For those that enjoy reading Korean War history, below I have consolidated the links to my on going series of Heroes of the Korean War. The Korean War is filled with many great heroes, but due to little public interest in the war, the stories of their heroics has largely gone unnoticed. Here at the ROK Drop the leadership, bravery, and sacrifices of the brave servicemembers who fought in the Korean War does not go unnoticed. I hope through my on going series to educate my readers about these heroes especially the foreign soldiers that you hear nothing about, that served so bravely during the Korean War.
I have organized the list by year and have noted the country, the unit the hero served with, and which battle the hero was most notably fought in. Some heroes fought in multiple battles of note, but for purposes of this list I noted the battle their participation was most recognized for. So take a few moments and read the stories, if you haven’t already, of these brave men who served so notably during the Korean War. Finally if you have any recommendations for future additions to my on going list of Heroes of the Korean War feel free to add the suggestion in the comments section. Thanks.
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
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 Russell Blaisdell (USA), Chaplain US Air Force, Operation Kiddy Car Airlift
1951:
Colonel Paul Freeman (USA), Commander 23rd Infantry Regiment at the Battle of Chipyong-ni
Lieutenant Colonel Ralph Monclar (France), Commander French Battalion, 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
1952:
Brigadier General Haydon Boatner (USA), Commander Geoje POW Camp
1953:
Lieutenant Colonel George Koumanakos (Greece), Commander Sparta Battalion, Batle of Outpost Harry
Post-Korean War:
Lieutenant Commander Lloyd Bucher (USA), Commander USS Pueblo, USS Pueblo Incident
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4:50 am on March 20th, 2008 1
Captain Herman G. Felhoelter (USA) - Catholic Chaplain with 19th Infantry Regiment.
7:31 am on March 20th, 2008 2
Phil thanks for the recommendation. I will have to read up on him. Thanks.
12:58 pm on March 20th, 2008 3
GI, I love these pieces. Please keep up the great work.
How about breaking with tradition and doing one on Col Francis Gabreski, USAF? He was a WWII US Army Air Force P-47 Ace and Korean War F-86 ace as well as commander of the 51 Fighter Interceptor Wing (now known as the 51 Fighter Wing of Osan AB).
1:21 pm on March 20th, 2008 4
Thanks Dave you have given me another homework assignment to look up Colonel Gabreski. You are right I should do a posting on Air Force hero considering I have already done so many on ground pounders.
11:22 am on March 21st, 2008 5
GI,
How about story about Korean-American hero COL Young Oak Kim who was a major during Korean War as Infantry Battalion Commander. (First Asian to achieve that position.)
5:11 pm on March 21st, 2008 6
CPT Kim, great suggestion. I have heard of him before but I haven’t read up on him. I will definitely check him out.
3:40 am on March 22nd, 2008 7
GI,
If you can read Hangul, COL Kim’s biography just got published in Korea. “YoungUk (Hero): Kim Young Oak” ISBN 9788989675525 http://www.ypbooks.co.kr/ypbooks/WebHome/specdm/specdm.jsp?p_isbn=1994300088
I have not seen any English translation on this book yet.
10:24 am on April 1st, 2008 8
8:47 pm on April 28th, 2008 9
GI,
Some other aviators of note are Ensign Jesse L. Brown, USN, VF-32 F4U Corsair pilot lost at Chosin Reservoir on 04 December 1950.
http://www.answers.com/topic/jesse-leroy-brown
http://www.homeofheroes.com/brotherhood/hudner.html
Also interesting is USAF Maj Dean Hess and the Bout I detachment, who trained up ROKAF pilots in the F-51 Mustang, and later Maj Hess helped get Korean orphans to safety at Cheju Do. There was a movie titled “Battle Hymn” about his wartime experience.
http://kalaniosullivan.com/KunsanAB/ROKAF/Howitwasa1b1a.html
5:51 am on April 29th, 2008 10
Pops, great suggestions and I appreciate the links. I will definitely check them out. Thanks.
10:34 am on May 19th, 2008 11
GI,
I just bought a book on COL Kim’s biography “YoungWoong (hero) Kim Youngoak”. ISBN 89-89675-52-9. It is listed as 18,000 won but it costed me $32 in Korea Town book store in DC area. The author is Korean-American writer, Woosung Han.
BTW, it is written in Hangul. At this time there is no English version of this book. I might ask Japanese American Veteran group to see if they can publish this book in English. Here is publisher’s website.
http://www.bookstory.biz/779
10:43 am on May 19th, 2008 12
CPT Kim thanks. I definitely plan on writing something up on him. I have COL Kim added to my que of Korean War heroes I plan on writing about. It is just a matter of having the time available to research and write the postings.
9:35 am on June 25th, 2008 13
[...] is the 58th anniversary of the start of the Korean War that began on June 25, 1950 when North Korean tanks rolled across the 38th parallel and started the [...]
7:20 am on July 5th, 2008 14
[...] the soldiers of Taskforce Smith. I highly recommend everyone read my prior posting on one of the Heroes of the Korean War, Lieutenant Colonel Charles B. Smith that shows the heroism these soldiers displayed despite much [...]