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In the battle approximately 150 American infantrymen were killed, wounded,
or missing. All five officers and ten enlisted men of the forward observer
liaison, machine gun and bazooka group were lost. North Korean casualties in the
battle before Osan were approximately 42 dead and 85 wounded; four tanks had
been destroyed or immobilized. The enemy advance was delayed perhaps seven
hours.
This was a helluva price to pay for seven hours, but the men in Task Force
Smith paid it. I have the greatest respect for those men, Carl, but the ROKS
that were assigned to us were completely unreliable.
Bob Dove
1st Raider Co. 1950
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Sunday, October 06, 2002 9:33
AM
Subject: Re: South Koreans in the 7th
Div.
You all,
Candidly, I am
shocked to hear the reactions of nearly everyone about the ROK soldiers
serving in our units. It does not seem like the same war the guys with
me fought.
We are scanning an article one of our people, then 1st Lt
Lindsey P. Henderson published in the Combat Forces Journal in October, 1952.
His very correct title: My ROKS Were Good. I won't say much else
until we have the article for you. Simply stated, however, we kept our
Koreans in a separate rifle platoon and put a handful of cracker-jack NCOs
with them. The results stood out and were in marked contrast to what
I've been reading from you all.
More soon.
Carl Bernard, Task
Force Smith, and "Love" Company, 21st Infantry
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