Remembering veterans of the lost wars

April 16, 2008 01:18 am

— Fifty-five years ago today, April 16, 1953, the first Battle of Pork Chop Hill in Korea began. I was one of the thousands of young people enjoying high school and happily dancing to the favorite songs of the year; Vaya Con Dios, Til I Waltz Again with You, The Doggie in the Window and Don’t Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes.
At the same time, young people on Pork Chop Hill were fighting for their lives. One hundred twelve American men were killed on that hill in the battle that lasted from April 16 through April 18. They won the battle but less than three months later they had to defend the hill again. In that second battle 232 American soldiers were killed in action.
The Korean War is sometimes called The Forgotten War because it was sandwiched in between World War II and the controversial Vietnam War , which came after the Korean War. In the United States, it was officially called a police action or the Korean Conflict rather than a war primarily to avoid the necessity of having to have the U.S. Congress declare war.
Most of the battles of the Korean War had names that were not so familiar to us as Pork Chop Hill and many were far more deadly too: Pusan Perimeter, Chosin Reservoir, Kunu-Ri, Naktong Breakout, Hoengsong, Taejon, Kum River Unsan, Soyang River, Chochiwon, Seoul, Hadong, Kumsong River Salient, and Koto-Ri.
Some names were more familiar to us: Bloody Ridge, Outpost Harry, Nevada Cities, and Bowling Alley. All told, 54,246 Americans were killed in action in Korea during the years from June 25,1950 until July 27,1953. That doesn’t include the 103,284 Americans that were wounded in action during those years. All told, 6.8 million Americans served in the Korean War from June 25, 1950 until Jan. 31, 1955. Congress had extended the war period of benefit eligibility to Jan. 31, 1955 because the peace negotiations with North Korea were thought to be fragile at best.
Approximately 848,000 Korean War veterans also served in other wars: 171,000 in both W.W.II and Vietnam, 404,000 only in W.W.II and 273,000 only in Vietnam. I know of one local man who served in all three wars. So far he has declined to be interviewed by me but I haven’t given up hope.
An important fact is that an estimated 86,300 Korean War veterans are women. E-8 Senior Master Sgt. Eunice King of Decatur County was in the Air Force from the beginning of the war and stationed for two years in Newfoundland. The last Hoosier killed in the Korean War was a woman, Capt. Mary Kinker of Lafayette.
Our country appears to be taking more of an interest in those veterans that fought in Korea. That could be because they aren’t that much younger than the World War II veterans. For example, between July 1999 and June 2000 there were 117,600 deaths of the veterans that had served in Korea. If their stories are to be told for succeeding generations then we should get started just as the ongoing oral history of WW II veterans is taking place now. There is an impressive memorial dedicated to Korean veterans in Washington DC. After half a century, the Pentagon approved the minting of 300,000 Korean War Service medals by the South Korean government specifically for Americans that fought in the war.
Just this year the Medal of Honor was awarded to the first full-blooded Sioux Indian, Master Sgt. Woodrow Keeble, to receive the medal for his actions in Korea. Unfortunately, it was 25 years after his death. Why did it take so long? The paperwork, sent in twice, was lost both times. Keeble had also served during WW II and fought on Guadalcanal where he earned the first of four Purple Hearts and his first Bronze Star. Today there are still more than 8,000 listed as missing in action. In 2005 the remains of Virgil Phillips, a Columbus, IN man, were found on one of the first Korean War battlefields. His bones couldn’t be identified until recently. All of his relatives, except a grandson, are deceased.
Are the names Robert Low, William E. Darby, Raymond Morford, Neil O’Brien familiar to you? Or, how about Ralph Rathburn, Robert McGee, John Nienaber, Ernest Eugene Gabbard, Robert White, James McCullough, or Anthony AmRhein? They are Decatur County men who died fighting in Korea. That’s not counting those who were wounded. They deserve to have their names remembered. I’ll tell you a little about them next week.
I love hearing from readers but am seldom at the Daily News office. You can get in touch with me at patjsmith@verizon.net or send note to Pat Smith, 122 W. Sheridan, Greensburg, IN 47240.

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