By Via a reader submission come these 50 year old pictures of the Taskforce Smith Memorial just outside of Osan:
Lt. Monte Shriver viewing the Task Force Smith Memorial Tower
Hoochmates at the Task Force Smith Memorial
Sign describing the events around the encounter between the Smith Task Force and the NK. Notice no reference to the UN Command which is as it should be for this battle.
You can see what the Taskforce Smith Memorial looks like today here.
Monte’s point about the original memorial describing this as a US action is important considering the amount of historical revisionism going in Korea in regards to the Korean War. The memorial today calls this a UN action though no UN force had even been authorized when this battle happened. In my opinon someone made a deliberate decision to minimalize what the US forces that battled and gave their lives here did.
You can read about the heroism of these soldiers in my prior posting about this battle here.
By the way if you have any old or historic pictures of Korea you would like to share feel free to send them in to me or post them over at the ROK Drop Forums.
6:57 pm on October 7th, 2009 1
Aside from the disaster that it turned out to be, with the US having nothing that could stop a T34 tank in the ranks of the infantry. I can only wonder if they had the time to deploy the 105s in front with appropriate camoflage and cover, what would be the result have been if they were used as anti tank weapons.
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8:29 am on October 15th, 2009 2
A Battery had only 6 rounds of HEAT ammo with task force smith and delta six [LT COL Perry] did employ one 105mm how along the roadway near the battery position as a anti tank weapon.This weapon did knock out a tank but the next tank ran over the trails and disabled the weapon.They were 36 T 34 in the spearhead in the assalt force north of Osan on the 5 July 1950.Short of every thing except body and blood.Lost 150 men KIA MIA POW out of 540 in TFS
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