The view from Mt Scott.
Spencer being serious.
I like Lily's little leg kick.
King of the mountain.
Medicine Park, OK a nice little resort town on the north side of the refuge.
Smelly bison.
The kids loved the prairie dogs.
Longhorn steers where everywhere.
On June 25, 1950, communist North Korea invaded the Republic of Korea. The ROK Army initially offered stiff resistance, but it lost vital battles north of Seoul and lost many men and important equipment when a bridge over the Han was prematurely blown in Seoul.
US defense spending had reached a modern day low after World War. The military was ill-prepared and those in authority embraced questionable doctrines. The usefulness of the tank in World War II had been lost to those in charge, and the Army had only a single armored division. The weaponry of World War II had not been significantly improved upon. The A-Bomb was seen as a serious deterrent to ANY enemy aggression.
In Japan, US occupation forces were prepared for quick shipment to Korea. A 540 man battalion sized task force of the 24th Infantry Division under Lt. Col. Charles Smith was rushed to Korea on transport planes and moved north through hordes of refugees and retreating ROK Army units to block the enemy advance. They were told the communists would flee at the sight of American soldiers.
Early on the morning of July 5th, Task Force Smith took up position a mile long just north of Osan on ridge 300 feet above the plain to the north. A platoon of B Company occupied a knob to the west of the road while the other two platoons as well as the two platoons of C Company occupied the ridge to the east. Two mortar platoons were 400 yards to the rear and five 105 mm howitzers were 2,000 yards to the rear.
At around 7:00 AM the approaching enemy was sighted, and at 8:16 the artillery began firing on the advancing enemy. Leading the North Korean advance was the 107th Armored Brigade equipped with T-34 tanks. Not bothering to deploy, the tanks advanced straight up the road toward the American position. Fire from two American 75 mm recoilless rifles did not damage the advancing T-34s. No anti-tank mines had been brought along, and anti-tank guns, a vital part of World War II armies, were no longer used. As the tanks continued, the Americans opened up with the 2.36 inch bazookas. These weapons were quickly obsolete in World War II and predictably could not penetrate the T-34s' frontal armor. They were even of questionable use against the weaker areas of the tanks. One of the 105 mm howitzers fired HEAT rounds as the tanks crested the ridge, and the front two tanks were disabled. The remaining 33 tanks continued down the road, firing as they went. The tanks tore up the communications wire as they went and bypassed the howitzers, whose rounds stopped only three of the T-34s.
Before noon, 1,000 men in two regiments of the North Korean 4th Division supported by three tanks deployed to attack the ridge. The Americans held off attacks to their front, but the enemy began moving around both flanks. At 12:30 PM, the North Koreans occupied a hill overlooking the American position west of the road, so the American platoon fell back to the east side. Running low on ammunition and with the enemy around both flanks, Smith ordered a withdrawal at 2:30. The retreat was confused and the guns were abandoned. Although they had inflicted 127 casualties, the task force suffered 181 casualties and was so scattered it would be largely ineffective. Over the coming months, additional US troops were sent to Korea, and the battle lines finally stabilized at the Pusan Perimeter, where UN troops fought off desperate human wave attacks. In September, landings at Inchon would turn the tide in favor of the UN.
The battle at Osan is a low point in American history. It symbolizes the price in blood our troops pay for ill preparedness and inadequate defense spending. During the 1980s many an Army leader has stated a policy of "No more Task Force Smiths.". Today however not many people outside of Korean vets have even heard of the battle. Are we better prepared now than we where then? Tactically, yes I think we are unfortunately strategically we are not better prepared. Our means are well thought out and planned for but the 'big picture' and the 'endgame' of conflict is not. Sadly in my neck of the Army the soldiers are not even prepared tactically. We lack the training and equipment to complete our mission in a wartime environment. Our chance of victory and our survivability would be very low.
The original monument on the hill occupied by B Co. who took the worst of it.
The monument erected in 1982, nearby is a tree planted by BG(ret) Smith.
You can see the hill to the west that B Co occupied and then vacated as well as the hill and ridge line to the east that C Co and LTC Smith occupied. To the south is where the artillery was positioned. Just about as a good of a spot for a defense as any.
The Korean DMZ is a buffer zone between North and South Korea. It cuts the peninsula roughly in half crossing the infamous 38th parallel. It is 155 miles long and approximately 2.5 miles wide although much narrower in some places (especially near the Joint Security Area or JSA). It is regarded as the most heavily armed border in the world. The ceasefire that ended full-scale fighting at the end of the Korean War and created the DMZ was signed 27 July 1953. Each side agreed to pull their troops back 2000m from the front line, this created a buffer zone 2.5 miles wide. The Military Demarcation Line or MDL goes down the center of the DMZ and is exactly where the front was the day the cease fire was signed. Technically the two sides are still at war and large numbers of troops are stationed along the DMZ. The armistice only allows certain types of weapons and a specific number of troops allowed in the DMZ. Both sides are free to patrol the DMZ but cannot cross the MDL. Sporadic outbreaks of violence between the North and South due to northern aggression have killed over 500 ROK soldiers and 50 US soldiers from 1953 to 1999. There have been several notable incursions in the DMZ to which the North Korean government has not recognized any responsibility for.
Three tunnels dug by the North have been discovered in the mid-Seventies and a fourth in 1990. They were discovered with the help of a North Korean defector that worked on the tunnels. Two of the tunnels are large enough for tanks and the smallest one (open to the public) is for personnel only. The North Koreans claimed that they where coal mines, even smearing coal on the walls of the tunnel. It is believed there may be up to 13 undiscovered tunnels in the DMZ. It is estimated that a brigade-sized element could be moved through the tunnels in 45 minutes.
We got to go into the third tunnel (the personnel one), but no pictures were allowed. It’s very low and I had to duck my head down the whole time. It dead ends at a concrete wall put up at the point of the MDL.
On 18 August 1976 a group of Korean civilians escorted by a security team commanded by CPT Arthur Bonifas and his ROK Army counterpart CPT Kim and one of CPT Bonifas’ platoon leaders 1LT Mark Barrett along with 11 enlisted men both US and ROK went to the JSA to trim a tree that blocked the view of a checkpoint (CP#3) adjacent to the Bridge of No Return. The North Koreans had made several attempts to kidnap personnel in CP#3 and drag them across the bridge into North Korea. The checkpoint was nicknamed ‘The Loneliest Outpost in the World’ because it was so close to the MDL and it was surrounded by North Korean checkpoints. The trimming was scheduled with the KPA. The soldiers and officers where all unarmed as the amount of firearms in the JSA are limited by treaty, they did however have axes that were brought to prune the tree.
As the trimming began 15 KPA soldiers approached commanded by Senior Lt Pak Chul a man with a history of confrontations with UNC personnel. The KPA soldiers watched and then told CPT Bonifas to stop. He ignored this request. Soon 20 more KPA soldiers arrived and Senior Lt Pak Chul again demanded that the trimming cease. CPT Bonifas again ignored him. Pak Chul took off his watch wrapped it in a handkerchief, placed it in his pocket and gave the order, “Kill them!” as he swung an axe into CPT Bonifas’ neck. CPT Bonifas and 1LT Barrett where killed and all but one of the UNC guards were wounded in the incident.
The North claimed that the incident was an unprovoked attack on KPA guards led by the American officers and urged the Non-Aligned Nations to demand the removal of US troops from Korea. With details of the incident unavailable and rather than wait for clarification the resolution passed.
In response the US government launched an operation to cut down the tree with overwhelming force called Operation Paul Bunyan. The operation was meant to be a show of ROK/US solidarity and force. The operation consisted of 27 vehicles, 16 engineers, 60 JSA security guards, and a 64 man ROK Special Forces team to do the actual cutting. Behind them where an infantry company, 27 helicopters, numerous fighters from Osan and Kunsan and the aircraft carrier Midway was on alert just offshore. Al told the task force for Operation Paul Bunyan consisted of 813 men. The tree fell without incident and the stump remained there as a reminder until 1987 when it was replaced by a monument. The checkpoint in question was used until the mid-1980s when cement posts where installed to prevent use of the bridge.
We got to see the checkpoint, the place where the tree once stood and the Bridge of No Return.
A view of Gijeong-dong AKA Propaganda Village in the DMZ on the North Korea side, the communists call it Peace Village. It was built by the North in response to Daeseong-dong, the only village within the DMZ in the South. The North says it is inhabited by farmers but the truth is it's nearly deserted. The windows of the large buildings contain no glass and vehicles are seldom seen. The only inhabitants are some carteakers and a few farmers. Lights seem to come on and off at the same times every day. It does have a very large flagpole, in fact it is the largest in the world at 160m. It was built after the South built a 90m tall flagpole.
Panmunjeom, the Joint Security Area looking into North Korea. These buildings are used as a meeting place between North and South Korea. The concrete slab is the MDL, it bisects the buildings here.
Looking into North Korea from the MDL.
Me in front of the MDL, North Korea is beyond that. The MDL is the tree line behind me, I'm very close to communism at this point.
The sire of the Axe Murders today, the blue building is (CP#3) and the Bridge of No Return is just to the right.
The bridge today.
Resting after running up the steep .5 mile ramp out of the tunnel.
Isadong one of the districts of Seoul. This one is downtown and full of shops, restaurants and street vendors.
One of the many protests in the city. Here the police are ready for trouble.
Some sort of outdoor concert. Girls where pretty but not my cup of tea.
Musicians playing before some sort of martial arts match.
The contestants in the match. The match was played in a back alley theater area.
A poster of the 'glorious leader' to the north.
Sucks to be that guy.
I'm not so sure she knows what her T-shirt says. Engrish returns! It's everywhere!
I did not want to eat here.
