If you're interested, there is an excellent overview at the site: http://www.seoulselection.com/index.php/article/single/home-of-patriots/
We sat on the shored up banks of the Nakdonggang River to view the re-enactment. It was very hot, and it got very loud and very smoky. But it was all fake. There was no feeling of urgency, of life or death. I watched these young soldiers, probably having fun playing a war game, and started thinking about the real thing. How you must lose all sense of anything except self-preservation during something like that. Is there any room for fear inside a mind that can barely think from the sensory overload of flying bullets, exploding bombs, screaming wounded? I reflected as I viewed the 'dead' lying around on how much of war is so futile. And I also thanked God that there are still people today who believe that some things are actually worth dying for.
They also had Korean veterans present, and I wondered what it would be like to watch it replayed. What kind of memories does that bring back? South Koreans are pretty stoic, but I'm betting a tear or two was shed. They had a little parade for them also, which I thought was cute. I know, not a very "hooah" phrase, but oh well!
Then I thought about what these people have done in 60 years with their country, yes with help, but it is amazing. When the war ended South Korea's economy was equivalent to a sub-Saharan nation; now it ranks 11th in the world. (Just some interesting trivia thrown in!)
If you squint closely you can see them in their fighting positions. The arched bridge in the background is the original. They had rigged mock explosives to blow it up today.
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| the red flags are the North Koreans attacking |
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| the north routing the south; they went back & forth several times |
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| aerial assistance for the South & allies |
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| old veterans on parade |
It was a wonderful re-enactment and very emotional for me. I can't describe what these things make feel and think. Maybe I'm just an overemotional woman, but it makes me weep to think about these poor souls, always so young, dying in some crazy power play. And I end with this cheesy but so heartfelt statement: PROUD TO BE AMERICAN!
Aloha,
ReplyDeleteMy Father passed away as a LTC. in the U.S. Army. As a young man well into his second War of his lifetime & Career he was deployed to Waegwan Korea with other men of Valor such as Lt. General Henry "The Gunfighter" Emerson. Of course my father was a Captain with the 5th R.C.T. and the General was a 1st Lt. rather fresh out of West Points 1947 Graduating class. My Father of course was a graduate of the class of WW2 (Northern Africa up through and into Germany. My father got caught up in this seriuos battle for freedom and was rewarded with a simple Bronze Star for his actions that fateful day. He is credited for "personally directing the emplacement of the battalions heavy weapons while under heavy flat trajectory fire from both the left and rear flanks. He moved the battalion command post into Waegwan and organized it despite the constant hail of enemy fire to which he continually exposed himself to with little to no regard for his own personal safety. By his aggressive leadership and indifference to personal danger he contributed substantially to the successful completion of the battallion mission and was instrumental in maintaining communication with higher echelons of command..". I have a copy of the newspaper article and photograph of my father recieving his 1st Oak Cluster on the Bronze Star for his actions on those eventful days. Anyone who would like them for their history studies can write me at primalhawaii@wildblue.net for a copy. Also I would beg of anyone who has knowledge of that battle to write me with whatever you know of that day and possibly even of my fathers actions that day. When I was a young child we would often look at fathers medals and there was always a purple heart within them, I had been told that my father had taken a round on the banks of a river in Korea in his okole (butt). Upon my parents passing all of his uniforms, medals and awards were no longer anywhere to be found. I contacted the VTRECS folks who helped me track down most all of the medals I remembered but they told me that due to a large fire back decades ago alot of Veterans records had been lost forever unless we could establish a record or witnesses to the action in question. It would be of such great importance for me to once again hold the Purple Heart if indeed it was earned by my father. It also to me as a veteran and as a history buff that perhaps due to the significance of the battle that occured that September that if the incident were to be reevaluated that perhaps my father may have earned more from his nation than just the Oak Cluster if indeed his actions are as portrayed in his newspaper article it would appear that perhaps our family could recieve a bit more of a record of the actions he took those fateful days, how many of his men in arms were at his side, how many returned home and how many lost their lives to preserve freedom. I also have all of my fathers almost daily letters to my mother and his then only 2 young children. I wonder if anyone is in the publishing business and might think about publishing long lost "Letters of Love from Korea...".?? To me it seems such a wonderful idea that I would love (as a writer) to do. Aloha ka kou, May God Bless all our Troops past, present & Future... Rev. Joed Miller
Thank you for sharing your family's story here. I can't answer any of your questions, except that yes, it is free to have a blog. I hope that you can connect with someone who can help you complete the history you are trying to reconstruct and share with others.
DeleteAloha- sorry to be inexperienced which i am by the way. Slow learner these days.. lol. is it free to start a blog, can i post a bunch of old photos 4 korean vets family members between 1947-1949. i am happy to share them. My father went knowing a few men an returned knowing the ones who would become his life long forever friends. Guarenteed to end up together finally having people talking to them not searching for a story !! Well you guys are indeed the first group of super heros in a modern world. Or if you would rather i just email you the photos so you can look through them closely. I would REALLY like to be able to put a name to every face before they all departed for Korea, many to return as but a broken families memory forever and this photos may be just that memory they needed like myself. Best regards, Rev. Joed Miller
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