 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, September 1952
By county of residence
(Source: U.S. Department of Defense records)
Cass:
- Pfc. Erwin Kleinschmidt, Army, Sept. 26.
Clark:
- 1st Lt. Paul C. Burrus, Marines, Sept. 17.
Cook:
-
Airman 1st Class
Donald H. Buss, Air Force, Sept. 2.
-
Cpl. James F. Hlavac,
Army, Sept. 1.
-
Pfc. Donald R.
Jackson, Marines, Sept. 30.
-
Pfc. Richard T.
Kuzniar, Army, Sept. 27.
-
Pfc. Edward A. Shine,
Army, Sept. 23.
-
Pfc. Raymond
Sutherland, Army, Sept. 20.
-
Pvt. Vito C.
Tuzzolino, Army, Sept. 1.
-
1st Lt. John F.
Umlauf, Army, Sept. 6.
-
Pfc. Wiley A. Yates,
Army, Sept. 20.
Edgar:
- Sgt. 1st Class William W. Hamilton, Army, Sept. 20.
Henderson:
- Cpl. Harry L. Alecock, Army, Sept. 5.
Lake:
-
Cpl. Jesus Hernandez,
Army, Sept. 13.
-
Pfc. Van Warrick, Army, Sept. 26.
Macon:
-
Cpl. Arthur S.
Sargent, Army, Sept. 20.
-
2nd Lt. William H. Suffern Jr., Air
Force, Sept. 9.
St. Clair:
-
Pfc. Warren E. Klug,
Army, Sept. 13.
-
Pfc. Vernon Mahan, Marines, Sept. 11.
Saline:
- Pfc. Charles N. Colbert, Marines, Sept. 19.
Sangamon:
- Cpl. Alvin M. Rhodes, Army, Sept. 26.
Stephenson:
- Pvt. James F. Stephens, Army, Sept. 22.
Tazewell:
- Cpl. Donald W. Reeser, Marines, Sept. 18.
Vermilion:
- Sgt. Clarence F. Maiden, Army, Sept. 18.
Whiteside:
-
Staff Sgt. Harold E.
Reins, Marines, Sept. 6.
-
Pfc. Fred L. Wright Jr., Army, Sept.
22.
Winnebago:
- Pvt. Donald C. Cazel, Army, Sept. 26.
Key events during the Korean War, September 1952
September in Korea brought an end of the rainy season, and better
weather for combat. The month began with another large U.S. air raid
on a target in North Korea. In the largest all-Navy raid of the war,
144 planes from three aircraft carriers destroyed the oil refinery
at Aoji, North Korea, on Sept. 1. But while the skies over Korea
belonged to the United Nations, infantrymen on both sides of the
struggle continued to kill each other in battles over a few acres of
ground at the front lines.
The Chinese commanders, intent on gaining leverage for their
negotiators at Panmunjom, tried once again to retake Hill 122,
dubbed "Bunker Hill" by troops, from the First Marine Division,
which had captured it during a fierce battle in August. From Sept.
5-15, the Chinese threw everything they had at the stubborn Marines,
but the Marines hung on, due in no small part to the close-range air
support provided by Corsair aircraft flown by Marine and Navy
pilots. Time after time in Korea, the World War II-era fighters came
to the rescue of the imperiled Marines. A poem written by American
troops during Korea ends with the stanza: "For we beat all the odds,
by the grace of God, and the help of our Blue Corsairs!"
Another savage, localized battle went the other way. A company
from the 3rd Infantry Division's 65th Infantry Regiment defended
Outpost Kelly in the no man's land between the opposing armies. The
65th was manned largely by Spanish-speaking Puerto Rican soldiers,
led by English-speaking officers, with a scarcity of noncommissioned
officers. The Chinese besieged the outpost, starting Sept. 17,
pouring in an endless torrent of artillery and mortar rounds, and
finally overwhelmed the troops from Company B on Sept. 24. Despite
repeated attempts to retake Outpost Kelly over the next several
days, the Americans were unable to dislodge the determined Chinese
defenders. Both sides suffered heavy losses in this battle for yet
another small piece of real estate in central Korea.
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 Even while these small but intense battles raged on in Korea, the
American public was once again distracted -- this time by the
presidential race. In particular, they were engrossed by a
controversy swirling around Richard Nixon, Republican nominee Dwight
Eisenhower's vice presidential running mate. Nixon had been accused
of improprieties relating to a fund established by his backers to
reimburse him for his political expenses. Nixon took his case
directly to the American public on Sept. 23 in an address seen by 60
million viewers. He finished his defense by stating that regardless
of what anyone said, he intended to keep one gift, a black-and-white
dog his daughters named Checkers. It was a risky move, but it paid
off in an outpouring of sympathy from the public.
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. Media
reports have outlined a proposal of the KWNM to obtain 7,000 square
feet of prime space at 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
more 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, 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]
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