F-80 Shooting Star during a low-level napalm strike on a Communist supply depot. Faint traces of anti-aircraft fire can be seen rising from the bend in the road. (The lengthy original caption describes the action in more detail.) 05/08/1952
“Men of the 1st Marine Division capture Chinese Communists during fighting on the central Korean front. Hoengsong.”
By Pfc. C.T. Wehner, March 2, 1951
Former American and Australian prisoners of war warming up before a stove in the 24th Division medical clearing station after being returned to U.S. lines by Chinese Communists, February 10, 1951.
Desegregation of the armed forces did not occur overnight. Between 1948 and 1950, the Army in particular, resisted integration through bureaucratic tactics. General Omar Bradley, Army Chief of Staff, publicly declared “The Army is not out to make any social reforms.”
In opposition, President Truman told the military in January 1949 that he wanted “concrete results…, not publicity on it. I want the job done.” However, it wasn’t until the Korean War began on June 25, 1950 that integration became a battlefield necessity.At the time of the armistice of July 27, 1953, ninety percent of the army’s units were integrated. On October 30, 1954, the armed services announced the integration of all of its branches.
Here, SFC Jasper and 1st Lt. Posey posing by the flag of their unit, 715th Truck Company, National Guard of Washington D.C., in Korea. The “Blair House” sign is the nickname for their units’ orderly room. December 8, 1951.
September 21 - MiG-15 from a North Korean Defector
HQ. FEAF, TOKYO —- Pictured here is the Russian-built MIG-15 fighter interceptor which was flown to a U.S. Air Force base at Kimpo near Seoul Monday September 21, by a North Korean officer pilot, in a daring flight to freedom. The flier was interviewed by world-wide press media representatives Tuesday, September 22. The MIG-15 is being studied by U.S. Air Force authorities. ca. 09/22/1953
United Nations troops fighting in the streets of Seoul, Korea. 09/20/1950
Days after their amphibious landing at Inchon, UN forces began their push to liberate Seoul from North Korean forces.
In honor of National POW/MIA Recognition Day, photos of American and Allied prisoners of war and their families from World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War.
September 15, 1950 - Amphibious Invasion of Inchon
U.S. Marines storm ashore during the amphibious invasion of the port city of Inchon during the Korean War.
Letter from Mrs. Barnard Cummings to President Eisenhower, September 6, 1953
Dated September 6, 1953, this letter was written to President Eisenhower from Mrs. Barnard Cummings regarding the fate of her son, 1st Lt. Barnard Cummings, whom she believed to be held as a prisoner of war in North Korea.
August 28, 1950 - Grief Stricken American Infantryman
The original caption:
A grief stricken American infantryman whose buddy has been killed in action is comforted by another soldier. In the background a corpsman methodically fills out casualty tags, Haktong-ni area, Korea.
The undersigned…in the interest of stopping the Korean conflict, with its great toll of suffering and bloodshed on both sides, and with the objective of establishing an armistice which will ensure a complete cessation of hostilities…do individually, collectively, and mutually agree to accept and to be bound and governed by the conditions and terms of armistice set forth…
The Korean War, which began on June 25, 1950, when the North Koreans invaded South Korea, officially ended on July 27, 1953. At 10 a.m., in Panmunjom, scarcely acknowledging each other, U.S. Army Lt. Gen. William K. Harrison, Jr., senior delegate, United Nations Command Delegation; North Korean Gen. Nam Il, senior delegate, Delegation of the Korean People’s Army and the Chinese People’s Volunteers, signed 18 official copies of the tri-language Korean Armistice Agreement.
June 27 - Authorizing Use of Force in Korea
Teletype conference message authorizing full use of Far East Command (FECOM) naval and air forces against the North Korean forces invading South Korea. Records of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff.
On June 27, 1950, in response to a call for aid from the United Nations Security Council, President Harry S. Truman ordered U.S. Air and Naval Forces to defend South Korea against invading North Korean forces, the start of the United States’ involvement in the Korean War.
