By This weekend is an important one in regards to the history of the Korean War, as the key battle that turned the tide against the Chinese entry into the war is recognized:
Lee Jeong–hun recalled Tuesday how, as a teenager, his family and village were terrorized by the militaries of China and North Korea early in the Korean War.
He once hid in a pasture as Chinese soldiers forced their way into his home and cooked themselves a meal. Another time, a North Korean army official ordered the young man to guide a platoon to a specific part of the town.
“I was reluctant to do it, but the commander pointed his pistol at my grandmother, so I escorted his platoon,” Lee said.
It was 60 years ago this week that Lee’s hometown — then called Chipyong-ni — became the scene of what is widely considered to be the turning point in the 1950-53 Korean War.
The Battle of Chipyong-ni — which was fought Feb. 13-15 in 1951, about 30 miles southeast of Seoul — marked the first time United Nations Command soldiers succeeded in turning back the advance of the Chinese military.
When it was over, almost 100 U.N. troops and about 2,000 Chinese soldiers were dead or missing. [Stars & Stripes]
Read the rest at the link, but if you haven’t already I highly recommend reading my two prior articles about the two allied commanders that led the fight against the Chinese Communist Forces at the Battle of Chipyong-ni 60 years ago:
12:37 am on February 15th, 2011 1
I've recently come across this site and have spent the better part of the afternoon reading the archives. I must say I really enjoyed reading the articles. I especially enjoyed,
October 1st, 2010 at 7:43 pm
South Korea to Bolster Global Military Role’s comment section.
It’s definitely a classic. I was laughing through most of the comments! Thanks for the good laugh! Even I had to re-read some of the Korean lines to catch the meaning!
I would like to add (and I don’t have numbers to back up the statement, just years of experience from being a Korean) that unless you’re a left wing politician, many Koreans appreciate and would recognize the importance of American forces stationed in Korea but sad to say most Koreans are indifferent or do not hold a clear opinion on the US military stationed in S.Korea. From my experience I think most anti-American sentiments were caused by left wing politicians in the 70s and 80s, who told citizens that if American forces were to leave we would have a unified Korea. When I was in college in the 90’s only a small number of students participated in any protests. We were too busy getting on with our lives.
In fact I can’t remember if ever having a conversation with any of my co-workers, peers etc. about U.S. Military stationed in Korea!
Anyway, thanks for a good time, I will be sure to stop by now and then to read the great articles and comments.
12:52 am on February 15th, 2011 2
My in-laws don't *associate* with the GIs; but they are glad they're there…
8:29 am on February 15th, 2011 3
To the subject of the article: I've been to the site twice on OPDs. It's very interesting when properly briefed. You can walk the RR tracks where the wounded were sheltered, still see some of the fox holes on the hills. You can see where the Canadians did their bayonet charge. It really brings the war to life and makes you appreciate the sacrifices of the soldiers.
9:16 am on February 15th, 2011 4
For those of you who would like to see pictures of Chipyong-ni copy-paste '지평리' and search images in google.
I live abroad and I tried to access Korean military journal site which would hold many pictures regarding Chipyong-ni, but at the moment, it seems the site has forbidden foreign IPs? (just a guess) from accessing the site.
10:15 am on February 15th, 2011 5
Devmil, thanks for visiting the site and I am glad you are enjoying it so far. If anyone would like to see pictures of the modern day Chipyong-ni site just click my link above about Colonel Paul Freeman.
Also I highly recommend that those interested about Korean War history to check out my series of postings Heroes of the Korean War:
http://rokdrop.com/2008/03/19/recognizing-heroes-…
8:47 pm on February 15th, 2011 6
"You can see where the Canadians did their bayonet charge".
Don't you mean where the French did the bayonet charges? A huge portion of that hill was cut to make place for a new road, but the hill is still there (minus the foxholes). A lot of the other fighting positions have also been cut away in the last year and a half to make place for new houses and roads, including positions at the Twin Tunnels battle site.
6:34 pm on February 21st, 2011 7
It was interesting to see the head of the Unification Church in attendence. He and his wife are the couple in very center of the picture posted above.