By In my prior posting I discussed the battlefield heroics of the soldiers of Taskforce Smith. Just north of Suwon you can see the site of their battlefield heroics for yourself. On the hill the Taskforce Smith soldiers garrisoned back on July 5, 1950 a large memorial constructed by the Korean government stands to commemorate the battle that introduced the first US soldiers to combat in Korea.
The front of the memorial is lined with the flags of all the United Nations countries that provided troops during the Korean War:
Something I have seen quite often at memorials commemorating a US action during the Korean War is that they are called UN actions instead of American actions:
Yes, technically the Korean War was a UN action, but Taskforce Smith just like the bulk of the UN fighting in Korea was handled by American soldiers. If you look at tourist brochures or signs in Osan the memorial is also labeled a UN site as well. Click on the image below to enlarge it and take a look for yourself:
It may seem like a trivial point, but why then are memorials to battles during the Korean War by the ROK Army not called a UN memorial site as well? Call me paranoid, but it seems like just another subtle way to down play the involvement of the US military during the Korean War, which I have seem plenty of in Korea.
Anyway the statue on the memorial like most memorial statues in Korea is quite good:
Koreans for whatever reason really excel at making some really good, detailed memorial statues. After checking out the memorial you can actually follow a trail and walk up the hill behind the statue and see what the terrain was like that the soldiers of Taskforce Smith found themselves on that fateful day 57 years ago:
Before entering the tree line make sure you take a look back towards the road:
Across the street you can see the adjacent hill that also garrisoned soldiers of Taskforce Smith. Along the side of the hill you can see another memorial marker:
This memorial marker commemorates the first UN soldier killed in the Korean War. The soldier’s name was PVT Kenneth Shadrick, 20, of Wyoming, WV who died by machine gun fire along the side of the road engaging a North Korean tank with a bazooka. The monument was across the street thus I would be risking my life trying to get over there with the speeding traffic on the highway that runs between the two hills. A pedestrian overpass would be a most addition here.
As you enter into the woods you can see very little due to thick underbrush:
Along the way though you can still make out old bunkers that were garrisoned by soldiers during the Korean War:
Additionally some of the old trench lines that run on the hillside are still maintained for use by the ROK Army today:
Due to the thick underbrush there is no view from the top of the hill. However, during the Korean War the soldiers of Taskforce Smith would have had a commanding view of the northern farming plain in front of them. Here is the best view I could get which on the mid-slope of the hill of the view towards the north:
There are still some rice paddies, but most of the plain to the north has now been covered over with buildings. However, during the Korean War the soldiers of Taskforce Smith would have been able to see the North Korean army coming from quite some distance. I can’t help but wonder what those guys must have been thinking seeing thousands of North Korean soldiers advancing with tanks leading the way coming right for their one single battalion.
The memorial can be found on the side of the northbound lane of Highway 1 between Osan and Suwon. You cannot reach the memorial from the southbound lane, you must take the northbound lane. The site is not marked in English and the best landmark to spot it is to use the KTX tracks. When you pass underneath the KTX tracks you will start climbing up the hill and then keep a sharp look out for the memorial and the parking lot to your right. Make sure you don’t miss it because like I said you cannot reach it from the southbound lane which means you would have to turn around twice to reach the memorial. This is not an easy thing to do on Highway 1.
10:45 am on July 7th, 2007 1
Yes I thought I was imagining this fact too but now I see its true everywhere….at the War Museum everything about the Korean war was a UN action unless they were writing about the ROK forces.
I went to the Museum a few years ago when it first opened and the battles were clearly marked at a American action
The Koreans are really beginning to make me sick
If you go to the navy ship museum west of Pyeontaek all the writings in English refer to the Korean war actions as UN actions then they show American pictures and stuff…
In all if you really read this stuff the ROK forces held off the NKs with the help of UN forces led by: Turkey, Ethopia, Canada, Scotland and yes with some help of the Americans.
On the Memorials across the road, I think the Americans should fund the overpass….I mean the UN forces should fund the overpass…just a thought
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4:58 pm on July 7th, 2007 2
Today I made it out to the Memorial. I didnt realize its about 20 years old…but anyway I thought it was pretty cool…had a little restaurant right next to it too that helped out with lunch.
The memorial across the street was not too hard to get to. It had a crosswalk light and I almost felt guilty holding up a zillion cars just for me.
Once I make it across the road I was confronted by a really deep ditch…after scaling the ditch and climbing up a side of a hill…here it was the other memorial…I read differently then what his here on this site so I guess maybe its the Korean plaque your quoting but what it really read was something about the 406 bn operating at this site and that it was up kept by the KSC
I think the site is in danger though because it appears they are about to build something right behind the hill and part of the hill is being dismantled
I guess this site is not too important to the current generation of Koreans.
There is another Korean war site just south about a couple of miles that I mistaken as the Task Force Smith memorial…check it out if you can but its not visible form the road…it just has a quick sign
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7:25 pm on July 7th, 2007 3
A little 6 dgrees of seperation…
A retired expat named “Mojo” runs Mojo’s Bar (go figure) in the TDC / Dongduchon ville outside of Camp Casey.
On the wall in his bar is a Certificate of Appreciation for his father, CPL Boeck. Signed by LTC Smith. Backdated to July 5, 1950. Place of duty: near Osan, Korea.
So today you can get a Silver Star for remotely piloting a UAV from CONUS…but back then if you were a rifleman in a line company that survived the TF Smith meeting engagement at Suwon you got a Certificate of Appreciation…
CPL Boeck went on to serve in Vietnam. He retired in 1979 as a MSG. He is buried in the military cemetary at Fort Benning.
Make an excuse to visit TDC/DDC and drop in to Mojo’s Bar. You will not be disappointed.
God Bless America!
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8:23 pm on July 7th, 2007 4
Rommel,
Thanks for the tip. Definitely the next time I am up there at TDC I definitely have to make a visit to Mojo’s to see this certificate. You make some really good points as well.
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6:30 am on July 8th, 2007 5
I need no excuses to visit Mojo’s Bar
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5:51 am on November 24th, 2007 6
[...] Next Posting: The Taskforce Memorial Site Today [...]
1:10 pm on October 23rd, 2008 7
“A pedestrian overpass would be a most addition here.”
I think you dropped a word in the sentence. Can you figure it out?
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10:14 pm on September 18th, 2009 8
I have pictures of the site I took in 1958. It mentions only the American soldiers as being in the action. See the osan rao site for the pictures.
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September 19th, 2009 at 1:03 pm
I will be glad to forward the 1958 pictures to you for the ROK Drop site if you can give me an address
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5:13 pm on September 19th, 2009 9
Monte, you can find my e-mail address here:
http://rokdrop.com/about/
Or you can upload the pictures yourself on to the site over at the ROK Drop Forums:
http://rokdrop.com/forums/
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6:43 pm on September 23rd, 2009 10
This sight has been one the most helpfull web postings on Task Force Smith. I am a SGT in what is now a decendant of the the 52nd Field Artilary unit wich provided suport during operation Task Force Smith. My unit is 6/52 HHB AMD battalion and this is my third tour in korea since joining the Army. My research is for an upcoming NCOPD that we will be having at the memorial.
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September 23rd, 2009 at 9:07 pm
I am glad the site was of help to you and good luck with your NCOPD.
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