Korean War and Korean War Veterans Association

Korea Is a small country that is sure-enough far away. Korea is a country in central Asia between China and Japan. The unknowing of the Korean War was because most Americans didn’t know about it because it was between two wars World War Two and the Vietnam War. This caused the Korean War to not get that much sunlight on it. One organization that helps the veterans that fought during the Korean War is called the Korean War Veterans Association (KWVA), which spreads love to the veterans and their families and the widowed families. This conflict was a terrible loss for many families. The Korean War was unknown to people because of the war before it, so here is some awareness about the Korean War.

The Korean War

The Korean War started on June 25,1950 and ended July 27, 1953, it started when North Korea crossed the 38th parallel and attacked South Korea. While the Korean War was happening there were two sides that helped both Korean countries. On the South Korean side there was America and the United Nations while on the North Korean side there was China. When president Truman heard that South Korea needed help, Truman ordered U.S. troops to the aid of South Korea and asked if the United Nations could send military aid as well to South Korea. The reasoning, America contributed to the Korean War is because America didn’t want the spread of communist to happen like what happened in World War Two. When American troops came to help South Korea the first battle that happened was the Osan battle. In the long run the Korean War had many major battles that were significant in the Korean War and how the Korean War started and how it ended.

During the Korean War there were many battles happening. The first battle the American troops fought in the Korean is the Osan battle which happened on July 5, 1950. When this battle took place this was the first interaction that the American troops had with the North Korean troops. The outcome of the battle of Osan was that the American troops created a delay for the North Koreans to attack Pusan, South Korea. Another battle that actually made the Korean War was the first battle of Seoul. The battle of Seoul started on June 25, 1950, which was the North Korean troops crossed the border that separated both of the Koreas. When the North Koreans crossed the border they used a technique that the Germans used in World War Two which is called the blitzkrieg which is the use of using tanks, planes, and artillery while the North Koreans passed through a narrow road. The end result of this battle was North Korea capturing South Korea’s Capital. Another battle that occurred during the Korean War was the Battle of Old Baldy which was a group of five battles to control Hill 266 which was one of the outposts by the Chinese, this battle lasted for several months which was 1952 into 1953. The reasoning of the name is because the trees were destroyed by tanks and fire. Even though there are more major battles that happened in the Korean War the effect it had citizens in South Korea and the troops fighting the war.

Throughout the Korean War it affected many people life’s, including soldier Edmund L.Reel who decide to join the army when he saw other soldiers return from World War Two. Soldier Reel decide to leave school and sign up with one of his buddies that was already a World War Two veteran, and also he was motivated to get his chevrons which is a stripe or a line of a V on a uniform to show the rank or service soldiers did in the army.Soldier Reel’s first tour was him doing guard duty on were both koreas were divide at which is called the 38th parallel, and after six months he went back to his hometown of West Virginia. Until his second tour in South Korea changed, him and about 150 soldiers were captured by the Chinese but soon the Chinese turned Reel and the six other soldiers to the North Koreans. Reel and the soldiers suffered from forms of torture, hard work, and little of food. But one torture that soldier Reel experienced was the statement he said "The worst torture I had with the Koreans [happened] one morning while trying to get the fire started -- I did the cooking for our little bit of the compound. I couldn't get the green wood to burn. I decided I'd get old wood shingles off the roof, but the guard caught me," Reel said. "He took me out on the point of a hill and made me hold a 20-pound rock over my head for 30 or 40 minutes at gunpoint."Soldier Reel experience left his hands damaged since it was a cold day. Reel and his fellow soldiers suffered for 8 and plus counting months of torture. Until the United Nations came on August 24, 1953 and told Reel and the other soldiers that they war was over. Another person that was affected by the Korean War was South Korean citizen Ha Young Yoon who was a survivor during the Korean War. Her experience with the war started when she was in third grade and her school informed her and the rest of the students that there wouldn’t be any school since North Korea endorse war with South Korea. When her and her schoolmates were of course happy about not having school without knowing how the war would affect her. When Ha Young Yoon saw what war could do she stated , “The war is the worst tragedy that can happen in this world. After the war, I learned how peace is one of the most precious things. This is the truth. No one can imagine war through the television shows we watch today. The recordings on paper cannot explain war itself. Even though I was young, I saw what happened and, I felt it with my skin. I saw dead bodies. Who knows if one of them was my big brother…. I was hungry all through the war. We couldn’t complain about anything because we were struggling not to die. We were not trying to live. We were trying not to die”.This event that happened to Soldier Edmund L.Reel and Ha Young Yoon changed both of their lives and others, especially soldiers that suffered from South Korea's harsh weather.

When it comes to temperatures in the Korean war the weather was very harsh upon the soldiers.The soldiers during the Korean War experienced injuries when it came to the coldness. Some soldiers suffered from frostbite. Soldiers lost their fingers and toes. It was so cold during the Korean War even guns got jammed. A statement said by Raymond Smith who was a gunner. "It was demolished. And up on the border, there was nothing but cold and freezing and you were cold all the time. It's too cold when you can't pull the bolt on the .50-cal to fire -- and you stand out there with a one-gallon tin can half full of gas and 10 guys are standing around it trying to keep warm."The temperature didn't cause any deaths for the soldiers but did cause effects when the soldiers had gotten older, but of course, there were a lot of deaths during the Korean War.

The consequences of the Korean war was that there were many deaths on all of the sides fighting in the Korean War. There were about 5 million people who died during the Korean War. One important person that was in the Korean war was Walton Harris Walker which who was a four-star American general who served in both World Wars and of course the Korean War, but he sadly passed in Seoul, South Korea. But one hero that is still alive, is a man named Mamo Habtewold who won a us gallantry award for helping the United States, fight in the Korean War. During the Korean War there were many deaths and missing soldiers that fought in a war that was overshadowed by other wars. That is why there is a memorial site for the Korean War veterans that is in the United States which is located in Washington, D.C. called the Korean War Veterans Memorial.There are four parts to the memorial site, one is where there are nineteen statues that were created by Frank Gaylord and Tallix Foundries were the ones that made casted the statues. The nineteen statues have different type services that were served in the war. There are fourteen army soldiers , another is three marines soldiers, one navy soldier , and one Air Force soldier while holding different types of guns. Another part of the memorial is The Mural Wall which was designed by Louis Nelson and the artist who worked on the mural, worked very close to make a two-dimensional work. This mural shows pictures of the soldiers and also when seen afar, it looks like the Korean mountain ranges. The last two are called The Pool of Remembrance and The United Nations Wall, the United Nations wall is engraved markers that have a list of the twenty two nations which is a tribute to the soldiers that fought in the war.This memorial site reminds people who fought in the Korean War and helps families remember their loved ones. But most families don’t have that type of luck since most veterans went missing during battles and were not found. One widowed woman unfortunately stuffed that , her husband fought in the Korean War but soon passed away and his remains went missing. The statement said by Clara Grant about her missing remains of her husband she said “Sixty-some odd years and just receiving his remains, coming home, was a blessing and I am so happy that I was living to accept him,”. Things like missing remains of soldiers most widowed families or former soldiers of the Korean War usually don’t get much help when it comes down to things, former soldiers have to make their own organization to help each other out and to spread awareness.

Korean War Veterans Association

The Korean War Veterans Association was founded by Mr. William T. Norris who was from New York and also served as a sergeant during the Korean War. On June 25,1985 in the state of New York the Korean War Veterans Association. This association has several benefits for the veterans and even their families and to spread awareness of the Korean War.

The joint purpose of this association is to help members , their wives ,and also the members children or to help widow’s and the widow's children. Another thing the association does is make charity’s to member veterans who served and passed away in the Korean War. They also spread awareness about the soldiers who fought in the Korean War since it didn’t get as much light, since it was sandwiched between World War Two and the Vietnam War.

The association helps MIA which is a soldier who went missing during battles and may still be alive and has a link of missing soldiers that their remains have been found. This helps the family know if their love one remains have been found or not. Another thing this association does is help former POWS which is a soldier who was imprisoned by the enemy. This association helps former POWs soldiers by telling them about how they can get benefits or healthcare, that do not know about the benefits they can get. The association even has former POW teams that help other former POWs.Also if people want to donate or help Korean War veterans you can go to the website and contact the association and try to help the association spread more love and care to the former veterans and their families.           

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