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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, 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,
June 1953
By county of residence
(Source: U.S. Department of Defense records)
Adams:
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1st Lt. Roger F.
Buxman, Army, June 5.
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Pvt. Billy E. Reagan, Army, June 15.
Cook:
-
Pfc. Thaddeus
Bobowiec, Army, June 11.
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1st Lt. Richard S.
Drezen Jr., Air Force, June 29.
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2nd Lt. James E.
Ford, Army, June 13.
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Pfc. David R. Hagen,
Army, June 24.
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Pfc. Curlie McIntosh,
Army, June 26.
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Cpl. Elmer B. Olinger
Jr., Army, June 2.
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Pfc. George J. Polcer
Jr., Army, June 11.
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2nd Lt. Kenneth F.
Reimer, Army, June 11.
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Pfc. Percy E. Stine
Jr., Army, June 12.
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Pvt. William A. Thome,
Army, June 24.
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Pfc. Richard Veld, Army, June 13.
Hamilton:
- Cpl. Charles H. Karcher, Army, June 12.
LaSalle:
- 2nd Lt. Joe V. Cerri Jr., Army, June 11.
Richland:
- Master Sgt. Donavan J. Jackson, Army, June 12.
Rock Island:
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Pvt. Charles V.
Claeys, Army, June 15.
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Pfc. Ebner C. Holke,
Army, June 24.
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Pvt. Dick G. Tate,
Army, June 12.
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Pvt. Francis J.
Whipple, Army, June 16.
St. Clair:
- 2nd Lt. Phillip F. Bauer Jr., Army, June 12.
White:
- Sgt. Carl E. Carter, Army, June 11.
Will:
- Sgt. 1st Class Donald E. Yahnke, Army, June 25.
Winnebago:
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Sgt. 1st Class Martin
E. Budack, Army, June 26.
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Pvt. Roland L. Gates,
Army, June 15.
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Pfc. Herman L. McCollum, Army, June 17.
Key events during the Korean War, June 1953
After nearly three years of fighting in Korea and two years of
peace talks, June 1953 dawned with a realistic hope that an end to
the war might be found. Finally, on June 8, the two parties agreed
to the terms of prisoner repatriation, the issue that had caused the
war to drag on for nearly two years.
South Korean President Syngman Rhee, however, was vehemently
opposed to the agreement. He sought nothing less than a reunified
Korea, the North Korean army disarmed and the removal of all Chinese
troops, none of which were points of serious discussion.
On the night of June 18, Rhee tried to sabotage the talks by
releasing approximately 25,000 North Korean prisoners of war from
South Korean custody. These prisoners had refused to be repatriated,
fearing for their lives once in Communist hands, and they soon
melted into the South Korean countryside. The Communists, in
response, threatened to break off the armistice talks. It took the
personal intervention of President Dwight D. Eisenhower in July
before the recalcitrant Rhee reluctantly agreed to an armistice.
Meanwhile, sensing that an end to the fighting might be near, the
Chinese launched a massive offensive, determined to end the war on
the best possible terms. The Chinese sent almost 100,000 soldiers
against a South Korean force half that size, concentrating their
drive near Outpost Harry on June 10. They succeeded in driving the
U.N. forces back more than two miles, a huge gain in a front line
that had barely moved in more than a year.
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American units, including the 15th Infantry Regiment, 5th
Regimental Combat Team, 10th Engineer Battalion, 39th Field
Artillery Battalion and various 3rd Division support units, joined
in on the vicious fight. The Communist drive was stopped only after
a massive U.N. artillery barrage and airstrikes.
Before June was over, more than 2.7 million artillery rounds
would be fired in just one month, a level not even seen during World
War II. The USS Princeton launched 184 sorties from its flight deck
on June 15, establishing a single-day Korean War record for
offensive sorties flown from an aircraft carrier. On June 15, U.S.
Navy and Marine Corps aircraft flew a total of 910 sorties, the
highest combined number for a single day in the war. And on June 30,
United Nations fighter jets destroyed 16 Communist MiGs, the largest
number shot down in one day.
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,
http://www2.illinois.gov/alplm/
library/Pages/default.aspx. The 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.
Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs
The mission of the Illinois Department of
Veterans' Affairs is to empower veterans and their families to
thrive. The department does this by assisting them in navigating the
system of federal state and local resources and benefits; by
providing long-term health care for eligible veterans in the state's
Veterans' Homes; and by partnering with other agencies and
nonprofits to help veterans address education, mental health,
housing, employment and other challenges. For more information,
visit
http://www2.illinois.gov/veterans/. Follow them at
http://twitter.com/ILVetsAffairs or
http://www.facebook.com/illinois.veterans.
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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