Korean War

The Korean War commenced on June 25, 1950, when approximately 75,000 soldiers from the North Korean People’s Army crossed the 38th parallel, the dividing line between the Soviet-backed Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to the north and the pro-Western Republic of Korea to the south. This invasion marked the beginning of the Cold War military actions. In response, American troops joined the conflict in July to support South Korea, viewing it as a battle against the spread of international communism.

After initial setbacks, South Korean and U.S. forces were pushed back to a small area in the south known as the Pusan Perimeter. In September 1950, a successful UN counter-offensive was launched at Incheon, cutting off many North Korean troops. However, the entrance of mass Chinese forces in October 1950 led to a retreat of UN forces until mid-1951.

Following a period of back-and-forth fighting, the conflict reached a stalemate with escalating casualties. American officials sought to negotiate an armistice with North Korea to avoid a broader conflict involving Russia and China, or even a third World War. The Korean War finally concluded in July 1953, resulting in the loss of approximately 5 million lives. The division of the Korean peninsula remains to this day.

U.S. Secretary of State Dean Acheson once remarked, “If the best minds in the world had set out to find us the worst possible location in the world to fight this damnable war, the unanimous choice would have been Korea.” The involvement in the Korean War was largely seen as an unexpected challenge for the United States, highlighting the complexities and consequences of global conflicts in the 20th century.

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On Nov. 25-26, 1950, the Chinese Army entered the Korean War in earnest with a violent attack against the American and United Nations forces in North Korea. The 300,000-man Chinese offensive caught the U.N. forces off guard, largely because of U.S. Gen. Douglas MacArthur's belief that China would not openly enter the war, and vastly expanded the conflict.

One unit that bore the brunt of the Chinese onslaught was the United States Army 2nd Division, Ninth Regiment. Unaware of the impending Chinese assault, the company had little ammo and few grenades. This image is based on a photo taken in the field where American soldiers raised a flag to let the Chinese troops know they were facing U.S. troops for the first time.

When the Chinese attacked The U.S. soldiers were taken completely by surprise.

The Chinese made charge after charge until they finally pushed the Americans off the hill. Almost every man was killed.”

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MASH units were established before the Korean war, the first one saw the light in August 1945 at the end of the Second World War. a MASH unit consisted of 10 medical officers, 12 nursing officers, 89 enlisted soldiers of assorted medical and non-medical specialties.

Three MASH units were established in Korea after hostilities began, staffed by personnel stripped from other Medical Department units, but not enough were in place to have one in support of each division as planned. The MASH concept of "surgery only" was abandoned under wartime pressure. In effect, the MASH became a small 200-bed capacity evacuation hospital providing care to the division. In some instances, a MASH exceeded 400 patients a day. Up through 26 December 1950, three MASH units supported four U.S. infantry divisions and other U.N. forces. By the end of 1950, there were four MASH units in support of seven divisions and attached U.N. troops.

The United Nations forces went on the offensive in 1951 and MASH units remained mobile, moving typically once per month. Through the latter part of 1951, a concerted effort was made to move the MASHs closer to the battles, usually about 20 miles from the front lines.

Standards for a MASH required that it was disassembled, loaded onto vehicles, and ready to depart on six hours notice. After arrival at its new destination, it was operational within four hours. Each MASH operated five surgical tables in a shift with a highly organized system of managing shock patients. An ambulance platoon was attached to each MASH to facilitate the rapid evacuation when post-operative recovery was complete. Additionally, four helicopters were attached to each MASH. They, in turn, were utilized for resupply, rapid patient delivery to the MASH, and comfortable evacuation from the MASH.

The results were outstanding. The early treatment of wounded at a MASH located only minutes from the battlefield, combined with the swift, comfortable delivery and evacuation of the seriously wounded by helicopter, helped to lower the fatality rate for the Army's wounded. That rate had been 4.5 percent during World War II. In Korea, it would eventually reach a new low of 2.5 percent. During the Korean war, surgeons experimented and implemented techniques of vascular repair, which restored circulation and limited the number of amputations. Surgeons now had the ability to prevent hundreds of amputations, soldiers injured in battle had another option besides losing a limb. It is easy to imagine that this would limit the stress of many soldiers going into battle because there were alternate methods for fixing injured limbs.

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During the Korean War, medical air evacuation nurses were the only women in the Air Force allowed to serve in the Korean battle zone. Other women carried out support roles at rear-echelon bases in Japan, as air traffic controllers, weather observers, radar operators, and photo interpreters. By the end of the Korean War, 12,800 WAF officers and enlisted women were serving worldwide.

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Korean War saw the implementation of the helicopter for wounded evacuation. The issues in the past of the amount of time it took to treat soldiers was solved, now the injured could be taken from the battlefield chaos and treated a safe distance away. During the Korean War helicopters transported over 2,000 wounded soldiers to safety.

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It was the first time U.S. jet aircraft entered into battle. Air Force F-86 Sabre jets took control of the skies, as American fighter pilots bested Soviet-built MiG-15 fighters in combat against aircraft, Soviet tactics, and, on some occasions, Soviet pilots of the Soviet 64th Fighter Aviation Corps.

The North American F-86 Sabre, sometimes called the Sabrejet, is a transonic jet fighter aircraft. Produced by North American Aviation , the Sabre is best known as the United States' first swept wing fighter that could counter the swept-wing Soviet MiG-15 in high-speed dogfights in the skies of the Korean War, fighting some of the earliest jet-to-jet battles in history.

Jets were to be the principle fighters on both sides, as the F-86 was opposed by the Russian MiG-15. Their contests took place at nearly twice the speed and at considerably greater heights than those of the Spitfires and Me-109s that fought the early air battles of World War II, in the Battle of Britain in 1940.

All the same, the most important advantage for the F-86 was the quality and experience of its pilots, who were far superior to the Chinese and North Koreans who flew most of the MiGs.

This factor demonstrated an important principle; that success in war can depend more on man than on machine. It was this that enabled the American and United Nations air forces in Korea to seize the most vital prize in any modern conflict: superiority in the skies.

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As in any war civilians, especially children at risk. This image is based on an actual photo of a U.S. soldier shows compassion by offering candy to a young child who was being relocated.

The median total estimated Korean civilian deaths in the Korean War is 2,730,000.

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USS Philippine sea sent to the Korean Peninsula at the outbreak of the Korean War. She sent aircraft in support of United Nations ground troops, first during the Battle of Pusan Perimeter and then during the Inchon Landings and the Second Battle of Seoul. She subsequently supported UN troops during the surprise Chinese attack and the Chosin Reservoir Campaign. Philippine Sea saw three tours to Korea during the war, receiving nine battle stars for her service.

WWII era aircraft were still used along with the new modern jets.

This image is from an actual account of a Corsair that crashed during landing. After fighting a fire the pilot was safely evacuated by the diligent crew.

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The battle of the Chosin Reservoir took place about a month after the People's Republic of China entered the conflict and sent the People's Volunteer Army 9th Army to infiltrate the northeastern part of North Korea. On 27 November 1950, the Chinese force surprised the US X Corps commanded by Major General Edward Almond at the Chosin Reservoir area. A brutal 17-day battle in freezing weather soon followed. Between 27 November and 13 December, 30,000 United Nations troops (later nicknamed "The Chosin Few") under the field command of Major General Oliver P. Smith were encircled and attacked by about 120,000 Chinese troops who had been ordered to destroy the UN forces. The UN forces were nevertheless able to break out of the encirclement and to make a fighting withdrawal to the port of Hungnam, inflicting heavy casualties on the Chinese. US Marine units were supported in their withdrawal by the US Army's Task Force Faith to their east, which suffered heavy casualties and the full brunt of the Chinese offensive. The retreat of the US Eighth Army from northwest Korea in the aftermath of the Battle of the Ch'ongch'on River and the evacuation of the X Corps from the port of Hungnam in northeast Korea marked the complete withdrawal of UN troops from North Korea.

The image is of a column of the US 1st Marine Division move through Chinese lines during their breakout from the Chosin Reservoir

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