U.S.-S. Korea alliance is blood bond: Fmr. USMC General
- 5 years ago
Sixty-nine years ago to the day, South Korea and the United States came together against a common enemy as the 1950-1953 Korean War broke out on the peninsula.
An American war veteran who fought in one of the war's fiercest battles says the bond between the two countries was formed in "blood and snow" during those years.
Choi Si-young reports.
In late November 1950, about four months after the Korean War broke out, around 30-thousand UN soldiers,... mostly from the U.S. marine corps, were suddenly attacked by some 120-thousand Chinese troops.
This was the beginning of the Battle of Jangjin Reservoir,... also known as the Battle of Chosin Reservoir, one of the fiercest encounters not only in the Korean War but also in the history of the U.S. marine corps.
"The marines that were there were very well trained by that time. So the marines,... and we had very good non-commissioned officers. And our officers were very well trained,... and they had been fighting for about a month and half."
The freezing-cold battle left many UN and Chinese soldiers dead, but the U.S.-led coalition managed to delay the further advance of the Chinese and North Korean armies down the Korean peninsula.
The coalition successfully evacuated the remaining forces, including some 90-thousand North Korean civilians, back to the southern city of Busan in what has become known as the "Hungnam Evacuation."
Some war veterans say the battle changed not only the course of the war itself but also the nascent relationship between South Korea and the U.S.
"The link between South Korea, and particularly the Marines, but everybody in America, really, is a blood bond from that battle. Many people were lost. Many people were lost. The bond really is formed in blood and snow."
To remember the fallen soldiers, the South Korean government set up a memorial at the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Quantico, Virginia back in 2015.
In 2017 when it was open to the public, President Moon Jae-in visited there as the first stop of his first official visit to the U.S.
Choi Si-young, Arirang News.
An American war veteran who fought in one of the war's fiercest battles says the bond between the two countries was formed in "blood and snow" during those years.
Choi Si-young reports.
In late November 1950, about four months after the Korean War broke out, around 30-thousand UN soldiers,... mostly from the U.S. marine corps, were suddenly attacked by some 120-thousand Chinese troops.
This was the beginning of the Battle of Jangjin Reservoir,... also known as the Battle of Chosin Reservoir, one of the fiercest encounters not only in the Korean War but also in the history of the U.S. marine corps.
"The marines that were there were very well trained by that time. So the marines,... and we had very good non-commissioned officers. And our officers were very well trained,... and they had been fighting for about a month and half."
The freezing-cold battle left many UN and Chinese soldiers dead, but the U.S.-led coalition managed to delay the further advance of the Chinese and North Korean armies down the Korean peninsula.
The coalition successfully evacuated the remaining forces, including some 90-thousand North Korean civilians, back to the southern city of Busan in what has become known as the "Hungnam Evacuation."
Some war veterans say the battle changed not only the course of the war itself but also the nascent relationship between South Korea and the U.S.
"The link between South Korea, and particularly the Marines, but everybody in America, really, is a blood bond from that battle. Many people were lost. Many people were lost. The bond really is formed in blood and snow."
To remember the fallen soldiers, the South Korean government set up a memorial at the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Quantico, Virginia back in 2015.
In 2017 when it was open to the public, President Moon Jae-in visited there as the first stop of his first official visit to the U.S.
Choi Si-young, Arirang News.