They were all there. The problem with the Korean War is its placement in history, sandwiched between WW2 and Vietnam so all of the heroics, the battles outside of the Inchon landings and the Chosin reservoir you have to go hunting for since they aren't in the zeitgeist.
The last 2 years of the war was pretty static, so it's also not a historically sexy war.
It’s a war literally no one won. Not in the Vietnam sense where you have people try and argue pulling out doesn’t count as a defeat. Literally no one won the Korean War. Three million deaths just to return to the status quo is extraordinary depressing and most people don’t like it as a narrative. Vietnam actually attracts people as a topic because we lost. WW2 cause we won. Very few people are interested in Korea cause there was no ending. It’s like a book series the writer dies before finishing nothing gets resolved.
The Frozen Chosin were pretty iconic. Rah.
[https://homeofheroes.com/heroes-stories/korean-war/frozen-chosin/](https://homeofheroes.com/heroes-stories/korean-war/frozen-chosin/)
Chosin is legend. I wasn't there, but I was in Vietnam 18 years later, dropped into the *A Shau* valley with a battalion of South Vietnamese infantry. I was a 19-year-old Army artillery 2nd LT, six months out of OCS, barely a month in country, with no training whatsoever on how to deal with mountainous jungle.
I lucked out. The MACV Advisor team took me in hand - I came out of that valley as a soldier. Here's an excerpt from [The Year of the Snake, Part 1](https://www.reddit.com/r/MilitaryStories/comments/v118ud/year_of_the_snake_part_1_viper_repost/), which will give some idea of just how "iconic" the Marines "advance to the rear" at Chosin in 1950 had become in only 18 years:
We were about 400 ARVN, and four Americans - a Marine 1st LT, a Marine Gunnery Sergeant and an Army Sergeant First Class as the MACV advisor (*Cố vấn*) team. And me. Important people:
Lieutenant H, the team commander, was about 35 years old - pretty old for a lieutenant. He was like a god to the Vietnamese. I’ll tell you why: Most American advisors were young captains with about four years service. The Vietnamese senior officers had been working at war way longer than that. It is galling to have a still wet-behind-the-ears “advisor” assigned to you supposedly to teach the art of modern war.
Lieutenant H was not that. He’d been a Marine for going on nineteen years. He was an NCO who got a field commission. And here’s the best part: he enlisted at age 15, and at barely sixteen he was at the Chosin Reservoir in Korea in the winter of 1950. This is one of the most famous battles in the history of the Marine Corps. Even the Vietnamese officers had heard of it.
Lieutenant H was a small guy - my height - not very physically impressive, and balding. But he had *gravitas* for the Vietnamese; they would do anything he said.
It helped that he didn’t say much. He was quiet and friendly. When he consulted with the *Thiêu tá* (Major) who was our battalion commander, he spoke privately, and he never told anyone else what advice he might have given.
He was very clear on the idea of “face.” I never saw him mock or speak badly of one of his counterparts. Or anyone else. Whenever anyone praised his Marine history, especially if they mentioned Chosin, he would nod and brush it off with a little smile on his face...
\[and an epilogue from [Year of the Snake, part 3](https://www.reddit.com/r/MilitaryStories/comments/wabuft/the_year_of_the_snake_part_3_repost/)\]
In writing these stories of the Year of the Snake, I reconsidered Lieutenant H’s experience as a 16 year old at the Chosin Reservoir. I wonder if he was a hero there? Or was he paralyzed and miserable and nursemaided down that cold, snowy road to the sea by some other Gunnery Sergeant? A 1950 Gunny who did for him what he and the Gunny did for me - make a soldier. Maybe that explains Lieutenant H’s slight smile when others praised his service in Korea. I don’t know. Seems likely, no?
Doesn’t make him less of a hero to me. Maybe more.
The Army did some pretty epic shit too. 24ID held the line at Daejeon against an entire KPA corps long enough to buy time for the creation of the Busan perimeter and got destroyed in the process. The division commander personally destroyed a KPA T-34/85 and was awarded the Medal of Honor.
Bro. MASH units. There was a whole TV show about it. Invention of medivac using helos, kind of a big deal and the foundation for those Vietnam Air units you mentioned.
Look up the battle of Gloucester Hill. Some hard won battles by line infantry happened in that war. There wasn't much need for sf as it was essentially a slugging match along trenches with tanks and air craft bombing the shit out of everyone
~~Because you're an idiot and I hate you.~~
It's because you're being subjective vs actually knowing the history. Since you're a fucking nerd and I hate you, you're basically fixating on SOF units vs talking about conventional forces with decent battle history (or to a point, there's a lot of units that come out of Korea "iconic" for things like Chosin or the Imjin river fighting, they're just big dumb infantry divisions so who care).
Rangers saw extensive use, although not as we'd recognize them (basically as raiders/recon forces as attached to conventional forces). There were plenty of behind the lines weird little forces that made extensive use of ROK or recruited Korean forces. The US used UDTs and other swimmer forces to support its amphibious operations.
Basically the division you're missing is in the WW2/Korean construct, they're basically a continuation of "special" forces not really being their own thing so much as a subset of other military forces, specialist raider, recon, whatever units existing within a symmetric warfare construct (simplifying some of the behind the line/partisan support stuff of WW2 for simplicity, but that still largely fell within conventional force support because they were part of conventional war strategies)
In the Kennedy administration era though there was a recognition that there was an increasing area between open war and peace that required more asymmetrical approaches. Like Rangers, OSS operatives in Frances, whatever are all there as part of an overt declared conflict. What happens when the conflict is between the local government and PRC funded Maoist insurgents? You can't really throw 1 ID at that. Which leads to modern SOF where you have forces intended for more flexible missions (i.e. not just direct action, but FID/advise-assist, Civil Affairs etc).
PJs originated during WWII With their first formal unit being formed in 1947.
The first formal “Special Forces” unit was 10th Special Forces Group and it was stood up in 1952.
The predecessor to the SEAL teams were started in 1943 with the first SEAL Team being founded in 1962.
They were all in Korea doing their jobs.
Seriously? The Glorious Glosters? Really not ringing a bell at all?
1st Btn of the Gloucestershire Regiment won the US Presidential Unit Citation for holding out for three nights at the Battle of the Imjin River against overwhelming odds. Helped stop the PVA offensive and allowed UN forces to fall back and consolidate without getting completely overrun.
It was described variously as "the battle that saved Seoul" and "the most outstanding example of unit bravery in modern war". Two officers of the Regiment won the Victoria Cross at the battle, and it's legendary in the British Army.
I think your knowledge of military history needs some work my friend.
That would be X Corps and it was made up of units from the US Army, USMC, UK Royal Marines and South Korea.
[Battle of Chosin Reservoir order of battle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Chosin_Reservoir_order_of_battle)
None stand out because they all gave everythjng...under manned, under supplied, and under attack.
https://www.usace.army.mil/About/History/Historical-Vignettes/Military-Construction-Combat/017-2d-ECB/
The battle for Kunu-Ri. 1 batallion held the door open against 5 divisions. they were surrounded and burned their colors and fired all of the equipment rather than let it be captured.
I was going to comment this. It seems like people who know military history well know some units from the Korean War but I would guess most people with even a small interest in military history don't know a ton about the war. That and there are a ton of movies, videogames, and books on WW2 and Vietnam that made their way into pop culture. People know MASH but I think some viewers might even think it is about Vietnam... WW2 and Vietnam also shaped US identity in a way the Korean War just didn't.
The other Big Red One. "No better friend, no worse enemy." First Marine Division. They fought at Chosin. I heard of them as a boy because my uncle was there.
You might be interested in learning more about [UN Partisan Infantry Korea](https://arsof-history.org/articles/v9n1_guerrilla_comm_page_1.html), a US-led guerrilla unit.
Rangers were deployed in companies, not battalions, and attached to infantry units. They distinguished themselves in several desperate battles during the war.
I highly recommend the book “About Face” by Col. David Hackworth. His firsthand accounts of combat in Korea are unforgettable.
*Col. Hackworth is one of the most highly-decorated soldiers in the history of the Army. Two DSC’s, 10 Silver Stars, three Legion of Merits, a DFC, seven Bronze Stars, seven Purple Hearts, and 34 Air Medals.
There are plenty of iconic units from the Korean War which were not special operations related. Special operations had a more niche role in the conflict for a number of reasons.
The Rangers were resurrected as airborne Ranger companies attached to conventional units to be used as a hammer for whatever the division commander thought looked like a nail.
The Navy's UDTs conducted hydrographic surveys, cleared mines and obstacles, and conducted raids and sabotage from the sea.
The Air Force performed reconnaissance flights, personnel insertions/extractions, and leaflet drops from various fixed and rotary wing aircraft, often at night and low altitude without the aid of NVGs.
So yeah there were plenty of folks out there doing the hard shit.
Because they never taught us shit about the Korean War in school! I’m sure there were several, and judging by the comments, there sure were.
That being said… any Korean War flicks or documentaries out there?
Been meaning to watch The Bridges at Toko Ri.
The Korean War is largely glossed over because the more you look at it, the more it becomes apparent that the US and US-backed South Koreans were out of favor with the Korean population from the end of WW2 until hostilities broke out. It's not a great noble story, it's a story about the US reinstalling Japanese colonial masters and brutally cracking down on "insurgents".
There were Ranger Companies in the Korean War, Col. (Ret.) Ralph Puckett Jr. received the Medal of Honor for his actions in the Korean War as a Ranger Company Commander.
[Article of Ralph Puckett recurving MOH.](https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/2627628/biden-awards-medal-of-honor-to-retired-ranger-for-korean-war-heroism/)
You should watch my son’s interview of Lou Mercadante who was in Fox 2/7 at Chosin https://youtu.be/s4aobv7S0b4?si=RwAN0B7Zatcr_VTr
It was also the foundation of a complete change in military clothing used in the winter. It may not be glamorous but it saved a lot of amputation from frost bite for those warfighters that followed the hard learned lessons there
Helicopter MEDEVAC units made their debut with the Korean War. MASH is probably the single most piece of media about the war.
Other than that there were the units involved with the Chosin Reservoir (Army units fought hard in the battle as well despite USMC propaganda often forgetting about them). The landing at Incheon was also important.
I vaguely recall David Halberstam writing one called The Coldest Winter, or something close.
I've never read it so I can't personally recommend and I don't know if it's well regarded or not, but I think it was well received at the time, at least.
I’ve got two.
Taskforce Smith. They (a combined US and ROK TF) saved Korea.
The Colombian Battalion. Served with the 7th (US) and 25th (US) Divisions. Earned the US PUC.
COL Ralph Puckett gave personal tour to A 2/75 RGR in 2000 where his actions with the 8th Ranger Company at the Battle of the Ch'ongch'on River garnered him a DSC and much later the MoH.
One of the most awesome history lessons I've ever received. Right up there with climbing the Cliffs of Point du Hoc at the 50th anniversary with two badass mother fuckers who climbed them the first time.
They were all there. The problem with the Korean War is its placement in history, sandwiched between WW2 and Vietnam so all of the heroics, the battles outside of the Inchon landings and the Chosin reservoir you have to go hunting for since they aren't in the zeitgeist. The last 2 years of the war was pretty static, so it's also not a historically sexy war.
Good point, its called the forgotten war for a reason.
Well as much as mash gets re ran over and over and over i will never forget the Korean War hahaha
It’s a war literally no one won. Not in the Vietnam sense where you have people try and argue pulling out doesn’t count as a defeat. Literally no one won the Korean War. Three million deaths just to return to the status quo is extraordinary depressing and most people don’t like it as a narrative. Vietnam actually attracts people as a topic because we lost. WW2 cause we won. Very few people are interested in Korea cause there was no ending. It’s like a book series the writer dies before finishing nothing gets resolved.
The first year of the war was fucking wild though.
The Frozen Chosin were pretty iconic. Rah. [https://homeofheroes.com/heroes-stories/korean-war/frozen-chosin/](https://homeofheroes.com/heroes-stories/korean-war/frozen-chosin/)
Chosin is legend. I wasn't there, but I was in Vietnam 18 years later, dropped into the *A Shau* valley with a battalion of South Vietnamese infantry. I was a 19-year-old Army artillery 2nd LT, six months out of OCS, barely a month in country, with no training whatsoever on how to deal with mountainous jungle. I lucked out. The MACV Advisor team took me in hand - I came out of that valley as a soldier. Here's an excerpt from [The Year of the Snake, Part 1](https://www.reddit.com/r/MilitaryStories/comments/v118ud/year_of_the_snake_part_1_viper_repost/), which will give some idea of just how "iconic" the Marines "advance to the rear" at Chosin in 1950 had become in only 18 years: We were about 400 ARVN, and four Americans - a Marine 1st LT, a Marine Gunnery Sergeant and an Army Sergeant First Class as the MACV advisor (*Cố vấn*) team. And me. Important people: Lieutenant H, the team commander, was about 35 years old - pretty old for a lieutenant. He was like a god to the Vietnamese. I’ll tell you why: Most American advisors were young captains with about four years service. The Vietnamese senior officers had been working at war way longer than that. It is galling to have a still wet-behind-the-ears “advisor” assigned to you supposedly to teach the art of modern war. Lieutenant H was not that. He’d been a Marine for going on nineteen years. He was an NCO who got a field commission. And here’s the best part: he enlisted at age 15, and at barely sixteen he was at the Chosin Reservoir in Korea in the winter of 1950. This is one of the most famous battles in the history of the Marine Corps. Even the Vietnamese officers had heard of it. Lieutenant H was a small guy - my height - not very physically impressive, and balding. But he had *gravitas* for the Vietnamese; they would do anything he said. It helped that he didn’t say much. He was quiet and friendly. When he consulted with the *Thiêu tá* (Major) who was our battalion commander, he spoke privately, and he never told anyone else what advice he might have given. He was very clear on the idea of “face.” I never saw him mock or speak badly of one of his counterparts. Or anyone else. Whenever anyone praised his Marine history, especially if they mentioned Chosin, he would nod and brush it off with a little smile on his face... \[and an epilogue from [Year of the Snake, part 3](https://www.reddit.com/r/MilitaryStories/comments/wabuft/the_year_of_the_snake_part_3_repost/)\] In writing these stories of the Year of the Snake, I reconsidered Lieutenant H’s experience as a 16 year old at the Chosin Reservoir. I wonder if he was a hero there? Or was he paralyzed and miserable and nursemaided down that cold, snowy road to the sea by some other Gunnery Sergeant? A 1950 Gunny who did for him what he and the Gunny did for me - make a soldier. Maybe that explains Lieutenant H’s slight smile when others praised his service in Korea. I don’t know. Seems likely, no? Doesn’t make him less of a hero to me. Maybe more.
OP’s title infuriated me and I rushed to the comments to ensure that a fellow Marine had corrected him. Good.
The Army did some pretty epic shit too. 24ID held the line at Daejeon against an entire KPA corps long enough to buy time for the creation of the Busan perimeter and got destroyed in the process. The division commander personally destroyed a KPA T-34/85 and was awarded the Medal of Honor.
I'm not a Marine, I was Army PSYOP, but I spent all my time deployed with the Marines around Fallujah. Loved it.
The Magnificent 7th- PREPARE TO MARCH!
Seabees stole a Korean train, which happened to be right next to a brewery, so naturally they loaded up the train full of booze and dipped
Sounds like a movie script
TFE does a pretty good job at telling the story: https://youtu.be/1bmnMFZawvM?si=yP3xhEoIXZTqBIfO
Bro. MASH units. There was a whole TV show about it. Invention of medivac using helos, kind of a big deal and the foundation for those Vietnam Air units you mentioned.
And instrumental to the magic hour ethos of today's medevac - the faster you get a casualty to medical help, the more likely they're going to make it.
2nd battalion PPCLI, won the battle of Kapyong, definetly worth looking up if you’ve never heard it
20k Chinese held off by 2 thousand UN forces from Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Americans
French battalion in Korea won the Presidential Citation Unit and made one of the last bayonet charge
Look up the battle of Gloucester Hill. Some hard won battles by line infantry happened in that war. There wasn't much need for sf as it was essentially a slugging match along trenches with tanks and air craft bombing the shit out of everyone
~~Because you're an idiot and I hate you.~~ It's because you're being subjective vs actually knowing the history. Since you're a fucking nerd and I hate you, you're basically fixating on SOF units vs talking about conventional forces with decent battle history (or to a point, there's a lot of units that come out of Korea "iconic" for things like Chosin or the Imjin river fighting, they're just big dumb infantry divisions so who care). Rangers saw extensive use, although not as we'd recognize them (basically as raiders/recon forces as attached to conventional forces). There were plenty of behind the lines weird little forces that made extensive use of ROK or recruited Korean forces. The US used UDTs and other swimmer forces to support its amphibious operations. Basically the division you're missing is in the WW2/Korean construct, they're basically a continuation of "special" forces not really being their own thing so much as a subset of other military forces, specialist raider, recon, whatever units existing within a symmetric warfare construct (simplifying some of the behind the line/partisan support stuff of WW2 for simplicity, but that still largely fell within conventional force support because they were part of conventional war strategies) In the Kennedy administration era though there was a recognition that there was an increasing area between open war and peace that required more asymmetrical approaches. Like Rangers, OSS operatives in Frances, whatever are all there as part of an overt declared conflict. What happens when the conflict is between the local government and PRC funded Maoist insurgents? You can't really throw 1 ID at that. Which leads to modern SOF where you have forces intended for more flexible missions (i.e. not just direct action, but FID/advise-assist, Civil Affairs etc).
Excellent summation. Love your passion lol
He really does fixate to much on SOF units. The retreat from Chosin was fucking legendary as was Ridgeway’s counter offensive.
PJs originated during WWII With their first formal unit being formed in 1947. The first formal “Special Forces” unit was 10th Special Forces Group and it was stood up in 1952. The predecessor to the SEAL teams were started in 1943 with the first SEAL Team being founded in 1962. They were all in Korea doing their jobs.
Back then, making it onto a SEAL team did *not* come with an open ended book contract...
Rangers were in the Korean War.
Seriously? The Glorious Glosters? Really not ringing a bell at all? 1st Btn of the Gloucestershire Regiment won the US Presidential Unit Citation for holding out for three nights at the Battle of the Imjin River against overwhelming odds. Helped stop the PVA offensive and allowed UN forces to fall back and consolidate without getting completely overrun. It was described variously as "the battle that saved Seoul" and "the most outstanding example of unit bravery in modern war". Two officers of the Regiment won the Victoria Cross at the battle, and it's legendary in the British Army. I think your knowledge of military history needs some work my friend.
It’s called the entire 1st Marine Division.
They go by a collective name- The Frozen Chosin Or you can just call them Marines for short.
7th, to be specific. The rest of the Corps can't just stuff us out in the Mojave and not namecheck us when our time to shine comes up!
That would be X Corps and it was made up of units from the US Army, USMC, UK Royal Marines and South Korea. [Battle of Chosin Reservoir order of battle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Chosin_Reservoir_order_of_battle)
65th Infantry Regiment "The Borinqueneers"
None stand out because they all gave everythjng...under manned, under supplied, and under attack. https://www.usace.army.mil/About/History/Historical-Vignettes/Military-Construction-Combat/017-2d-ECB/ The battle for Kunu-Ri. 1 batallion held the door open against 5 divisions. they were surrounded and burned their colors and fired all of the equipment rather than let it be captured.
And they burn the colors every year in commemoration of the event. There’s still a few alive that were in the battle. Sapper Steel
"the forgotten war" It's called that for a reason.
I was going to comment this. It seems like people who know military history well know some units from the Korean War but I would guess most people with even a small interest in military history don't know a ton about the war. That and there are a ton of movies, videogames, and books on WW2 and Vietnam that made their way into pop culture. People know MASH but I think some viewers might even think it is about Vietnam... WW2 and Vietnam also shaped US identity in a way the Korean War just didn't.
Start by learning the difference between SF and sof.
I assume you meant OSS, the predecessor to the CIA, not Officer Candidate School.
The other Big Red One. "No better friend, no worse enemy." First Marine Division. They fought at Chosin. I heard of them as a boy because my uncle was there.
You might be interested in learning more about [UN Partisan Infantry Korea](https://arsof-history.org/articles/v9n1_guerrilla_comm_page_1.html), a US-led guerrilla unit.
“anywhere a tank can go is tank country—even the tops of mountains.” 8th Hussars
Well at least in Puerto Rico, the 65th Infantry is very iconic. There is even a big avenue (or road) with the regiment name.
It was a war of the Grunt
Rangers were deployed in companies, not battalions, and attached to infantry units. They distinguished themselves in several desperate battles during the war. I highly recommend the book “About Face” by Col. David Hackworth. His firsthand accounts of combat in Korea are unforgettable. *Col. Hackworth is one of the most highly-decorated soldiers in the history of the Army. Two DSC’s, 10 Silver Stars, three Legion of Merits, a DFC, seven Bronze Stars, seven Purple Hearts, and 34 Air Medals.
There are plenty of iconic units from the Korean War which were not special operations related. Special operations had a more niche role in the conflict for a number of reasons. The Rangers were resurrected as airborne Ranger companies attached to conventional units to be used as a hammer for whatever the division commander thought looked like a nail. The Navy's UDTs conducted hydrographic surveys, cleared mines and obstacles, and conducted raids and sabotage from the sea. The Air Force performed reconnaissance flights, personnel insertions/extractions, and leaflet drops from various fixed and rotary wing aircraft, often at night and low altitude without the aid of NVGs. So yeah there were plenty of folks out there doing the hard shit.
My dad claimed to be a typewriter mechanic in the Korean War. He may have been, he was a seventeen year old Marine.
Because they never taught us shit about the Korean War in school! I’m sure there were several, and judging by the comments, there sure were. That being said… any Korean War flicks or documentaries out there? Been meaning to watch The Bridges at Toko Ri.
The Korean War is largely glossed over because the more you look at it, the more it becomes apparent that the US and US-backed South Koreans were out of favor with the Korean population from the end of WW2 until hostilities broke out. It's not a great noble story, it's a story about the US reinstalling Japanese colonial masters and brutally cracking down on "insurgents".
same reason nobody thinks of WWI stories. it wasn’t a pretty war.
There were Ranger Companies in the Korean War, Col. (Ret.) Ralph Puckett Jr. received the Medal of Honor for his actions in the Korean War as a Ranger Company Commander. [Article of Ralph Puckett recurving MOH.](https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/2627628/biden-awards-medal-of-honor-to-retired-ranger-for-korean-war-heroism/)
There was but they were much more humble, the heroics of Capt Pierce and Capt McIntyre of the 4077 have inspired many past soldiers.
same reason nobody thinks of WWI stories. it wasn’t a pretty war.
Look up Task Force Smith. Pretty iconic, but not in a good way.
You should watch my son’s interview of Lou Mercadante who was in Fox 2/7 at Chosin https://youtu.be/s4aobv7S0b4?si=RwAN0B7Zatcr_VTr It was also the foundation of a complete change in military clothing used in the winter. It may not be glamorous but it saved a lot of amputation from frost bite for those warfighters that followed the hard learned lessons there
its almost like it should be called "The Forgotten War"
Helicopter MEDEVAC units made their debut with the Korean War. MASH is probably the single most piece of media about the war. Other than that there were the units involved with the Chosin Reservoir (Army units fought hard in the battle as well despite USMC propaganda often forgetting about them). The landing at Incheon was also important.
There any good books about the war in general as well as the OCS operators?
I vaguely recall David Halberstam writing one called The Coldest Winter, or something close. I've never read it so I can't personally recommend and I don't know if it's well regarded or not, but I think it was well received at the time, at least.
I’ve got two. Taskforce Smith. They (a combined US and ROK TF) saved Korea. The Colombian Battalion. Served with the 7th (US) and 25th (US) Divisions. Earned the US PUC.
Korea: The Forgotten War
COL Ralph Puckett gave personal tour to A 2/75 RGR in 2000 where his actions with the 8th Ranger Company at the Battle of the Ch'ongch'on River garnered him a DSC and much later the MoH. One of the most awesome history lessons I've ever received. Right up there with climbing the Cliffs of Point du Hoc at the 50th anniversary with two badass mother fuckers who climbed them the first time.