 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, December 1952
By county of residence
(Source: U.S. Department of Defense records)
Cass:
- Pvt. Raymond E. Wardell, Army, Dec. 17.
Cook:
-
Pfc. Lawrence A.
Bailey, Marines, Dec. 27.
-
Capt. Donald H.
Clark, Marines, Dec. 5.
-
Cpl. Stanley T. Dybal,
Army, Dec. 22.
-
Pfc. Glenn E.
Hamilton, Army, Dec. 22.
-
Sgt. Richard C.
Harang, Marines, Dec. 27.
-
Master Sgt. Edward W.
Lewis Jr., Army, Dec. 9.
-
Pfc. Charles O.
Stroemer, Army, Dec. 30.
-
1st Lt. James J. Anderle Jr., Air
Force, Dec. 31.
Greene:
- Cpl. Richard S. Wyatt, Army, Dec. 9.
LaSalle:
- Pvt. Harold L. Underwood, Army, Dec. 10.
Macon:
- Sgt. Charles E. Parlier, Army, Dec. 3.
Mason:
- Pfc. James L. Lynn, Army, Dec. 11.
Rock Island:
- Pfc. Richard E. Hoehn, Army, Dec. 10.
Shelby:
- Pfc. Raymond E. Hubbard, Army, Dec. 11.
Stark:
- Cpl. William D. Shurts, Marines, Dec. 14.
Wayne:
- Cpl. Harold R. Shreve, Army, Dec. 2.
Will:
- Cpl. Joseph H. Highley, Marines, Dec. 29.
Key events during the Korean War, December 1952
President-elect Dwight D. Eisenhower made good on a campaign
promise and visited the commanders and troops in Korea Dec. 5-8,
1952. Admittedly a public relations event with little impact on
strategy, the visit by the World War II hero and soon-to-be
commander in chief bolstered the spirits of the American troops who
were spending their third December in the harsh winter conditions of
Korea. Eisenhower repeated his pledge to bring an end to the war,
something he would help bring about during the next year.
Meanwhile, the United Nations troops did not get a holiday
vacation from the fighting. The war was increasingly defined by
massive artillery duels. The fighting between South Korean and
Chinese forces at Big and Little Nori, near a horseshoe bend of the
Imjin River, was typical of such actions. The Chinese attack lasted
only four days and was centered on a tiny 300-yard front.
Nevertheless, United Nations forces fired 120,000 rounds of
artillery during the battle, plus 31,000 mortar rounds and 4,500
tank rounds, while 177 air sorties were flown in support. In return,
the Communists fired 18,000 artillery and mortar rounds against the
U.N. positions. For all of this, the South Koreans suffered 750
casualties, while Chinese casualties were estimated at approximately
2,500.
On Christmas Day, Chinese forces launched an attack on the United
States 38th Infantry Regiment, part of the 2nd Infantry Division, in
what became known as the Battle of T-Bone Hill, named for the shape
of the terrain defended by the American units. A savage, two-day
battle ensued and the U.S. forces sustained heavy casualties, but
they were able to repel the attacking Chinese.
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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 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 renewed focus on getting a
world-class museum built now, in the lifetime of the Korean War
veterans. 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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