 The Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, Illinois Department of
Veterans' Affairs, Illinois Korean Memorial Association, and the
Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum along with media
partners the Illinois Press Association and the Illinois
Broadcasters Association are sponsoring "Illinois Remembers the
Forgotten War." For more information, visit
www.illinois-history.gov
or
www.veterans.illinois.gov. ___
Illinoisans killed in action in Korea, July 1952
By county of residence
(Source: U.S. Department of Defense records)
Adams:
- Cpl. Dewey E. Wright, Marines, July 10.
Boone:
- Cpl. Ronald L. Murphy, Army, July 18.
Cook:
-
Cpl. Richard W. Boer
Jr., Army, July 3.
-
Sgt. 1st Class John
Decerno, Army, July 31.
-
Pvt. Zane E. DeLong,
Marines, July 30.
-
Pvt. 1st Class
Charles Gangl, Marines, July 23.
-
Cpl. John R. Hronek,
Army, July 18.
-
Pvt. Ronald J.
Kloeckner, Army, July 28.
-
Pvt. 1st Class Paul
C. Knutson, Army, July 26.
-
Pvt. 1st Class Harry
Woodfolk Jr., Army, July 23.
-
Pvt. 1st Class Casemir J. Ziared,
Marines, July 7.
DeKalb:
- Pvt. 1st Class Harold E. Byers, Army, July 31.
Fayette:
- Pvt. Harold C. Buchholz, Army, July 10.
LaSalle:
- Pvt. 1st Class Virgil C. Shelley Jr., Marines, July 3.
Macoupin:
- Sgt. William J. Ficker, Army, July 23.
Pope:
- Pvt. 1st Class Lewis E. Canie, Army, July 21.
Rock Island:
- 1st Lt. James G. Vretis, Air Force, July 11.
Sangamon:
- Pvt. 1st Class Robert L. Hewitt, Army, July 3.
Whiteside:
- Sgt. 1st Class Raymond H. Hogarth, Army, July 4.
Key events during the Korean War, July 1952
The fight for Hill 266, known to those who fought for it as "Old
Baldy," flared up again in July. Taking advantage of the arrival of
fresh, inexperienced troops from the U.S. 2nd Infantry Division
relieving the battle-hardened soldiers of the 45th Division, the
Chinese attacked in force on the night of July 17. The 23rd Infantry
Regiment repelled the first wave of the attack thanks to timely
artillery support and the quick arrival of reinforcements.
But the second Chinese assault wave advanced behind an
intense artillery and mortar barrage and seized the crest of the
hill. Counterattacks by the 23rd Regiment, supported by airstrikes
and artillery, could not drive the Chinese from their newly won
positions. By July 20, U.S. troops had regained only a small portion
of Old Baldy before heavy rains turned the area into a quagmire of
mud, shell craters and casualties.
When the rain eased off at the end of July, the 23rd Infantry
Regiment, again supported by artillery and mortars, launched another
attack on the entrenched Chinese. After bitter hand-to-hand combat
with small arms and grenades, the American soldiers finally
recaptured the crest of the hill early on Aug. 1 and dug in to
prepare for the inevitable Chinese counterattack.
In a continuation of the air raids that had begun in June, on
July 23 U.S. Navy and United Nations planes launched massive
airstrikes against North Korea's hydroelectric power grid, causing
an almost complete blackout for more than two weeks. The 491-mile
Yalu River, dividing the Korean peninsula from China, was important
for irrigation and inland navigation, but its main value for North
Korea and China was the electricity generated by its string of
hydroelectric plants. Following the air offensive, power was even
lost in northeast China, where the region's power grid was degraded
by nearly 25 percent. The attacks on the Yalu River power plants
were yet another way to put pressure on the Chinese, along with a
steady flow of casualties returning north from the Korean
battlefields. The Americans hoped this added pressure would
translate into a greater willingness from the otherwise intransigent
Communists to negotiate in good faith at the Panmunjom armistice
talks.
[to top of second column] |
Meanwhile, back in the States, most Americans were engrossed in
other news and largely overlooked events in Korea. Sports fans were
focused on the 1952 Summer Olympics taking place in Helsinki,
Finland. Also, the presidential race was heating up as both parties
had their conventions in July. Republicans, sensing victory after a
25-year hiatus from the White House, selected World War II hero Gen.
Dwight D. Eisenhower as their candidate. The Democrats chose
Illinois Gov. Adlai Stevenson to carry their banner. The nation was
growing increasingly weary with the stalemate in Korea, and the war
became one of the election's main issues.
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 names of 1,754 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 oral history program at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential
Library and Museum 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, or 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 U.N. 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, 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, visit
www.kwnm.org or look for the
museum on 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. All donations go to the
book project and to the upkeep of the Illinois Korean War Memorial.
[Text from file received from
the Illinois Historic
Preservation Agency] |
