Illinois and the Korean War, October 1950
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The State of Illinois is commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Korean War by supplying information each month about the state’s involvement in the conflict.Â
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The Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs, Illinois Korean Memorial Association, and the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum are sponsoring “Illinois Remembers the Forgotten War†along with media partners the Illinois Press Association and the Illinois Broadcasters Association. For more information, visit www.Illinois-History.gov or www.veterans.illinois.gov.
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   Illinoisans killed in action in Korea, October 1950
By county of residence
(Source:Â U.S. Department of Defense records)
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Alexander      Pvt. Robert J. Bolen, Army, October 10.
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Bureau         Sgt. Charles V. Hewitt, Army, October 3.
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Cook           PFC William J. Duerr, Army, October 13.
               PFC James Forte, Marines, October 2.
               Sgt. Albert E. Morris, Army, October 13.
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Greene         PFC Pink W. Bishop, Army, October 13.
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Kankakee       PFC Herman Alsup, Marines, October 12.Â
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Macon          Cpl. Arnold E. Walk, Army, October 20.
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Madison Sgt. Robert L. Clark, Army, October 10.
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Montgomery     PFC Ivan O. Elam, Army, October 13.
               Pvt. Wilbur L. Markos, Army, October 14.
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Perry          PFC Austin L. Harris, Army, October 9.
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St. Clair      PFC William O. Grimmig, Army, October 13.
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Sangamon       Sgt. Lyman T. Crannell, Marines, October 27.
               PFC William R. McGlennon, Marines, October 5.
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Illinois Medal of Honor Recipient
PFC Richard G. Wilson, U.S. Army
Marion, Illinois
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Private First Class Richard G. Wilson of Marion, Illinois was a medical aid man with the U.S. Army’s 187th Airborne Infantry Regiment. He accompanied a unit on a reconnaissance patrol near Opari, Korea on October 21, 1950 when the unit came under heavy mortar and small arms fire. The company suffered a large number of casualties while fighting its way out of the ambush. Private Wilson moved among the wounded to administer aid while under constant enemy fire, and helped move the wounded to safety when his unit was ordered to withdraw.
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After the American unit had pulled back, Private Wilson learned that a comrade who had previously been thought dead was seen trying to crawl to safety. Wilson returned to the area under enemy fire to search for the wounded man. Two days later a patrol found Wilson lying beside the man he had returned to assist. Wilson had been shot several times and severely wounded while trying to shield the other wounded man.
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Private Wilson became the third of eight Illinois recipients of the Medal of Honor during the Korean War.
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Key events during the Korean War
October 1950
October 1950 began with United Nations forces in full pursuit of the retreating North Korean People’s Army, and for the first time the war was taken into North Korea. All seemed to be going well for the U.N. armies, but few people knew that Chinese Premier Mao Tse-tung had already decided to send Chinese troops into the war. By mid October, large numbers of Chinese troops had crossed the Yalu River and secretly infiltrated into Korea.
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 President Harry Truman met with General Douglas MacArthur on October 15 at Wake Island in the Pacific. The two discussed the military situation in Korea, and MacArthur expressed his confidence that enemy resistance would end by Thanksgiving and that U.S. forces could withdraw by Christmas. When Truman asked MacArthur about the chances of Chinese intervention, the General replied “very little.â€Â By that time, at least 120,000 Chinese soldiers had snuck into North Korea.Â
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The North Korean capital of Pyongyang was captured by United States and South Korean forces on October 19, forcing North Korean Premier Kim Il-sung to hastily establish a new capital on the Yalu River at the Chinese border. Soldiers from Thailand, Turkey and the Netherlands joined the U.N. contingent in Korea.
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On October 20, as the remnants of the North Korean Army retreated farther north, some 68 American POWs were massacred near the Sunch’on Tunnel north of Pyongyang. Advancing American troops discovered the grisly scene the next day. Â
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The first ominous sign of worse things to come occurred on October 25, when Chinese forces attacked a South Korean unit, and a Chinese soldier captured near the Chosin Reservoir stated that large numbers of Chinese soldiers were in the area. Few military leaders believed the prisoner’s claim. The next day a South Korean unit reached the Yalu River.
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The First Marine Division landed at the North Korean port city of Wonsan in late October and was ordered to replace battle-weary South Korean units in the Chosin Reservoir area. On October 29, the 7th Infantry Division landed at Iwon on the northwest coast of Korea. The Marines and soldiers of X Corps were unaware that they were headed on a collision course toward the largest, most savage battle of the war, one that would be fought in almost unimaginable conditions.                          Â
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Illinois Korean War Memorial
The Illinois Korean War Memorial is located in Springfield’s Oak Ridge Cemetery, the same cemetery that contains the Lincoln Tomb. Oak Ridge is the nation’s second most visited burial ground behind only Arlington National Cemetery.
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Dedicated on June 16, 1996, the memorial consists of a 12-foot-tall bronze bell mounted on a granite base. At the circumference of the base are four niches, each with a larger-than-life figure representing a branch of the armed services. Inscribed on the base are the 1,754 names of Illinoisans killed in Korea.
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The Illinois Korean War Memorial is administered by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency and may be visited daily free of charge.Â
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Korean War Veterans Oral History Project
Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum
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The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum’s Oral History Program offers “Veterans Remember,†a collection of interviews with Illinois residents about their wartime experiences, at the Library’s website, www.alplm.org/oral_history/home.html. The audio interviews concern the experiences of Illinois veterans who fought in several conflicts, including the Korean War, as well as the experiences of those on the home front. Visitors to the website can listen to or watch the interviews in their entirety. Several of the interviews have transcripts, and most have still images as well.
Website visitors will need a computer capable of playing MP3 audio files or MPG compressed video files in order to listen to the interviews. The transcripts and still images are also accessible. Volunteers conducted and edited many of the interviews and developed the transcripts that accompany them.  Â
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Korean War National Museum
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The Korean War National Museum (KWNM) celebrates the 60th Anniversary of the Korean War with a new Board of Directors, new professional staff, and a renewed focus on getting a world-class museum built now, in the lifetime of the Korean War veterans. Recent news media reports outlined a proposal of the KWNM to obtain 7,000 square feet of prime space on Navy Pier in Chicago for a state-of-the-art, world-class museum where visitors could come to honor and learn about the service and sacrifices of the Americans, South Koreans and their UN Allies in the “forgotten victory.” Those plans are continuing to be developed, and the KWNM hopes to be able to share some exciting news soon. Meanwhile, the Denis J. Healy Freedom Center, located at 9 South Old State Capitol Plaza in Springfield, is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free, but donations are accepted. The KWNM welcomes donations of photographs, documents, diaries, and artifacts of those who served in the Korean War. To learn more about the KWNM, or to volunteer or donate, please visit www.kwnm.org or look for the Museum Facebook.
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Korean War Booklet
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The Illinois Korean Memorial Association, an all-volunteer organization, has published a booklet, A Brief History of the Korean War, copies of which have been provided free of charge to public libraries, high schools and junior high schools in Illinois. Individuals may obtain a copy by sending a $10 check or money order to: Illinois Korean Memorial Association, P.O. Box 8554, Springfield, IL 62791.Â
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Tax deductible donations are welcome. One hundred percent of all donations go to the book project and to the upkeep of the Illinois Korean War Memorial.Â
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