70 years Korean war

[mrsmackpaul]

Did you know it is 70 years 25 of June 2020 for Australia and 27 of June 2020 for the US since their respective involvements in the Korean war began

Dont know if our respective countries are doing anything to remember this ?

It's known as the forgotten war in Australia 

Paul

 

From the Australian war memorial 

In the lead-up to the 70th anniversary of the commencement of the Korean War on 25 June 1950, we will be sharing stories, images and collection relating to Australian service personnel in Korea. Please share your own stories and photos with #KoreanWar70Years.                                    

Image: Private Alan Candlish, late of the Grenadier Guards, found this magpie with a broken leg on a Korean hillside. Now the magpie, whose leg has healed, refuses to leave Candlish and is happy to travel on his shoulder or radio set as he carries out his duties with 1RAR. Candlish was born in Manchester and migrated to Australia after the Second World War to join the Australian Army. (HOBJ3115).

 

 

Edited May 25, 2020 by mrsmackpaul

[HeavyGunner]

It’s not the forgotten war in my house. My grandpa was serving in the navy during the Korean War. Never forget our vets. 

[tjc transport]

not a forgotten war here either. my father was a navy pilot during Korea, and was almost killed in a helicopter crash. he spent three years in Annapolis navel hospital. 

[kscarbel2]

These colorized photographs give the Korean War new meaning.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8459477/Braced-battle-Colorized-images-troops-preparing-war-Korea-70-years-ago.html

[mrsmackpaul]

I try my best to remember the past and those that gave so much so we can live the life we lead today 

I try to do this and share things with people to educate and hopefully keep the stories going 

Sadly I have been a bit caught up in my own world and haven't got back to this

Shame on me 

Anyway some more 

Paul

 

 

 

 

 

Image:  Private Charles Felsman, Private William Bailey and Corporal Herbert Perry have to send their Korean mascot, "Hotrod" back to Pusan after his parents were located. "Hotrod" was cared for by the Australian Field Maintenance section since it landed in Korea. They are standing on front of a Douglas C-47 Dakota which will fly him to Pusan.                            

Hundreds of Korean children displaced or orphaned by war were 'adopted' by United Nations units as mascots, houseboys and washboys. "Hotrod" was probably one of the few who were reunited with family.

 

[mrsmackpaul]

 

#officialwarartist #IvorHele completed more than 30 portraits of service personnel during his 4 month deployment to Korea, concentrating on the individual's experience of the conflict.

To view more Korean War portraits: http://ow.ly/Wdc350zZn69

 

 

[mrsmackpaul]

 

Image: Portrait of Sergeant Stafford Kenny James 'Len' Lenoy an Indigenous serviceman from the KuKu Djunkan and Butchular Nations. This portrait was taken by Ian Robertson on 19 February 1951 at Chuam-ni, South Korea. Lenoy served during the Second World War in the Aitape-Wewak campaign and transferred to 67 Battalion at the end of the war on Morotai for occupation duties in Japan. Lenoy was the Medium Machine Gun Section Commander in A Company, 3RAR during the battle of Kapyong on 24 April 1951 when he was killed in action. (P01813.802).

Read more here: https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/blog/snapshots-from-korea

[mrsmackpaul]

 

Plans for Operation Roundup began on the island of Yong Pyong Do. On 15 May 1952, Warwick Seymour Bracegirdle, commander of the Bataan, went ashore on the island to meet the Wolfpack leaders and inspect installations. The guerrillas sought Bracegirdle’s support for a plan to attack the mainland and push the North Koreans back from a communist-held mainland peninsula, Ponggu-yon. Local intelligence had revealed that Ponggu-yon was held by at least two battalions of North Korean and Chinese troops, supported by artillery. If the plan succeeded, it would provide greater security for the islands and the guerrillas who occupied them. Bracegirdle could see the advantages, and offered the guerrillas his support for the operation. 

Read more: http://ow.ly/TAo650A2xaw

Image: Crew members play cards, smoke and enjoy hot drinks before lights out in the stoker’s mess aboard HMAS Bataan. The men are (left to right) Able Seaman Arnold Anderson, Leading Seaman Frank Seymour, Able Seaman Harold Hoogwerf, Able Seaman George Sewell and Able Seaman Malcolm Stott. (HOBJ3419).

[mrsmackpaul]

A view of the destroyed road bridge over the frozen Han River separating Yongdungpo and Seoul.  Note the jute sandbags stacked in the foreground which are being used by a guard from Republic of Korea (ROK) Army (out of picture). 

Photographer: Phillip Oliver, Hobson 
Photograph: HOBJ2043

#PhotoOfTheWeek #KoreanWar70Years

[mrsmackpaul]

Nicknamed "the grey-headed old bastard" by the men of 3RAR, Brigadier Basil Coad welcomed Australian troops to Korea by saying: "I have always admired Australian soldiers and to have a battalion in my brigade is a dream come true."

Coad had held commands during the Second World War, was awarded a DSO for his leadership and bravery at Normandy and a Bar to the DSO for his actions during the invasion of Germany in 1945.

Coad developed a strong relationship with 3RAR's commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Charles Green. After Green's mortal wounding, Coad kept a picture of himself with Green in Korea on his desk for the rest of his life. 

Firm, fair and a born leader of men,he was an inspiration to those he led, and the men of 3RAR have never forgotten him.

Read more: http://ow.ly/W8mg50AaQOq

Photo: Brigadier (later Major General) Aubrey Coad with Lieutenant Colonel Charles Green after conducting a forward reconnaissance near Chongju. It is the last known photograph of Green before his death.

[mrsmackpaul]

#Onthisday 19 June in 1952 the 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, relieved the 1st Battalion, the Leicestershire Regiment, on the Jamestown line in Korea. 

Over the next year, the battalion undertook nightly patrols to control no man’s land and provide security against direct attack. Minefield fences were repaired and maintained and raids were conducted to capture prisoners and gather intelligence. Learn more: http://ow.ly/3rKF50A3tYF

#KoreanWar70Years

Photo: Four Corporals of A Company, 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (1RAR) at sea on board the SS Devonshire embarked for service in Korea.

[mrsmackpaul]

To mark the 70th anniversary of the  North Korea, November 1950. Australians of 3RAR march along the road from Kunu-ri during the retreat. (148896)

[mrsmackpaul]

This is a view of "the island" of the #aircraftcarrier  HMS Ocean by #officialwarartist Frank Norton. Norton was deployed to the Royal Australian Navy in Korea for 5 months in 1952. He made more than 50 works documenting the ships, the technological environments of the Navy, and the sea.

To see more of Norton’s Korean War works: http://ow.ly/rT5a50A8I0v

#MyAWM #AWMemorial #RAN #Korea #RoyalAustralianNavy

Image: Frank Norton ‘HMS Ocean, the island’
(1952 oil on canvas on plywood, 61 x 66 cm)    
ART40015

[mrsmackpaul]

Thirty Australians servicemen were captured during the Korean War. Private Bill Madden died in captivity and was posthumously awarded the George Cross. Don Buck, Tom Hollis, Keith Gwyther and Bob Parker from 3RAR banded together, attempting multiple escapes, and remaining close friends after the war. On 25 June 1952 – the second anniversary of the beginning of the war – 24 prisoners escaped. When they were re-captured several days later, Don Buck was identified as the ringleader and was heavily punished. The Australians were dubbed “reactionaries” and subjected to punishment and re-education, including beatings and torture. 

Read more: http://ow.ly/SneV50AaUSm

Image: Chinese propaganda photograph: four Australian prisoners of war at Camp 5, Pyoktong, North Korea, wearing Chinese-issued padded uniforms. Left to right: Privates Bob Parker, Keith “Mo” Gwyther, Tom Hollis and Corporal Don “Old Man” Buck. (P03874.006)

[mrsmackpaul]

One of the victims of the Korean War, Chan, an orphan, salutes Corporal Edward Dowell from the Royal Australian Army Medical Corps. He holds a wooden pull along toy with a duck in the centre, made by members of 1RAR for children in villages near the Jamestown Line area in June 1952. (HOBJ3125).

 

[mrsmackpaul]

“Rosemary” 77 Squadron’s lucky lady:

In April 1951, No. 77 Squadron, RAAF was withdrawn from Korea to re-equip with the Gloster Meteor Mk 8 fighter in Japan.  

One of the squadron’s original Meteors would come to be known as “Rosemary” – Rosemary served with 77 Squadron in Korea from July 1951 until August 1953, flying 485 operational missions, including reconnaissance, ground attack and air to air combat. On 3 November 1951, Sergeant Max Colebrook DFM USAM damaged a MiG during a dogfight flying Rosemary. He was later awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal. Colebrook was later shot down on 30 March 1952, flying a different Meteor, and is one of 43 Australians listed as Missing in Action in Korea.

Today, Rosemary is part of the National Collection of the Australian War Memorial. Rosemary’s nose section is displayed in the Korean War galleries. http://ow.ly/vmVK50AbY7V

Her ladyship in action:
http://ow.ly/rcKb50AbY7U

Photo: Gloster Meteor Mk 8 jet fighter, serial number A77-368

[mrsmackpaul]

Seoul, South Korea. c March 1951. 

The capital, Seoul, seat of the Republic of Korea (ROK) Government. This picture was taken when restoration work had first commenced on the much bombed and shelled building, main landmark of Seoul, once known as the "Jewel of the East". 

In the course of changing hands four times during the Korean fighting the city was almost reduced to rubble, but is now showing signs of returning to its former beauty. At left, three soldiers from the 3rd Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (3RAR), sitting in a jeep, inspect the work being done on the building. 

Photographer: Phillip Oliver Hobson Photograph: HOBJ2143 

[mrsmackpaul]

It was an icy winter’s eve in Korea on 24 January 1953 when 31 men from the 3rd Battalion, the Royal Australian Regiment (3RAR) gathered on Hill 355 for a snatch patrol. Led by Lieutenant Francis Smith, a 23-year-old Duntroon graduate, their objective was to capture a Chinese soldier in order to gather military intelligence.

Moving carefully down the frozen slopes of Hill 355, the men of 3RAR trudged slowly towards their target: a communications trench 1,500 yards behind Chinese lines. Despite the cold, Private Lionel Terry – known as “Bomber” – was warm and clean. Terry had taken a bird bath and changed his underwear just before the patrol. “The bastards won’t find me in dirty gear”, he had said laughing.

Read more: http://ow.ly/Paa350AaVr2

Image: Private Lionel Terry. This photograph was taken just after Terry’s bird bath on the afternoon of 24 January 1953 (P09413.001)

[mrsmackpaul]

On this day 25th June in 1950 the North Korean People's Army crossed the 38th parallel and invaded the Republic of Korea, marking the beginning of the Korean War. Fighting between the United Nations multinational force and the North Korean Army (joined by the Chinese People's Volunteer Army in October 1950) ended in stalemate with the signing of the Korean Armistice Agreement on 27 July 1953.

Over 17,000 Australians served in Korea between 1950 and 1953 in the Australian Army, Royal Australian Air Force and Royal Australian Navy; 340 did not return home, and 30 were captured as prisoners of war. 

Image: Unidentified members of 3RAR walk across the top of a hill through patches of snow during an operation in February 1951. (HOBJ2058).

[mrsmackpaul]

In late June 1950, Major Stuart Peach and Squadron Leader Ronald Rankin were front page news. Sent to the Republic of Korea to report on growing tensions between North Korea and South Korea, they were thought to have been captured after Seoul fell to the invading North Korean army. While the men were missing, a report they had written was submitted to the United Nations Security Council.

Find out how these two Australians played a vital role in saving South Korea at the outbreak of the Korean War: https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/blogs/along-parallel-lines

Image: Major Stuart Peach (left) and Squadron Leader Ronald Rankin (centre) pose with correspondents  near Taegu, Korea in June 1950. AWM P00716.051

[mechohaulic]

these and many other pictures  are what should be on the news channels ; not the crap they show . let  the rioters see why they have the chance to do what they do.  but then the ratings won't be that great.

THANK YOU for these post.   May God have mercy on the many POW'S and  MIA'S

[mrsmackpaul]

As I have said before, I haven't watched mainstream media since the GFC and my life just ticks along the same, actually it ticks along a lot better 

I sleep better, I get less angry and I find the world still is pretty nice place or at least my world is

Everyone please add what ever you can or feel comfortable to share with us

It's a real shame as it appears by and large this is the forgotten war, we dont want let that happen 

 

Paul

[mrsmackpaul]

Colonel Peter Scott is lucky to be alive. In October 1951, the 22-year-old Peter was an intelligence officer during the battle of Maryang San.

The fight for the strategically important Hill 317 was later described as “one of the most impressive victories achieved by any Australian battalion”, but for Peter it was one of the many close shaves he faced during his decorated army career. 

“A lot of the other officers were just as young, if not younger than I was,” he said. 

“There was artillery, bursting shells, and fights overhead, and it was just pandemonium really; dust and pieces of metal going in all directions.

“But sitting on top of 317 on the 7th of October, being shelled out of existence is the day that sticks in my mind.

“It was a big part of my life … and I can still visualise it now.”

Read the full story: https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/blog/Peter-Scott-DSO-and-the-battle-of-Maryang-San-Korea

Peter Scott observes the fall of 17 pounder anti-tank gun shell in Korea.

[mrsmackpaul]

Vance Drummond was awarded the United States Air Medal for his “courage, aggressiveness, tactical skill … and devotion to duty”. According to the citation, “Sergeant Vance Drummond, 77th Interceptor Fighter Squadron, 4th Fighter Interceptor Group, distinguished himself by meritorious achievement while participating in aerial combat missions flying Meteor Mark Eight type aircraft against the enemy in North Korea from 1 September 1951 to 22 October 1951.”

Drummond wrote to his parents on 24 October: “Yes, Dad, the Meteor has an ejection seat, so there is no sweat about bailing out of them”.

On 1 December 1951, Drummond’s squadron engaged with enemy MiG-15s near Songchon, approximately 50 kilometres north-east of Pyongyang. On withdrawal, Drummond answered the leader’s checking radio call. However three aircraft, including Drummond’s Meteor, failed to return to base. Pilot Officer Ernest Donald Armit was declared missing in action, presumed killed. Drummond and Flying Officer Bruce Thomson had safely ejected from their aircraft, landing in North Korea. They were captured and sent to Pinchon-ni prisoner of war camp. 

Read more: http://ow.ly/pBIj50Ahedz

Image: Sergeant Vance Drummond beside his Gloster Meteor at Kimpo, South Korea in 1951. (JK0163)

[mrsmackpaul]

c November 1951. 

For weeks Communist propaganda notices have been left where UN troops could find them. A soldier from the 3rd Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (3RAR), holds a notice which reads 'SURRENDER MEANS SAFETY. CHARGE MEANS DEATH.' The notices are a variation of the surrender leaflets which the Chinese were throwing out not long ago, and which Australian troops also declined to take very seriously. 

Photographer: Phillip Oliver Hobson Photograph: HOBJ2565