They Stood Proud and Strong

Marines begin the long, cold trek to Hungnam, many would not survive.

“We grunts never knew, one day from the next, where we were or what we were accomplishing. The mountains, valleys, stinking rice paddies, and frozen mountains all seemed the same to us. We were living and dying in our own violent little world.” – Marine serving during the Korean War with 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines The…

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A “Timeless” Tribute to the Korean War

In one of the most unlikely events of holiday primetime television, the writers of “Timeless,” a science fiction drama series with a following of millions, showcased the Korean War’s Hungnam Evacuation.  The show’s final episode, which aired on December 20 and highlighted the little-known military and humanitarian operation, became the talk of the town on…

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An Eternal Brotherhood

Marines making their way out of the Chosin Reservoir towards the port of Hungnam in early December 1950. John Lee was with them every step of the way.

On a cold, starless night deep in the snow-covered mountains of North Korea, John Lee, a Korean interpreter with 1st Marine Division, watched as about twenty people cautiously entered a small building. Worried that the suspicious-looking North Korean civilians might be communist sympathizers plotting to infiltrate American units at Chosin, he made his way silently…

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Fighting and Dying in a Frozen Hell

Marines at Chosin Reservoir

It’s a pivotal event of the 20th century. The Battle of Chosin, or “Changjin” as it’s called in Korea, a two-week-long bloodbath pitting 30,000 US, ROK, and British troops against 120,000 Chinese soldiers, was a defining moment of the Korean War. Fighting in the winter of 1950 in bitter cold and brutal terrain, men endured…

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