Men of the Merchant Marine: Unsung Heroes of the Korean War

As the elderly American, surrounded by cameras, microphones, and reporters, walked towards the memorial, two Korean men stepped forward from the crowd. As if on cue, the sea of people suddenly parted, and the three men shook hands, their warm smiles and contagious laughs drawing everyone’s attention. It was a magical moment, one that words and pictures can’t capture. It was the feeling that made it so memorable.

The two Korean men, known as “Kimchi 1” and “Kimchi 5,” and the American, Burley Smith, first “met” nearly 68 years ago during the Korean War. Burley was a Jr. Third Mate aboard SS Meredith Victory, and the Koreans were two of five babies born on the ship during its two-day voyage from Hungnam, North Korea, to Geoje Island, South Korea, in December 1950. The Koreans, Lee Gyeong-Pil and Sohn Yang-Young, were given their “kimchi” nicknames by Meredith Victory’s crew and had come to the ceremony to personally thank Mr. Smith for saving their parents’ lives - for saving their lives. They were genuinely grateful, and we all felt it.

The Guys On The Ship

All too often when researching the Korean War, I come across little-known anecdotes of selfless, hard-working men who served aboard US Merchant Marine ships during Korea's three-year conflict. These men, although they played a key role in the war, often go unrecognized. They’re simply “the guys on the ship.”

For UN forces fighting on the ground, however, they were much more. The dedicated men of the Merchant Marine, many of whom had earned their sea legs during World War II, transported everything from food and ammunition to vehicles and weapons to a war front over 6,500 miles away from home. For many American GI's and their commanders, Merchant Marine ships were a literal life saver.

As prominent military tacticians and historians have long argued, the difference between battlefield victory and defeat often revolves around logistics, the ability to keep troops well-fed, supplied, and equipped. The Korean War, like World War II before it, reinforced this argument and illustrated the importance of a highly trained and professional Merchant Marine.

Despite the importance of these ships, however, their crews have been largely been forgotten, relegated to a mere footnote in history. But things are changing. Men like Jr. Third Mate Burley Smith of the United States Merchant Marine are now being recognized.

Burley giving his acceptance speech after receiving an award from the MPVA. (Photo credit: Ned Forney)

Reporting For Duty

I was introduced to Burley Smith three years ago, and he’s one of the most interesting, optimistic, and unassuming men I’ve ever met. Born in 1928, he spent his childhood and high school years in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Just a month before the outbreak of the Korean War, he graduated from the US Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, New York. By July of 1950, he was on his way to Korea.

The newly-commissioned deck officer had been assigned to the SS Meredith Victory, a World War II Victory ship skippered by Captain Leonard LaRue, a veteran of the deadly Murmansk runs that supplied the Soviet Army with invaluable equipment, fuel, and weapons during WWII. LaRue, Smith, and Meredith Victory's entire 50-man crew would soon be making history.

In less than three months, they would play a key role in the Hungnam Evacuation, the unprecedented military and humanitarian operation of December 1950. But they would first have make it through the Inchon Landing.

Our Hearts Were In Our Throats

On the afternoon of September 14, 1950, a day before MacArthur’s historic and hugely successful Inchon Landing, a typhoon hit the invasion fleet. Burley vividly remembers the storm's terrifying “hurricane force winds and waves of 50 to 60 feet."

At one point during the massive typhoon, Burley feared that Meredith Victory, filled with supplies, tanks, and soldiers, might not make it. A giant wave slammed into the ship, causing Sherman tanks and military trucks lashed to the upper and lower decks to break free. With the ship now unstable and listing severely to the right, or starboard, side of the vessel, it looked like the worst was about to happen. “For a few breathless moments,” he remembers, “we were not sure if the ship would be able to survive the tremendous roll.”

LaRue turned the ship around, a dangerous but necessary move, and saved Meredith Victory from capsizing. “None of us had ever experienced anything so extreme,” Burley told me. “Truly, our hearts were in our throats.” Unfortunately, there was more to come.

Meredith Victory leaving Hungnam in December 1950. (Photo credit: Ode to My Father)

A few days later, Meredith Victory found herself in another precarious situation. Anchored in Inchon harbor with numerous other vessels, the ship suddenly became the target of two North Korean planes.

On deck that morning enjoying the blue skies and calm weather, Burley saw the Soviet-era, World War II fighters heading straight for him. A direct hit from one of the plane’s bombs would have resulted in certain casualties, but at the last minute the planes veered and attacked another ship. The pilots, thankfully, missed their targets and no vessels were sunk. Meredith Victory had again avoided disaster.

A Christmas Miracle

By late December 1950, after numerous trips up and down the Korean coast, Meredith Victory was on its way to Hungnam. North Korean civilians, fleeing from the Chinese army and hoping to be rescued, were trapped at the port. US and ROK troops were also there. Chinese troops had forced them out of the Chosin Reservoir, and they were now evacuating to Busan.

When Meredith Victory sailed into Hungnam harbor on December 22, its crew saw tens of thousands of refugees waiting along the port’s docks and beaches. Describing the scene, Burley said, “The Koreans on the dock, to me, that’s what we were there for, that was our job. The problem was how we [were] going to get them aboard.” There were too many people and not enough time to get them all loaded. “It looked like Times Square on New Year’s Eve,” Burley remembered.

With US battleships and fighter planes pounding the mountains around Hungnam, the crewmen of Meredith Victory loaded refugees for nearly 24 hours. The ship then maneuvered through “a very narrow channel [cleared of mines], it couldn’t have been more than a hundred yards wide,” and sailed out of the port on the afternoon of the 23rd. With no way to protect themselves or their passengers from enemy planes and submarines rumored to be in the area, the crew spent the next two days sailing down the coast of Korea to Geoje Island with 14,000 refugees. It was the largest humanitarian rescue operation ever by a single ship.

When Meredith Victory was finally unloaded on Christmas Day, every North Korean refugee was alive, including five babies born during the voyage. “We were just young men doing our job,” Burley later said.

Burley paying tribute at the Hungnam Evacuation Memorial on Geoje Island. (Photo credit: Ned Forney)

A Grateful Nation Pays Tribute

This past Friday, Burley Smith, now 89, was recognized by the South Korean government for his service in US Merchant Marine and his role in the Hungnam Evacuation. The ROK Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs (MPVA) presented him with an award and hosted a luncheon in his honor.

During the day’s events, I heard government officials, journalists, veterans, and everyday citizens express their thanks for Burley’s contribution to South Korea. I was also reminded of a little-known chapter in the Hungnam story.

Two of Meredith Victory’s passengers, a couple with a young daughter, gave birth to a baby boy two years after arriving on Geoje Island. Their son, Moon Jae-in, one of an estimated one million descendants of those rescued at Hungnam, is now the president of South Korea.

The gratitude of the ROK President and an entire nation could be felt throughout the day, and the events were a tribute not only to Burley but to all the men of the US Merchant Marine who played a role in securing South Korea’s freedom.

Organizations like the American Merchant Marine Veterans (AMMV), and people like William Geroux, author of the best-selling book, The Matthews Men, are working hard to recognize these men. More tributes, memorials, awards, and well-deserved benefits are being given to the US Merchant Marine. It’s about time.

As President Franklin Roosevelt said about the courageous crews of America’s ships during WWII, “They have delivered the goods when and where needed . . . and across every ocean.” The Korean War was no different.

Today I salute Burley Smith and all men - past, present, and future - of the Merchant Marine.