Korean War Trivia
Written by Mario Maggiulli KWV
Reprinted and Commentary by Irene L. Mandra
The American Civil War & The Siege of Wonson, Songjin,
& Hungnam in North Korea.
During the American Civil War, the
city of Vicksburg, a crucial confederate seaport located on the Mississippi
river, was placed under siege by Union Forces, Commanded by General Ulysses Simpson
Grant on May 17, 1863. The devastating
siege lasted 48 days, ending on July 4th 1863, with the capture of
Vicksburg. During the siege, the
Federal Navy shelled Vicksburg a total of 42 consecutive days.
A record that stood for 88 years
until the end of March 1951, when the United States Navy, during the Korean War
reached the 43rd day of a bombardment siege of the vital N. Korean
seaports of Wonson, Songjin, and Hungnam located on the east coast of the sea
of Japan. The navel siege of these
seaports went on to reach a grand total of 861 consecutive days ending on July
27, 1953; when the armistice agreement went into effect. A record 861 consecutive days that probably
will never be broken.
The main reason for this very long
siege, was that the three vital N. Korean seaports were communication centers
for the road and rail networks along the entire east coast. The subsequent blockage and bombardment were
designed to keep the enemy supply arteries severed. It is estimated, that the long siege tied down some 80,000 N.
Koreans and Chinese troops in these areas, plus a considerable amount of
artillery. They constantly feared the
possibility of a combined American and United Nations amphibious land invasion.
As a humorous gesture, the siege
went on so long that the Navel Officer in charge was dubbed the “Mayor of
Wonson” and given a gold key as his badge of office. In reality, the successful
siege was an extremely serious operation that took away and or destroyed, a
huge portion of the N. Korean and Chinese war machine that would have been
deployed against our front line troops.
This was a tremendous task, one of so many which were well done by the
United States Navy.
AUTHOR’S COMMENTARY:
President Truman called the Korean
War a “police action”. This
characterization minimized the horrendous nature of that war and the brutality
afforded our POWs. It reminds me of a
Congressional hearing I attended, when a Congressman asked a member of the
State department; “You are giving food and aid to the N. Koreans?”, “Are you
asking them for American POWs?” The answer
was “No sir.” When asked “Why?” His reply was that “The giving of food was a
humanitarian act.”
So I ask you, fellow family
members, isn’t this reply indicative of a State Department who disregards the
men that fought this unforgettable blood bath and the men who remain
prisoners? The State Department doesn’t
think that ‘asking for our men’ is a humanitarian gesture. I wonder if this man
could possibly understand what it means, as a family member, to have unanswered
questions. Are our loved-ones alive?
Do they get medical attention? The
questions are endless. I strongly suggest that the representative from the
State Dept. take a course in Human Studies.