State of Illinois commemorates 60th Anniversary of the Korean War (1950-1953)

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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. 
 
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.  
 
Key events during the Korean War
January 1951
 
January 1951 began with Chinese and North Korean forces pushing the retreating United Nations armies back onto South Korean soil.  The South Korean capital of Seoul was captured by Communist forces on January 4, the third time the city had changed hands in the seven-month-old war.  The port city of Inchon, the site of the highly successful U.S. invasion just four months ago, fell the following day.  The offensive was finally stalled by United Nations forces in mid-January after the Chinese and North Koreans had occupied about the northern third of South Korea.
General Matthew Ridgway, who had just been given command of the retreating and badly mauled U.S. 8th Army in late December, saw that the situation for American forces was perilous and troop morale had reached a new low.  There was even talk at the highest levels of the Truman administration about whether U.N. forces would be forced to evacuate.  But Ridgway thought otherwise and approached General Douglas MacArthur, commander of all United Nations forces in Korea.  “If I find the situation to my liking,” asked Ridgway, “would you have any objection to my attacking?”  MacArthur gave his permission.
Ridgway organized and rallied his 8th Army troops and launched a surprise counter-attack labeled “Operation Thunderbolt” on January 25, which pushed Communist forces back across the Han River just south of Seoul by the end of January.  This was the start of a drive toward the north that would be the next reversal of fortune in the see-saw war for Korea.                  
 
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.
        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.
        The Illinois Korean War Memorial is administered by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency and may be visited daily free of charge. 
 
Korean War Veterans Oral History Project
Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum
 
        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.   
 
Korean War National Museum
 
        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.
 
Korean War Booklet
 
        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. 
        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. 
 
For more information, visit www.Illinois-History.gov or www.veterans.illinois.gov.
          
 

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