Oct 1, 2011, Memphis, TN: Event to honor those who served in Korean War

From the Commercial Appeal: Event to honor those who served in Korean War

Korea is a nice place to visit, but you wouldn't want to die there.

"They call it the 'Land of the Morning Calm,'" said George King. "It's great to be there on vacation -- it's beautiful. But not in a war where there was a Chinese soldier behind every hill, waiting to kill you."

At 80, King is glad the "forgotten war" in faraway Asia that he joined as a young Marine reservist 60 years ago in central Mississippi is finally getting some attention.

"It's now remembered because so many patriotic communities, such as DeSoto County, are bringing our intervention, sanctioned by the United Nations, to the forefront and into perspective," King said of the county's salute to Korean War veterans that's slated for Saturday.

King saw action in Korea with the 1st Marine Division from March 1951 to April 1952.

Before his arrival, the 1st Marines -- already bloodied in Guadalcanal during World War II -- had landed at Inchon in a risky operation designed by Gen. Douglas MacArthur to liberate South Korea's capital, Seoul, from the Reds. Then, shifted to the eastern side of the Korean peninsula, the Marines faced an onslaught of 10 Chinese divisions in late 1950. The 1st Division fought its way out in the epic action of the Chosin Reservoir, inflicting 37,500 casualties on their foes.

"There were 120 of us called up in 1950 in our Reserve unit," King recalled. "Most of us went straight to Korea."

King was reared in Clinton and had joined the Marine Reserve in 1950 in Jackson. When he was deployed in 1951 with Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 1st Regiment of the 1st Marines, the division was engaged in offensives in east-central Korea and defending against a Chinese spring offensive involving more than 500,000 Communist troops.

"They say Marines don't retreat," King said. "So we were attacking in all directions, until we could set up a secondary line of defense.

"I was promoted to sergeant on the battlefield. Not because I was talented, but because everyone in front of me was killed or wounded."

During savage fighting Sept. 15-19, 1951, on Hill 749, his unit lost 39 Marines, including squad member Eddie Gomez of Tulsa, Okla., who was awarded a posthumous Medal of Honor.

For the DeSoto commemoration on the steps of the County Courthouse in Hernando, King is scheduled to deliver an address along with Force Master Chief Jon D. Port of the Navy Personnel Command based in Millington. DeSoto last year presented a salute to World War II veterans that drew hundreds of veterans and guests.

DeSoto administrative services director Vanessa Lynchard, who coordinated the earlier event, also is helping lead the charge for Korean War veterans. She said that although just a few years separate that conflict and World War II, she notices the respective veterans "seem totally different."

There were no big celebrations and little sense of traditional victory with Korea; fighting ended with an armistice in 1953, and North and South still face each other across a tense demilitarized zone. The Vietnam War of the 1960s and '70s was televised into America's homes and polarized the nation, further obscuring Korea.

King's postwar years were successful with pharmacy and chemistry degrees from the University of Tennessee and University of Memphis and his own firm, Chemical Specialties Manufacturing, which he operated for 36 years.

"There were some investors wanted it more than I did," said King, who now lives in Germantown.

He and wife Gwen, his spouse of 57 years, have three sons and six grandchildren.

Ultimately, the worth of his Korean service and that of his comrades-in-arms has emerged with the thawing of the long, long Cold War.

"Ours was the first challenge," said King, who's served as commandant of the Marine Corps League in Memphis and helped establish the Korean War monument at Overton Park. "We secured the Pacific Rim to preserve those countries against Communist aggression -- and we paid dearly for it."

During the Korean War, his 1st Division alone suffered combat casualties of 4,004 dead and 25,864 wounded.

DeSoto County Supervisor Bill Russell, who will lead singing of "God Bless America" at the salute, says he's grateful King and his comrades were willing to pay that price. So is Lynchard.

"Getting to know these veterans has given me a new degree of respect," she said.

-- Henry Bailey: (901) 333-2012

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'COMING TOGETHER'

The march of participants onto the County Courthouse grounds for the Oct. 1 salute to Korean War veterans will be augmented by music from the Main Street Jazz Band from Southaven and the Navy Band from the Naval Support Activity in Millington.

The commemoration starts at 10 a.m. Music will begin at 9 a.m. with Swing-era tunes from the jazz bands that veterans of the 1950-53 war will recognize, said Vanessa Lynchard, county official and event coordinator. The Navy Band will take over about 9:40 a.m., she said.

"It's all coming together," said Steve Powell, county Veterans Services officer, of the event bolstered by a team of DeSoto volunteers.

The program for Korean War veterans -- alive and deceased -- includes a roll-call by Supervisor Allen Latimer, presentation of the colors by the Horn Lake ROTC, and songs from Dorothy Herron, Supervisor Bill Russell and, from Memphis, the Friends of Korean Culture. Also, special "challenge coins" are to be distributed.

Seating will be provided each Korean War veteran and a guest; others are urged to bring lawn chairs. Artifacts from the war will be on display inside the courthouse in an exhibit coordinated by Brian Hicks, director of the DeSoto Museum in Hernando.

To sign up a veteran for recognition or to volunteer, call (662) 429-1460 with information on wartime rank, branch and years of service, and then-and-now photos. To lend items for the temporary exhibit, call (662) 429-8852.