An Invaluable Gift

The Korean War broke out at dawn on June 25, 1950, by the North Korean communist regime that was heavily backed by the U.S.S.R.

North Korea invaded South Korea to unify Korea by force. South Korea unprepared for the North Korean surprise attack was caught off guard and North Korean troops took over the capital, Seoul in just 3 days. The only area left from the communist rule was a little area around Busan port. Fortunately, thanks to an amphibious assault (Operation Chromite) at Inchon set by the general of the US Army, Douglas MacArthur, the UN forces in Korea together with the ROK Marines attacked Inchon, a city near Seoul, in September of 1950. This caught North Korea off guard. The UN and the South Korean troops were able to recapture the capital city of Seoul and push North Koreans back into North Korea.

The UN decided to continue to fight and advanced to the North in October of 1950. North Korea was almost entirely lost to South Korean and UN forces. When the UN and the ROK troops advanced near the Yalu River, the troops thought that South Korea-led unification was almost complete. But China sent hundreds of thousands of troops across the Yalu River to force South Korean and UN forces back into South Korean territorial borders. Finally, the enemies crossed the 38^th Parallel again as well. Our capital, Seoul was lost for a second time to the communists in January of 1951. After a successful counterattack, the friendly forces regained Seoul in March. Pushing North Koreans back above the border, the United States started negotiating the ceasefire talks with the communists.

Peace talks went on without results for the next two years. Battles were still fought in the same area around the border. Finally, on July 27th, 1953, the Armistice Agreement was signed leaving a 155-mile long demilitarized zone (DMZ), which remains the most heavily armed and fiercely guarded stretch of land on earth.

Following the summary of the Korean War, From now on, I would like to introduce the above subject. During the Korean War, I had my childhood in a small village called ‘Seolak-myeon, Gapyeong-gun’ located about 45km away from Seoul. My family consisted of my parents, elder sister, elder brother, and myself.

When our capital city of Seoul was abandoned again due to the enemy’s second phase offensive launched in November 1950, that forced the UN and the ROK forces to retreat from North Korea in December 1950, carrying the war back south of the 38th Parallel, one day in early January, my elder brother who was 11 years old and 7 years older than me at that time, happened to meet an African-American soldier shivering in the bitter cold in a foxhole positioned at a corner of our rice paddy.

Seeing the foreign soldier trembling with cold, the 11-year-old boy ran back home and took a cotton stuffed winter blanket to warm him up. Receiving an unexpected help from a young boy, the soldier, in turn, gave my elder brother a toiletry bag and a spoon as a token of his gratitude. My parents have treasured the bag and the spoon for seven decades ever afterward. As a matter of fact, I was told the entire story by my brother much later on when I was in middle school. Fortunately, I have kept the invaluable gift since my parents passed away.

As shown on the attached photo, there are hand-written letters like “Charle S. Johnson”. Even though it is unclear, I believe this must be the name of the African-American soldier who endured the severe cold to preserve the freedom of a small country he had never heard of. I wish I could find if the soldier is still alive.

Records reveal that nearly 40,000 US soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines lost their lives during the Korean War. Therefore, we South Koreans must face the fact that how much we owe to the United States of America including the 15 UN countries that participated in the battle. At the same time, we are obligated to teach the historical facts to our descendants. For this reason, I will treasure these items as long as possible because these will be the evidence to prove their sacrifices to our future generations.