Korean war 50th annuversary

Sea Power, Dec 2000 by Peterson, Gordon I

Veterans of Chosin and Hungnam To Be Honored

Veterans of the Chosin Reservoir campaign and the Hungnam redeployment and evacuation, two of the most inspiring Navy and Marine Corps operations during the Korean War, will be honored at separate Department of Defense (DOD) national commemorative events in December.

"This is an opportunity to let veterans and their families-particularly those who lost members-know just how much their efforts were appreciated," said retired Gen. Raymond G. Davis, a former assistant commandant of the Marine Corps.

Davis was awarded the Medal of Honor for his gallantry in leading a battalion of Marines to the rescue of a beleaguered rifle company during the Chosin campaign in December 1950.

Attacking in a Different Direction

Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James L. Jones will host a ceremony on 7 December commemorating the Chosin Reservoir campaign at San Diego's Camp Pendleton, Calif. More than 3,000 veterans and family members are expected to attend the full-- honors ceremony and pass in review.

Special displays of Korean War-era Marine Corps vehicles and equipment, Navy ship visits, and a flyover by modem and vintage Marine aircraft also are planned. Camp Pendleton was selected as the site for the event because San Diego is home to the 1st Marine Division and "The Chosin Few," the largest veterans organization associated with the Chosin campaign.

Secretary of the Navy Richard Danzig will lead a 12 December national commemorative event at the Navy Memorial in Washington, D.C., honoring those who conducted the remarkable evacuation of more than 105,000 U.N. troops and 91,000 Korean civilians from the North Korean port of Hungnam in December 1950.

The full-honors and wreath-laying ceremony, scheduled for noon at the Memorial's Lone Sailor statue on Pennsylvania Avenue, will be followed by a four-hour symposium beginning at 1:00 p.m. in the Memorial's conference facilities. Historians and veterans-- including Medal of Honor recipient Capt. Thomas J. Hudner Jr.-will discuss a wide range of topics associated with the heroic Chosin-Hungnam operations, including ground combat, naval gunfire support, naval aviation, logistics, and Navy medicine.

The symposium, "Attacking in a Different Direction-The Chosin-Hungnam Operations," is sponsored by the Naval Historical Center, the Naval Historical Foundation, the Navy Memorial, and the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation. Registration for the symposium, which is scheduled to start at 1:00 p.m., is $20-with a $2 discount offered to Korean War veterans and members of the sponsoring organizations.

The Forgotten War

December's sea-service commemorative events provide another opportunity to stimulate news media interest in the heroic events of 50 years ago. To date, the U.S. national news media have largely overlooked most DOD national commemorative events in their reporting on the Korean War-correctly dubbed "the forgotten war" by many veterans of that conflict.

"Coverage has been spotty throughout the country," Davis told Sea Power. "I find some places that really go all out-every school child will participate, and the whole community is totally committed. That's great, but it is spotty." Davis has attended more than 20 anniversary events commemorating the Korean War during the past six months, and said he sees a richer appreciation for those who served.

Dr. William S. Dudley, the Department of the Navy's director of naval history, is concerned, however, by the national news media's failure to chronicle key events during the war's anniversary. "This is disappointing to those of us who lived through Korean War events on a daily basis or who have studied the military and naval operations of that war," he said.

"The veterans of that war deserve much better treatment from the U.S. government and the broadcast media and journalists-and so do the families of those who gave their lives or who suffered wounds and survived," Dudley told Sea Power.

Both Davis and Dudley see enduring significance in the events of half a century ago. "The great lesson to be learned is the fact that war came about because of our lack of readiness after World War II," Davis said. "The second lesson is the failure of intelligence [associated with Red China's entry into the war], and the third was the success of our forces when they were employed properly," he observed.

Dudley also believes that the Korean War demonstrates the need for vigilant and ready armed forces. "We must continue to have a well-supported defense establishment and, beyond that, a Navy that can not only provide presence, but one that can deliver the ordnance on target wherever the threat," he said.

Such overarching lessons will likely be overshadowed by recollections of the fighting prowess and esprit of the 1st Battalion, 7th Marines when Davis meets with them on 7 December in San Diego.

"That battalion of Marines did it with professionalism, enthusiasm, and a determination that I will never forget," he said.