Korea - 50 years ago this week, Jan. 31-Feb. 6, 1952

[Brooke Rowe <world-national-security@pacbell.net>]

Korea - 50 years ago this week, Jan. 31-Feb. 6, 1952

(EXCERPT) North Koreans list demands for truce, by Jim Caldwell

WASHINGTON (Army News Service, Jan. 29, 2002) - North Korea's chief
negotiator presented the United Nations a list of demands for peace 50
years ago this week as the Chinese captured a position northwest of
Yonchon. Jan. 31-Feb. 6, 1952 -- One subcommittee of the main
truce-talk parties at Panmunjom is still dealing with details of what
both sides may have to compromise on to reach a truce agreement.
Another is working out how prisoners are going to be exchanged. The
senior communist delegates suggest that a major political conference
settle the issues that will meet objectives of agenda Item 5. They
will ensure that the truce becomes a full-fledged peace. Adm. C.
Turner Joy, chief U.N. negotiator, invites his counterpart, North
Korean Lt. Gen. Nam Il, to discuss the communists' ideas for ending
the war. It is the first time the two men have met face-to-face in
more than two months. Nam listed these points: "Opposing sides" in the
Korean War should hold a major political conference three months after
the truce is signed. Opposing sides are identified as the Democratic
Republic of Korea, Peoples Republic of China and "countries concerned
of the United Nations." (Since South Korean is not a U.N. member, then
the statement omits the ROK government from participating in the peace
conference.) One topic at the conference should be "withdrawal of all
foreign forces from Korea." It should ensure peace in Korea through
"fundamental principles and specific recommendations." Nam says, "On
June 27, 1950, President Truman of the U.S.A. publicly connected the
war in Korea with other questions of the east and used the Korean War
as a pretext for a series of warlike measures in the East." Since
Truman ordered the 7th Fleet to protect Taiwan for as long as the war
lasted, observers think the communists may try to inject the question
of Taiwan's independence into the peace talks. The suggestions Nam
makes are forwarded to Washington for their evaluation. The
subcommittee working on rules for enforcing the truce is still
deadlocked. The number of "ports of entry" for inspection teams is the
current stumbling block. On Feb. 6, the chief negotiators create
another subcommittee to work out how the exchange of prisoners will be
handled. At the front, communists capture a U.N. defensive position
northwest of Yonchon on Feb. 5, but the counterattack drives them
back. The Chinese capture it again and by the end of the day they hold
the position. A IX Corps tank-infantry party strikes an enemy staging
area five miles north of Chorwon. They shoot up Chinese soldiers and
supplies before scooting back to U.N. lines. Near the end of 1951,
Gen. Matthew Ridgway, U.N. supreme commander for Korea, noted the
supplies of large caliber artillery and mortar ammunition available to
the Eighth Army was decreasing to dangerous levels. This was not seen
as a problem before because of the large stockpiles of ammunition left
over from World War II. However, there had been no accounting for the
types of ammunition in the stockpile. Ridgway had asked the Joint
Chiefs of Staff in October to provide ammunition to increase the
reserve of all artillery shells from 75 to 90 days. That translated to
a reserve at the front of 30 to 40 days. As 1952 began, the system was
at least six months away from delivering any shells from the
manufacturers. Artillerymen were using a higher rate per gun in Korea
than those of World War II. However, there had been more big guns in
World War II, so each gun didn't need the same rate of fire as in
Korea. Ridgway infers that, based on the rate of fire during the fall
fighting, ammunition is being wasted. He tells Van Fleet to pay close
attention to ammunition use to prevent recurrence. Van Fleet's answer
is he has taken a page from Ridgway's book and uses artillery freely
to kill enemy soldiers. "Based on World War II European standards, I
estimate that the Eighth Army is short approximately 70 battalions of
field artillery." Fewer "battalions per mile of front has required
more rounds per individual tube to achieve the effectiveness
required."

Jan. 31 -- President Harry Truman blasts Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy as a
liar and character assassin who charges people as communists without
having any proof. The president says if McCarthy has ever told the
truth, he certainly doesn't know about it. What caused the president
to take a shot at McCarthy is that on Jan. 29 the senator charged in
the Senate that Truman's assistant dealing with minority groups,
Philleo Nash, has been a communist since joining the party in the
1940s. He said he got his information from FBI reports. Nash called
McCarthy's accusations "a contemptible lie." Truman also tells
reporters that he will have his name withdrawn from the New Hampshire
primary.

Feb. 2 -- United States involvement in the Korean War has lasted 585
days, one day longer than the nation's participation in World War I.
Americans were in Europe in World War I from April 6, 1917 to Nov. 11,
1918. Americans entered the Korean War on June 28, 1950.

Feb. 5 -- Truman announces that he has changed his mind and will
remain in the New Hampshire primary, on the advice of Frank E.
McKinney, Democrat Party chairman. He says he still will not run if he
wins. He also explained to the New Hampshire State Secretary what he
really meant by calling the primary system eyewash. He only meant that
he preferred a national primary because then voters could choose the
candidates. Later in the day, Truman tells an audience at a VFW dinner
that he expects the primary to be "a lot of fun" along with throwing
"bricks, mud and everything else." British Foreign Secretary Anthony
Eden once again assures members of the House of Commons that England
and the United States have made no formal agreements to carry the war
to China if peace talks fail. He blasts Aneurin Bevan, left-wing
leader in the Labor Party, for trying to stir up "anti-American
prejudice" in Great Britain.

Feb. 6 -- American casualties in Korea stand at 105,271 as of Feb. 1,
according to the Defense Department. Among that total are 18,245 dead
and 10,856 missing. The United Nations in Paris had announced the day
before that casualties among all U.N. forces in Korea amount to
306,070, with 47,138 killed and 75,659 missing. President Truman
presents the Medal of Honor to Staff Sgt. Archie Van Winkle, 26,
Everett, Wash., for directing his platoon's stand against the reds
near Sudong Nov. 2 after he was wounded. The Medal was also presented
posthumously to Marine Sgt. James I. Poynter, 33, Downey, Calif., for
a suicidal attack on three enemy machine gun sites. (Editor's note:
Jim Caldwell writes for the TRADOC News Service)

http://www.dtic.mil/armylink/news/Jan2002/a20020129koreajan31.html

---------------------------
   Brooke Rowe
   Associate Librarian
   The American War Library
   http://www.americanwarlibrary.com