Yonhap)