 The Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, Illinois Department of
Veterans' Affairs, Illinois Korean Memorial Association, and the
Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum are sponsoring
"Illinois Remembers the Forgotten War" along with media partners the
Illinois Press Association and the Illinois Broadcasters
Association.For more information, visit
www.illinois-history.gov
or
www.veterans.illinois.gov.
Illinoisans killed in action in Korea, June 1952
By county of residence
(Source: U.S. Department of Defense records)
Cook:
-
Pfc. Rivera R.
Cortez, Marines, June 25.
-
Pfc. Walter F.
Filkins, Army, June 4.
-
Sgt. Ronald L.
Kramer, Army, June 21.
-
Pfc. Winston
Lundervold, Army, June 17.
-
Cpl. Clarence S.
Mengler, Marines, June 25.
-
Pfc. Leonard F.
Mrazek, Army, June 29.
-
Hospitalman Terrence
W. O'Donnell, Navy, June 24.
-
Pvt. Richard
Roclawski, Army, June 17.
-
Cpl. Michael Rosen,
Army, June 21.
-
1st Lt Raymond A.
Rzepecki, Army, June 18.
-
Pfc. Michael B.
Zaczyk, Army, June 26.
-
Cpl. Robert J. Zulke, Army, June 10.
Franklin:
- Pfc. Wesley L. Whited, Army, June 15.
Henry:
- Pfc. Donald L. Taets, Army, June 30.
Montgomery:
- Pvt. Richard Neighbors, Army, June 14.
Peoria:
- Pfc. Rollie D. Grooms, Army, June 28.
Pope:
- Pvt. Allen E. Drallmeier, Army, June 21.
Rock Island:
- Cpl. Allen D. Shipley, Marines, June 17.
Saline:
- Sgt. 1st Class Ronald R. Parks, Army, June 17.
Vermilion:
- Pfc. Billy A. Hayes, Army, June 16.
Key events during the Korean War, June 1952
June in Korea started where May had left off, with an
embarrassing impasse at the collection of POW camps on Koje-do
Island, especially at sprawling Compound 76. Inside the camps were
tens of thousands of recalcitrant North Korean and Chinese prisoners
who effectively controlled life in the camps. Outside were American
and South Korean troops determined to regain control.
Brigadier Gen. Hayden "Buster" Boatner, fresh from his duties as
assistant division commander for the 2nd Infantry Division, and
fluent in Chinese due to many years in China prior to World War II,
was hand-picked to clean up the mess. He commanded a force of
American paratroopers from the 187th, units from the 38th Infantry
Regiment, plus other engineer and military police troops.
For three days the paratroopers circled Compound 76 in
disciplined formations, singing airborne ditties as they ran, and
occasionally firing flame throwers to get the prisoners' attention.
On June 10 they entered the camp in wedge formation with strict
orders not to fire, and faced down the equally determined prisoners
brandishing homemade knives, spears and stones, some even sporting
homemade gas masks. American training and discipline carried the
day. Not a single shot was fired despite determined resistance from
the prisoners. By the time it was over, there were 31 prisoners dead
and another 139 injured, against one American death.
Once they regained control, the United Nations troops removed 500
prisoners at a time, then segregated them into separate camps
scattered around Koje-do, where they were more easily controlled.
Meanwhile, the stalemate continued at the front. Gen. Mark
Clark's philosophy that the communists only understood force
continued in June when Operation Counter was launched on June 6. For
the next week, the U.S. 45th Infantry Division waged a series of
attacks to establish 11 patrol bases in the "Old Baldy" area near
the "no-man's-land" dividing the opposing armies. The 2nd and 3rd
Battalions of the 180th Infantry Regiment fought a fierce battle for
one of those bases, Outpost Eerie on Hill 191, which was then
promptly counterattacked by two Chinese battalions. U.S. troops
retained control of the strategic hill after heavy losses on both
sides.
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Clark took his message to the air on June 23, when he ordered the
first bombing of power plants on the Yalu River at the North
Korean-Chinese border. The successful airstrikes over the next few
weeks knocked out North Korea's hydroelectric power sources for more
than two weeks. Although communist jet fighters were occasionally
able to inflict losses, United Nations forces maintained air
superiority throughout the war, a key factor in the U.N. war
strategy.
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 1,754 names of 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 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 some exciting 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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