Click on image for a larger view.INTRODUCTION
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The "Lost Bastards" of Iron Ridge
During the
Battle of the Kumsong Salient
13 July to 21 July 1953
Compiled by
John R. Carpenter
Copyright 2002 All Rights Reserved
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INTRODUCTION
There is always some sight, sound, smell, or taste that provokes a memory. Sometimes it is the view of a single word like "Korea."
This word "Korea" is a simple word for the Hermit Kingdom. This country squeezed between mainland China and the islands of Japan has had an anguished history of foreign occupation, war and much discord. At the end of World War Two in 1945 the southern part of Korea was occupied by American forces. Above the 38th parallel the Russians took charge. This was to be a temporary line until elections could be held for national leadership. However, the Cold War had begun and Korea was an unknowing pivot point, a future test of will between the two new super powers. The respective governments set up by each of occupiers were totally different. Both the people of the south and of the north had a goal of a unified country. Korea ruled by Koreans for Koreans.
Click on image for a larger view.
In 1948, the south gaining more freedom got a form of independence then a fifteen year one man personality rule of selective dictatorship before learning more about democracy. The north had been reeducated in the Soviet manner into dictatorship by committee that was then lead by a personality cult of one for the next 45 plus years.
Click on the South Korean Flag for more information.
On June 25, 1950, in the early dawn of a Sunday morning, the well armed Democratic People's Republic of Korea invaded the unprepared southern Republic of Korea. A Civil war conducted by Korean brother against Korean brother began to be waged. The United States through the United Nations, and a twist of fate caused by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic's delegate walking out, resulted in a vote to intervene in this war of Korean brother against brother.
Click on the North Korean Flag for more information.
Right or wrong, the die was cast and the word "Korea" had a sudden new meaning for tens of thousands human beings. Bugles, human wave attacks, bug outs, retrograde actions, trench warfare are terms that may haunt with the word "Korea."
Much of the early fighting is well documented. The names of battles like Pusan, Chosin, Porkchop Hill, Bloody Ridge, and The Punchbowl, to just name a few, have had many articles, papers, books and even a few movies chronicle them. To be sure there were many forgotten combat actions small and large in that dirty ying yang war of "Communist Aggression." Some of these actions were deliberately lost to our collective memory because of the lack of survivors or the conscious effort of those who desperately wanted to lose those agonizing horrors of modern war.
Click on the Chinese Flag for more information.
A few of these combat actions are forgotten because they never officially occurred. They were classified "Top Secret" for one reason or the other. Some may have involved excursions into main land China or southern Russia. Some involved behind enemy line recons, sabotage and rescue. Some involved the testing of new weapons ...
Radar, for example was the World War Two wonder tool that scanned the skies for the Blitz at the beginning. By 1945 it was scanning for rolling metal monsters called tanks. In 1950, Radar had learned to track smaller projectiles like artillery rounds in flight. The next practical extension of radar was in ground combat. The goal was to track enemy troops on the battlefield and direct ground fired weapons to intercept and destroy them.
The reality was that a modified TPS-3 type radar tracking system was tested in combat, in Korea, and was almost lost to the enemy, one full decade before its public appearance by the United States Army in 1963. Secrecy in the early 1950s was paramount. Then it was believed that the liberty and freedom of the free world was at stake from the dictatorship of the Communist Proletariat. Battlefield radar would allow a great advantage on the playing ground of the Cold War.
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details.
This story is mostly told from memory of one who was there. (8) He was ordered to forget that he was ever there in that little country called "Korea" because the Top Secret Radar was still so new. He has forgotten the names but not the nightmares endured. He see the faces and knows now they do not hold him accountable for them being dead.
They would be pleased, I think, to let others know of their efforts of Duty, Honor & Country. In telling this story I have tried to reconcile memory with documented dates the best I could. Some of the events may not have happened in the exact order as portrayed. Any one who has more information on these series of events is encouraged to let the compiler know.
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Western Bunker - Radar Units - June 1953 - July 1953 - Aftermath - Comments - Notes