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Korean War

Sergeant Reckless: America’s War Horse

Sergeant Reckless: America’s War Horse

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The young filly showed great promise every time she ran a race. Many believed she would be a prize winner. But she never got the chance. In June 1950, North Korean troops stormed across the border between South Korea in a surprise attack that changed life on the Korean Peninsula. It also brought the sport of horseracing to a standstill. With no races to run, owning racehorses became a financial liability for their owners. Like many others, she was abandoned at the Seoul racetrack. A young Korean stable boy named Kim Huk Moon took over feeding, watering, and grooming her. Why Did Kim Sell His Horse? In October 1952 some U.S. Marines from the 5th Marines' Anti-Tank Company's Recoilless Rifle Platoon discovered the young filly and decided she'd be valuable for carrying supplies into combat. The platoon leader, Lt. Eric Pederson, paid $250 of his own money to buy her. The only reason Kim sold his beloved horse was so he could buy an artificial leg for his older sister, Chung Soon, who...

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1LT James Earl Jones, U.S. Army (1953-1955)

1LT James Earl Jones, U.S. Army (1953-1955)

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Before gaining fame as the iconic voice behind Darth Vader in 'Star Wars,' James Earl Jones had a significant chapter in his life. During his youth, Jones responded to his country's call and served in the United States Army during the Korean War. His military experience profoundly influenced his character and laid the foundation for his exceptional journey in the entertainment industry. James Earl Jones’s Early Years James Earl Jones was born on January 17, 1931, in Arkabutla, Mississippi. His father, Robert Earl Jones, a boxer and actor, was largely absent from his life growing up. At an early age, Jones was raised by his maternal grandparents on their farm in Michigan. He is of Irish, Cherokee and African descent. Jones developed a severe stutter in childhood, which left him terribly self-conscious and shy around other children. He refused to speak in school until a teacher helped him out of his silence during his high school years. "I had a great English teacher who believed in...

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PFC William Mays (Willie Mays), U.S. Army (1952–1953)

PFC William Mays (Willie Mays), U.S. Army (1952–1953)

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Willie Mays, widely regarded as one of the greatest baseball players of all time, is known for his incredible athletic prowess and his illustrious career in Major League Baseball (MLB). However, his life story encompasses more than just his achievements on the baseball field. Mays also served in the United States Army during the Korean War. Let’s review and honor Willie Mays' life, his military service, key accomplishments, and the awards he received both on and off the field. Willie Mays’ Early Life and Baseball Beginnings Willie Howard Mays Jr. was born on May 6, 1931, in Westfield, Alabama. Raised in a segregated America, Mays' early life was marked by the racial challenges of the time. Despite these challenges, he exhibited a natural talent for sports, particularly baseball, from a young age. Born to unmarried parents outside of Birmingham, Alabama in 1931, Willie’s mother was just 16 years of age when Willi was born. She abandoned him as a baby, remarried, and had 10 more...

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On Desperate Ground by Hampton Sides

On Desperate Ground by Hampton Sides

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On October 15, 1950, General Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Commander of UN troops in Korea, convinced President Harry Truman that the Communist forces of Kim Il-sung would be utterly defeated by Thanksgiving. The Chinese, he said with near certainty, would not intervene in the war. As he was speaking, 300,000 Red Chinese soldiers began secretly crossing the Manchurian border. Led by some 20,000 men of the First Marine Division, the Americans moved deep into the snowy mountains of North Korea, toward the trap Mao had set for the vainglorious MacArthur along the frozen shores of the Chosin Reservoir. What followed was one of the most heroic - and harrowing - operations in All US Air Force operations are oriented around the official Air Force Doctrine. Responsibility for developing doctrine rests on the Curtis E Lemay Center for Doctrine Development and Education at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama. Doctrine exists to guide the Air Force in the effective American military history, and one...

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Service Reflections of A1C James Strickland, U.S. Air Force (1955-1960)

Service Reflections of A1C James Strickland, U.S. Air Force (1955-1960)

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PRESERVING A MILITARY LEGACY FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS The following Reflections represents A1C James Strickland's legacy of his military service from 1955 to 1960. If you are a Veteran, consider preserving a record of your own military service, including your memories and photographs, on Togetherweserved.com (TWS), the leading archive of living military history. The following Service Reflections is an easy-to-complete self-interview, located on your TWS Military Service Page, which enables you to remember key people and events from your military service and the impact they made on your life. Start recording your own Military Memories HERE. Please describe who or what influenced your decision to join the Air Force. Collings Foundation B-17 The first item seeing the "Memphis Belle" during its WWII bond drive, sitting on a wooden platform in front of the courthouse in Dayton, Ohio, when I was 6 years old. The second item, late fall 1943 or early spring 1944, was standing in the middle of...

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Service Reflections of SSGT Kenneth Russell, U.S. Air Force (1951-1954)

Service Reflections of SSGT Kenneth Russell, U.S. Air Force (1951-1954)

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PRESERVING A MILITARY LEGACY FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS The following Reflections represents SSGT Kenneth Russell's legacy of his military service from 1951 to 1954. If you are a Veteran, consider preserving a record of your own military service, including your memories and photographs, on Togetherweserved.com (TWS), the leading archive of living military history. The following Service Reflections is an easy-to-complete self-interview, located on your TWS Military Service Page, which enables you to remember key people and events from your military service and the impact they made on your life. Start recording your own Military Memories HERE. Please describe who or what influenced your decision to join the Air Force. My draft number was coming up, and I preferred the Air Force over the Army. The Korean War was on, and it looked like I would be drafted, so I enlisted in the Air Force in Salt Lake City, Utah, in January 1951. My basic training took place at Lackland AFB, Texas, but it was...

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Korean War – The Battle of Chipyong-Ni

Korean War – The Battle of Chipyong-Ni

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On June 25, 1950, the Korean War began when some 75,000 Soldiers from the North Korean People's Army (NPKA) poured across the 38th parallel and, within days, captured Seoul, the South Korean capital. For two months, the outnumbered South Korean army and the small American force fought numerous battles with NPKA as they withdrew down the Korean peninsula to the Pusan area at the southeast tip of Korea. It was here that they set up a final defensive perimeter where they were able to impede the enemy's advancement. To take the pressure off the continuous attacks by the NKPA, a counteroffensive began on Sept. 15th, when United Nations forces made a daring landing at Incheon on the west coast. The unexpected attack crushed the meager NPKA defenses within a few days, cutting off North Korean supply lines to the south.  U.N. casualties during the Incheon landing and subsequent battles resulted in 566 killed and 2,713 wounded. In the fighting, the NKPA lost more than 35,000 killed and...

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The Last Stand Of The Glorious Glosters

The Last Stand Of The Glorious Glosters

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By April 1951, the Korean War had raged for nearly a year. The initial assault by North Korea into separate South Korea had been driven back to the 38th parallel - the border between the two nations. The North, aided by Chinese soldiers and Soviet resources, was still intent on conquering the South. United Nations troops, predominantly American but including forces from elsewhere in the world, were protecting the South. The Glorious Glosters: Holding the Line The Communist Army had been weakened by supply problems over the winter, but by March they had recovered and been reinforced. As UN troops under General Ridgway pushed north in the center, the Communists massed to attack in the west, where UN troops were deployed in defensive positions along the Imjin River. This stretch of the UN line was held primarily by the British 29th Brigade, led by Brigadier Brodie. Belgian forces guarded their right flank. With the majority of UN troops concentrated for Ridgway's advance, Brodie's...

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An Airman’s Journey by Robert M. Fletcher

An Airman’s Journey by Robert M. Fletcher

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From the Korean War to the Vietnam War era, the author shares his memories and provides photos of his service with the U.S. Army and with his career the U.S. Air Force.  Covered in the early part of the book are details of how he is exposed to military life, the drudgery of barracks duties, like cleaning latrines, and the kitchen police, overcoming all of those to become a surgical technician, and getting assigned to different air bases to finally reach a forward station in South Korea.  He recounts the many instances of near-fatal attacks during his stint in South Korea during the Korean War, along with a tour of Japan. His long list of adventures includes returning from Japan to do a tour in Germany. The book is replete with humorous experiences like guarding the Commander's dog or inventing a real 'sob story' to arrange a compassionate transfer, or his escapades with girls nationally as well as abroad. The memoir has a very good collection of photographs of people,...

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Cpl Daniel Dwain Schoonover, U.S. Army (1952-1953)

Cpl Daniel Dwain Schoonover, U.S. Army (1952-1953)

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Pork Chop Hill is one of the most infamous battle sites of the Korean War. A communist force met an equal number of United Nations troops twice in the spring and summer of 1953. They fought over a North Korean hill that, in retrospect, had little strategic value. The Importance of Pork Chop Hill Whether the hill was essential to the overall war effort or not, the American and United Nations troops who fought for the position did so with courage and valor, the way they would attack any objective. One of those soldiers, a corporal from Hawaii, was a one-man anti-communist wrecking crew. The truth about Pork Chop Hill is that the two sides had been fighting over the North Korean hill for almost the entirety of the Korean War. After the front stabilized in the aftermath of China's intervention in the war, UN forces took the initiative during the "stalemate" period in 1951. After the U.S. 8th Cavalry Regiment captured the hill in October 1951, it was recaptured by the communists, only to...

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The Dark Side of Glory by Richard McMahon

The Dark Side of Glory by Richard McMahon

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In this page-turning suspense novel, Richard McMahon expertly switches between two settings and time periods, the earlier being the Korean War and the current a who-done-it mystery in a world of surprises where nothing is as it seems. The book opens in the present time (the early 1970s) as Biographer Matthew Clark is asked by Miriam Coursen to write a biography of her deceased husband, U.S. Army Major General Philip Coursen, a highly decorated Army officer. When Clark agrees to write the biography of General Coursen, he has no idea the layers of deceit and deception he'll uncover, not to mention a brutal covered-up murder, a secret mistress, an abandoned illegitimate daughter, and a tragic love. Nor does he realize his own life will be forever changed in the process. The story is principally told through the lives of five characters: Philip Coursen, who appears at first to be the perfect Army officer, but who seems to have an increasingly mysterious dark side; Miriam Coursen, equally...

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Korean War – the Battle Of Heartbreak Ridge

Korean War – the Battle Of Heartbreak Ridge

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By the summer of 1951, the Korean War had reached a stalemate as peace negotiations began at Kaesong. The opposing armies faced each other across a line which ran with many twists and turns along the way from east to west, through the middle of the Korean peninsula, a few miles north of the 38th parallel. UN and communist forces jockeyed for position along this line, clashing in several relatively small but intense and bloody battles.  The First Bloody Ground Battle One bloody ground battle took place from August 18 to September 5, 1951. It began as an attempt by UN forces to seize a ridge of hills which they believed were being used as observation posts to call in artillery fire on a UN supply road. It was a joint operation conducted by South Korean and the U.S. Army's 2nd Division. Their mission was to seize a ridge of hills used by the North Koreans as observation posts to call in artillery fire on a UN supply road. Leading the initial attacks was the 36th ROK Regiment. It...

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