{"id":2268,"date":"2018-04-08T16:31:17","date_gmt":"2018-04-08T07:31:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nedforney.com\/?p=2268"},"modified":"2019-05-22T10:02:42","modified_gmt":"2019-05-22T01:02:42","slug":"us-merchant-marine-korean-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/nedforney.com\/index.php\/2018\/04\/08\/us-merchant-marine-korean-war\/","title":{"rendered":"Men of the Merchant Marine: Unsung Heroes of the Korean War"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t\t\t\t\"Burley\n\t

As the elderly American,\u00a0surrounded by cameras, microphones, and reporters,\u00a0walked 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\u2019s attention. It was a magical moment, one that words and pictures can\u2019t capture. It was the feeling<\/em> that made it so memorable.<\/p>\n

The two Korean men, known as \u201cKimchi 1\u201d and \u201cKimchi 5,\u201d and the American, Burley Smith, first \u201cmet\u201d nearly 68 years ago during the Korean War. Burley was a Jr. Third Mate\u00a0aboard SS Meredith Victory<\/em>,\u00a0and the Koreans were two of five babies born on the ship<\/a> 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\u00a0\u201ckimchi\u201d\u00a0nicknames by Meredith Victory\u2019s<\/em> crew and had come to the ceremony to personally thank Mr. Smith for saving their parents\u2019 lives – for saving\u00a0their <\/em>lives. They were genuinely grateful, and we all felt it.<\/p>\n

The Guys On The Ship<\/strong><\/h2>\n

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\u2019re simply \u201cthe guys on the ship.\u201d<\/p>\n

For UN forces fighting on the ground, however, they were much more.\u00a0The dedicated men of the Merchant Marine,\u00a0many of whom had earned their sea legs during World War II,\u00a0transported everything from food and ammunition to vehicles and weapons to a war front over 6,500 miles away from home.\u00a0For many American GI’s and their commanders, Merchant Marine ships were a literal life saver.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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\u00a0United States Merchant Marine\u00a0are now being recognized.<\/p>\n

\"Burley

Burley giving his acceptance speech after receiving an award from the MPVA. (Photo credit: Ned Forney)<\/p><\/div>\n

Reporting For Duty<\/strong><\/h2>\n

I was introduced to Burley Smith three years ago, and he\u2019s one of the most interesting, optimistic, and unassuming men I\u2019ve 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<\/a> in Kings Point, New York. By July of 1950, he was on his way to Korea.<\/p>\n

The newly-commissioned deck officer\u00a0had been assigned to the SS Meredith Victory<\/em>, a World War II Victory ship skippered by Captain Leonard LaRue<\/a>, 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<\/em> entire 50-man crew would soon be making history.<\/p>\n

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

Our Hearts Were In Our Throats<\/strong><\/h2>\n

On the afternoon of September 14, 1950, a day before MacArthur\u2019s historic and hugely successful Inchon Landing, a typhoon hit the invasion fleet. Burley vividly remembers the storm’s terrifying \u201churricane force winds and waves of 50 to 60 feet.”<\/p>\n

At one point during the massive typhoon, Burley feared that\u00a0Meredith Victory,<\/em> 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. \u201cFor a few breathless moments,\u201d he remembers, \u201cwe were not sure if the ship would be able to survive the tremendous roll.\u201d<\/p>\n

LaRue turned the ship around, a dangerous but necessary move, and saved\u00a0Meredith Victory<\/em> from capsizing. \u201cNone of us had ever experienced anything so extreme,\u201d Burley told me. \u201cTruly, our hearts were in our throats.\u201d Unfortunately, there was more to come.<\/p>\n

\"Meredith

Meredith Victory leaving Hungnam in December 1950. (Photo credit: Ode to My Father)<\/p><\/div>\n

A few days later,\u00a0Meredith Victory<\/em> 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.<\/p>\n

On deck that morning enjoying the blue skies and calm weather, Burley saw the Soviet-era, World\u00a0War II fighters heading straight for him. A direct hit from one of the plane\u2019s 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.\u00a0Meredith Victory<\/em> had again avoided disaster.<\/p>\n

A Christmas Miracle<\/strong><\/h2>\n

By late December 1950, after numerous trips up and down the Korean coast, Meredith Victory<\/em> 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<\/a>, and\u00a0they were now evacuating to Busan.<\/p>\n

When\u00a0Meredith Victory<\/em> sailed into Hungnam harbor on December 22, its crew\u00a0saw tens of thousands of refugees waiting along the port\u2019s docks and beaches. Describing the scene, Burley said,\u00a0\u201cThe Koreans on the dock, to me, that\u2019s what we were there for, that was our job.\u00a0The problem was how we [were] going to get them aboard.\u201d There were too many people and not enough time to get them all loaded. \u201cIt looked like Times Square on New Year\u2019s Eve,\u201d Burley remembered.<\/p>\n

With US battleships and fighter planes pounding the mountains around Hungnam, the crewmen of Meredith Victory<\/em> loaded refugees for nearly 24 hours. The ship then maneuvered through \u201ca very narrow channel [cleared of mines], it couldn\u2019t have been more than a hundred yards wide,\u201d\u00a0and 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<\/em> refugees.\u00a0It was the largest humanitarian rescue operation ever by a single ship.<\/p>\n

When Meredith Victory<\/em> was finally unloaded on Christmas Day, every North Korean refugee was alive, including five babies born during the voyage.\u00a0\u201cWe were just young men doing our job,\u201d Burley later said.<\/p>\n

\"Burley

Burley paying tribute at the Hungnam Evacuation Memorial on Geoje Island. (Photo credit: Ned Forney)<\/p><\/div>\n

A Grateful Nation Pays Tribute<\/strong><\/h2>\n

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\u00a0Evacuation<\/a>. The ROK Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs (MPVA<\/a>) presented him with an award and hosted a luncheon in his honor.<\/p>\n

During the day\u2019s events, I heard government officials, journalists, veterans, and everyday citizens express their thanks for Burley\u2019s contribution to South Korea. I was also reminded of a little-known chapter in the Hungnam story.<\/p>\n

Two of Meredith Victory\u2019s<\/em> 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,\u00a0one of an estimated one million\u00a0descendants of those rescued at Hungnam,\u00a0is now the president of South Korea.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s freedom.<\/p>\n

Organizations like the American Merchant Marine Veterans (AMMV), and people like William Geroux, author of the best-selling book<\/a>, The Matthews Men<\/em>, are working hard to recognize these men. More tributes, memorials, awards, and well-deserved benefits are being given to the US\u00a0Merchant Marine. It\u2019s about time.<\/p>\n

As President Franklin Roosevelt said about the courageous crews of America\u2019s ships during WWII, \u201cThey have delivered the goods when and where needed . . . and across every ocean.\u201d The Korean War was no different.<\/p>\n

Today I\u00a0salute Burley Smith and all men – past, present, and future – of the Merchant Marine.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\"Burley\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\tBurley Smith being greeted at the ceremony by Kimchi 1, far right, and Kimchi 5, who is next to Kimchi 1 (Photo credit: Ned Forney)\n\t