May 3rd, 2013 at 1:12 pm » Comments (3)

A ceremony to mark the dedication of a hall honoring the first battle of the U.N. forces against invading North Korea during the 1950-53 Korean War is held in Osan, 55 km south of Seoul, on April 23, 2013, with U.S. soldiers stationed in Korea attending. Sixteen countries fought for South Korea under the U.N. flag during the war. (Yonhap) You can read about Taskforce Smith which was the first international unit to engage the North Koreans at this link.

May 3rd, 2013 at 8:52 am » Comments (3)

It has been confirmed that the Korean War Veterans Association is a phony: CLAY, N.Y. — The president of the Korean War Veterans Association admitted Wednesday that he wore combat medals belonging to his late brother to several public functions, including some with President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden. James Ferris, of the Syracuse suburb of Clay, said he offered to resign as president but the offer was rejected. Ferris was a Marine who served in the United States and Japan in administrative roles with an engineering battalion
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April 22nd, 2013 at 1:30 pm » Comments (2)

April 13th, 2013 at 7:47 pm » Comments (3)

I have actually been meaning to do a posting on Chaplain Emil Kapaun for my continuing Heroes of the Korean War series, but just haven’t had the time available to type one up.  However, I am glad to see that he has been recognized with the Medal of Honor: Hailed as a “shepherd in combat,” an Army chaplain who tended to wounded U.S. troops during the Korean War despite imminent capture was awarded the Medal of Honor on Thursday, more than 60 years after he died as a prisoner of
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April 5th, 2013 at 6:37 pm » Comments (8)

Here is another good story about the efforts Koreans will go through to honor the memory of Korean War veterans: SEOUL — Kathleen Mischke remembers her father, always a soldier, teaching her to make a bed so tightly that a nickel would bounce off it. She remembers him teaching her to roller skate and singing funny songs, and how he could whistle louder than anybody she knew. She also remembers travelling to Fort Lewis, Wash., with her family to say goodbye as he deployed to South Korea, where he would
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April 4th, 2013 at 7:15 pm » Comments (4)

This is pretty cool: Joseph Shepard, a Korean War veteran who worked in South Korea as a soldier and civilian employee for decades, celebrated the conclusion of his 62 years of service on Thursday, receiving a standing ovation from top U.S. commanders and other service members. Lt. Gen. John Johnson, the commander of the Eighth United States Army, hosted the retirement ceremony at the Yongsan Garrison in Seoul for Shepard to honor his enduring service, which was attended by USFK commander Gen. James Thurman, senior officers and other colleagues.  [Yonhap]
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April 2nd, 2013 at 6:56 pm » Comments (5)

I really like when the Korean government does these reunions between Korean War veterans and people they helped during the Korean War: SEOUL — Retired U.S. airman Richard Cadwallader finally got to hug the woman who earned his lifelong admiration for the way she bravely dealt with severe burns almost 60 years ago. Since leaving South Korea in the wake of the Korean War, Cadwallader had always wondered what became of the young girl he did his best to help after she was brought to his base in December 1953
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March 19th, 2013 at 1:22 pm » Comments (0)

This day in history — March 17, 1953 2nd Infantry Division holds Hill 335, also known as Little Gibraltar, against Chinese assaults during the Korean War.  [2ID Facebook Page]

March 2nd, 2013 at 6:23 pm » Comments (3)

Via a reader tip comes news of another phony passing himself off as a Korean War veteran: I got this about six weeks ago and somehow it slipped through the cracks on me. But this is the story of James Edward Ferris, a homeboy from Liverpool, NY. Here he is on the CSPAN broadcast of ceremonies commemorating the signing of the armistice ceasing outward hostilities on the Korean Penninsula back in July; Right off, anyone who can count can see that he’s wearing more than the four awards that are
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January 28th, 2013 at 3:09 am » Comments (2)

Busan Haps has an interesting post about Canadians playing hockey on the Imjim River during the Korean War.  The post is based on this article in the National Post which has a number of historic photographs from the war of Canadians playing hockey: “It was quite cold in the wintertime. We didn’t have much snow but we did have snow. And certainly the river in the shallow parts froze up,” said Goodman. “I can remember one game — and I think I have a picture of it — with me
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