Korean War (4)

M*A*S*H* doctors of the 8055th

The first M*A*S*H* unit 8055 (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital), arrived in Korea 8 July 1950 and attached to the Eighth Army. Unit 8055 would prove to be so successful that Congress realized the need for more such units and enacted the Doctors Draft Act, Public Law 779 on 1 September. Physicians under 51 years of age could then be drafted and an increasing amount of residents and interns were tagged for Korea. (Members of the 8055 M*A*S*H* have stated that the television series depicted their unit quite well.)

Nurses of the 8055th

General Walton Walker, commander of the Eighth Army in Korea was receiving troops for the 29th Infantry Regiment with only 8 weeks of basic training under their belts. On 24 July, they were sent into combat at Chinju with untested mortars and brand new .50 machine guns still packed in Cosmoline grease. The 3rd Battalion was ambushed and the call for air support went unheard when the radios refused to work. Of the 757 men, 313 died or were taken prisoner. (The North Koreans were not taking prisoners unless they felt the men held some intelligence of importance. The treatment and torture of those prisoners equaled what we hear of today happening to our men overseas.)

Generals Collins, MacArthur & Sherman, Korea, August 1950

29 July, every soldier in the field received the same order, “There would be no more retreating… There is no line behind us… Every unit must counterattack to keep the enemy in a state of confusion… We must fight to the end.” MacArthur issued this statement after spending an hour and a half in the war zone. The press would call this order the “stand or die.”

North Korean invasion 25 July – 4 August 1950

On 30 July, three Canadian destroyers: Cayuga, Athabaskan and Sioux arrived in Sasebo, Japan with orders to sail immediately to Korea. No. 426 Transport Squadron, RCAF, flew the first of 600 round trips this month and during the war, they would carry over 13,000 passengers and 3 million kilograms of freight; also 22 RCAF fighter pilots were attached to the U.S. Fifth Air Force. During July, the USS Juneau had numerous gunnery operations as well as US Naval destroyers and British Royal Navy ships, including the HMS Belfast. The tiny South Korean Navy, with their patrol crafts were active on the west coast; checking inland waterways for activity. In late July, the cruisers USS Helena (CA-75) and USS Toledo (CA-133) joined the 7th Fleet’s flagship USS Rochester (CL-124) and the 8″ guns began to play an important role in Korea.

2 August, the 6th NKPA Division, met unexpectedly up with the 19th Infantry Regiment and the 24th Infantry Division as they protected the pass 5 miles short of Masan, in what would later be called the Battle of the Notch. The North Koreans retreated and regrouped up in the mountainous terrain after the Air Force attacked their truck columns. The U.S. troops protected the southern flank of Pusan for the 5 days needed for further support to arrive.

camouflaged command post

The Soviets decided that the more the U.S. was involved in Korea, the less effective they would be in Europe. So, also on 2 August, Russian, Jacob Malik, resumed his United Nations Security Council seat to assist Stalin with his agenda. The Revolutionary Military Committee (Communist military VIPs) were meeting in Beijing. It was here that Mao and his generals planned their aid to North Korea and an attack on Formosa. General Walker began throwing everything he had into the war. The 1st Provisional Marine Brigade, largely troops of the 5th Marines, a regiment of the 1st Marine Division along with the U.S. Army’s 2d Infantry Division and the British 27th Brigade, entered Pusan. They headed west and spent the night at Changwon on their way to Masa, 7 miles from the enemy lines.

6 August, about 800 North Koreans waded across the Naktong River in the 34th Infantry area. The 1st Battalion was halted at Cloverleaf Hill with the extensive fighting. The 19th and 34th were sent to counterattack and the 25th Infantry Division was ordered to Chinju.

15 August, Walker called in the Navy to rescue the ROK 3rd Division Task Force 77. Two carriers bombarded the coast while a destroyer, led by 4 LSTs moved in to evacuate 5,800 troops and 1,200 refugees. Most of the materiel given to the ROKs by the U.S. was left behind. Despite all this, Rhee communicated to MacArthur of the good job being done.

Edward R. Murrow in Korea 1950

When Edward R. Murrow made his final broadcast, from Tokyo 15 August, he said, “The Eighth Army and 5th Marines were committed to that push along the southern end of the peninsula to secure the high ground east of Chinju. This is not a decision forced upon us by the enemy. Our high command took it because, in the words of one officer who was in position to know, ‘We decided we needed a victory.’ The result of that victory was the loss of an important airfield…'” The broadcast continued on with additional criticism of the military and management of the war. Murrow’s broadcast was sent by teletype to CBS in New York. CBS Executive, Frank Stanton, telephoned Murrow and informed the reporter that his piece gave aid and comfort to the enemy and he was scrubbed from his own show. Murrow remained silent for a month and then his piece ran in “Newsweek.”

Click on map and photos to enlarge.

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Farewell Salutes –

Archie Carlson, Jr. – Burlington, Iowa & Washington D.C.; U.S. Navy, WWII

Dennis Harpool – Haymarket, VA; U.S. Army, Vietnam, 2 Bronze Stars

Phyllis Shanklin – Washington D.C. & Ashburn, VA; Office of War Information, WWII

Frank Ridge – N.Y.C., NY; U.S. Army, WWII, Battle of the Bulge, Bronze Star

Roseanne Dial – (95) – Argyle, MO & Fairfax, VA; civilian employee of U.S. Navy, WWII until 1979

Henry Paige – Bethesda, MD; Lieutenant, U.S. Navy

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Resources: “The Korean War” by Maurice Isserman; “MacArthur’s War’ by Stanley Weintraub; “Warfare of the 20th Century” by Christopher Chant; “Korean War” by Stephen Badsey; history.navy.mil; Korean War – educator.org (the memoirs of Harold E. Secor, medic Unit # 8055); USA Today.com; Wodumedia.com