us army: korea

8/14/2019 US Army: Korea

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/us-army-korea 1/3

22 w w w . s o l d i e r s m a g a z i n e . c o m

KOREA

The Official U.S. Army Magazinewww.soldiersmagazine.com

Courtesy of the staff and collections of theNational Museum of the United States Army,U.S. Army Center of Military History.

1st Cavalry Division

IX Corps

X Corps

25th Infantry Division

40th Infantry Division (NG)

SEOUL

45th Infantry Division (NG)

Pusan

K OREA, a rugged, mountainouspeninsula, forced American sol-

diers to battle nature as well as theenemy. The steamy summer ex-hausted troops, while monsoon

rains pounded their ponchosand sub-zero winds whippedthrough winter clothing. GIsof all job specialties ducked

bullets and froze their feetin the line of duty, whilenurses in the new mobileArmy surgical hospitalsfaithfully tended thewounded.

Overshadowed by theAllied victory in World WarII, the Korean War hasn’tbeen well remembered.Tested by both communist

attacks and Asian weather, the soldiers inthat conflict paid a high price in service and

sacrifice. Our nation must never forget theirsobering lesson. Despite technologicaladvances, the future will again, no doubt,send our soldiers into the mud, to take andhold the high ground.



I EA-B ID GIs IN 1950-53ust aflerWorld War II were a time of transition

'military uniforms.The 1946Doolittle Boardwanted

niformsfor officersandenlisted soldiers, and9 9 UniformBoard wantedseparategarrison andfield

Budgetsslowedchange, mixing oldwith new.meant cottonkhaki for summer and interim useof the

olivedrab (OD) wool field acket andtrousersasgarrisonwear, until the presenwrmygreen 1Showingthese changes areoriginal histori

of the Korean War.'-!,q?-.'

;A- eadgear -Awool, taupe hat

gave women anewsnappy

brim. Enlistedd!,,en wore summer

&on khaki or a woolgerrlmn capwith branch-braid.

-- i-I'

mba<f@M,rebrmed andHe&wf barsW o t n ~lqhtst*cambatlmdem idsntlfieationandlnWltry

weadded in 1951and4952.

. . w -.,.

7 -& .

,, ,are= olan createdthe . A AI

current grades and led tn chevrons. Small gold an

andnoncombat nsignihe three-stripea rocker." but heWorld

ODand blue

he necktie changed m WwldWar IIto OD. Enlistedmenreceived he cottonshirt in place of the heaviertwillfw wear wit

wool ackets.

L service FootaearBoots replaced ow-h uartershoes.

Commonwere the1943 eathercombat servlce

cuff. Also popularwastheFffM-pattern, full-lace russet GOING

C"cumbatbootwith a captoe Personnelon rotationor r e - ~~~~~

and grain eather. uniforms. InJapan, enlisted mersummer or winter khaki cotton UI

(withoutcuffs) andwool trousersneckties to wear with their comb

Authorized in order ofprecedencewere theNationalDefense Service -

Medal (1953) for Cold War , 4

service, ith the Korean. .

SeiviceMedal (1950) andh e UnitedNationsMedal(1951) in U.N. blue and had to bepractical.,Their ,

uniformsresembled-* , 7.white.uniforms, but werstairMBd f qfemale figures.Therewerg', ' - Ols to dig in quickly.wtttifherringbone twill , - A Copied fmma World War IIfatigues in summei, &eODcotton acket andslacksfor folding steel blade.The newerwinter wear.

.-, ... . , ledpirig ~ a g sY reptawd Grlier heavyODwoe,

blanket$. The waol bagwas

with pcst-1941modifications-' . . "mummy-style"

forautcmatiqflreused alaced ntoa cotton

30.iound-mag$1zine~case. The M-1949

Basedon a Marine Corps system, theM-1945combat field pack (carryingunderwear, toiletarticles, mess kit, poncho) oined to the M-1945 ield cargo pack (extraclothing) and belt with canteenandfirst-aid packet pouch.

. . -~'REP&EME~ &&T w@ 0932) Korea.The 1951-1952 winter sawthe

. -

soldle&* i? he Korean Water gf operatiomreceived ' '' intloduction of the new"Mickey Mouse'

V a l cloth~ngnd equipment, whioh includedsummer ~bber-insulatedombat boot,which

cotton,ODherringbone will fatigues or a wink& e m b l e uchas Wasoflen t w warm.

the M-1943 field acket andtrousers. inODcotton, d n w 4 .layers, with pile cap, parka-styleovercoat andM-1944 shoepacs. , ~.:



23S o l d i e r s • J u n e 2 0 0 3

TODAY’S soldiers fighting overseas against the nation’senemies and to safeguard democracy do so in the spirit of

a generation that served 50 years ago.When the North Korean army invaded South Korea in 1950,

the United Nations responded. President Harry S. Trumancalled upon Americans to once again become soldiers. Eventhe “push-button” warfare of that day required GIs on theground to force the 1953 truce that remains in effect today.

The pipeline to our forces in Korea was the crossroads of

Japan. U.S. occupation forces, present since the 1945 endof World War II, sent combat troops. At the same time,reinforcements and support personnel — includingmembers of the Women’s Army Corps — arrivedfrom the United States in great numbers. Newarrivals in-processed in Japan as others enjoyedrest and relaxation leave, or prepared to rotatehome after completing their tours of duty.

TOKYO

JAPAN

Yokohama

By Walter H. Bradford

I Corps

Eighth U.S.Army

2nd Infantry Division

3rd Infantry Division



us army: korea

Documents