By 
Lieutenant Baldomero Lopez of the Marine Corps is shown scaling a seawall after landing on Red Beach. Minutes after this photo was taken, Lopez was killed when smothering a live grenade with his body. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.
You can read more about the Incheon Landing Operation here.
Plus see what the landing site looks like today here, here, and here.
She hasn’t seen...
5:43 pm on September 15th, 2011 1
What a great photo. Thanks for posting this. It because of men like Lieutenant Baldomero Lopez that gave their lives for this country that Korea could prosper and become the great country it is today.
4:32 am on September 16th, 2011 2
MacArthur’s Masterpiece that saved a nation!
8:04 am on September 16th, 2011 3
pictures and stories like this give me goose bumps. it’s strange looking at a photograph of someone right before they die. so many young men died valiantly and courageously during the korean war.
has anyone ever read a book called “the coldest winter” by david halberstam? while recognizing macarthur’s genius and talent, he places a lot of blame for needless casualties on macarthur’s insubordination towards truman and the joint chiefs and his egotistical nature. instead, general ridgway was responsible for salvaging what was to be a doomed campaign by implementing airborne style tactics of regiments or battalions digging in deep and waiting for the chinese to surround and attack superior defensive positions. much different from macarthur’s race to the yalu, which left the units vulnerable and stretched out, and prone to chinese flanking maneuvers. i like korean war history if you couldn’t tell.
5:08 am on September 17th, 2011 4
Johnny, I have read the book and it a very good read. It is unfortunate that Halberstam died shortly after writing it.
8:05 pm on September 17th, 2011 5
#4
GI
although halberstam appeared a bit left leaning, he provides a lot of insight into the politics of the nation at the time. with the accusations of communism being rampant in government, truman was somewhat forced to go past the 38th, lest he be accused of appeasement, or out and out communism, by the right wingers and supporters of chiang, who already thought we had “given up china” to the communists. every account i have read since then, states that mao most likely wouldn’t have entered his troops, had we not gone across the 38th. hindsight being 20/20 and all, who really knows what would have happened either way though? the loss of so many of our troops as well as the rok troops in the chinese onslaught is somewhat unforgivable in my opinion, though. numerous casualties could have been avoided, had there not been a widespread borderline racist opinion of asians as a substandard fighting force, just waiting for our “superior” forces to sweep in and claim victory.
8:11 pm on September 17th, 2011 6
We don’t know, and we can’t know, what would have happened if Truman had recognized the Chinese Communist government in 1949. Maybe there wouldn’t even have been a Korean War.
9:23 pm on September 17th, 2011 7
if truman had recognized the chinese communist party, there would have been a rallying cry from the supporters of chiang and the chinese nationalists. would the recognition mean anything to the ccp, considering we consistently sent financial and military aid to the nationalists during the chinese civil war? to turn around and congratulate the party who defeats the one you were betting on, it may send the wrong signal to the rest of the world.
maybe not even have recognized the ccp, but at least heed the warning signs that it would be a major conflict if we dared to cross the 38th. mao was convinced and convinced the rest of his cabinet, that if they didn’t intervene in korea they would be next. it’s interesting to see how all the factors fit together to cause a major conflict. it’s too bad that often times we can’t see the whole picture, while the events are happening.