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THROUGH THE NUMISMATIC GLASS: 50th ANNIVERSAY OF THE KOREAN WAR 1950-1953

By Dr THOMAS F FITZGERALD

On August 15, 1945, an agreement was negotiated between the Soviet Union and the United States regarding the future of Korea that had been occupied by Japan. Korea would be divided at the 38th Parallel into a north and south occupation zone. The armed forces of the Soviet Union would be in the north and those of the United States in the south. By May 10, 1948, the government in the north became the “The Peoples Democratic Republic of North Korea” under the control of Kim II Sung. On August 15, 1948, the US military turned over control of South Korea to the “Republic of South Korea”.

Early in the morning of June 25, 1950, the North Korean People’s Army invaded South Korea with a far superior force including seven assault infantry divisions, a tank brigade and two independent infantry regiments. The United Nations called for a cease-fire and an end to the aggression by North Korea. However, this appeal was ignored and two days later, June 27, 1950, Seoul, the capital of South Korea was abandoned.

President Truman responded by announcing the United States intended to intervene. The only unforeseen event to thwart the strategy of North Korea, was the quick decision of the United States to enter the conflict. On June 26, 1950, President Truman ordered the air force and navy to take action against the North Koreans and on June 30th, United States ground troops were dispatched.

A “Resolution” passed by the United Nations on July 7, 1950, created a joint command of all UN forces under General Douglas MacArthur. At first, the superior North Korean Army was victorious everywhere. By early August, the South Koreans forces were confined in the southeastern corner of the peninsula to a territory 140 kilometers long and 90 kilometers wide. The rest of Korea was under the control of the North Korean Army. By mid August, the North Korean offensive had been halted. On August 29th, Scottish and English troops entered the war to create a UN force.

When General MacArthur launched an amphibious attack and landed UN forces at Inchon on September 15, 1950, the course of the war changed abruptly. Within weeks much of North Korea was seized by the United States and South Korean forces before Chinese “volunteers” intervened in October. On November 27th, the Chinese forces attacked the 1st Marine Division and 7th Army Division near the Changjin (Chosin) Reservoir resulting in a major retreat by the US forces. The defenders have since been known as the “Chosin Few” because of the very heavy casualties of this action. By June 13, 1951, the two sides were dug-in at the 38th Parallel and the war had become a stalemate.

On July 10, 1951, truce talks were begun. Yet, with many charges of violations by both sides, the talks dragged on at Panmunjom for almost two years. On December 5, 1952, President-Elect Dwight D Eisenhower went to Korea to fulfill one of his campaign promises. With the death of Joseph Stalin on March 5, 1952, the new Soviet Premier, Georgi Malenkov, seemed to favor peaceful coexistence. The war lasted until July 27, 1953, when a cease-fire agreement was signed at Panmunjom. By this time, the war had involved the Soviet Union, China, North Korea and fifteen member countries of the United Nations who had contributed armed forces and medical units to aid South Korea.

The war left indelible marks on the Korean Peninsula and the surrounding world. Much of both South and North Korea had been destroyed and the casualties on both sides were enormous. Until October, 1958, a large number of Chinese troops remained in North Korea. The United States still maintains forces in South Korea. Unification seems remote.

TWO COMMEMORATIVE COINS RELATED TO THE KOREAN WAR

In 1990, the United States mint struck a special silver-dollar coin commemorating the centennial of the birth of our 34th President, Dwight D Eisenhower. It was this president who succeeded in ending the Korean War with the signing of a cease-fire agreement in 1953. The unusual design on the obverse of this coin, by mint engraver John Mercanti, shows the profile of President Eisenhower as facing right, which is superimposed over his own left-facing profile as a five-star general and carries the centennial dates, “1890-1990”. The reverse, designed by Marcel Jovine, bears a depiction of the Eisenhower home at Gettysburg, PA, a National Hisorical Site.

In 1991, a commemorative silver dollar was issued to memoralize the 38th anniversary of the end of the Korean War and those who served in combat in it. The obverse of this coin, by John Mercanti, (who designed the Eisenhower dollar), depicts an infantryman charging up one of the many hills of Korea.

At the top are two streaking jet fighter planes. The reverse, designed by mint engraver, John Farrell, carries an outline map of Korea showing the division at the 38th parallel. The surcharges were used to build the national monument in Washington DC, honoring the Korea War Veterans.

“LEST WE FORGET”

Lest we forget
They shall not grow old
As we that are left to grow old.
Age shall not weary them
Nor the years condemn
At the going down of the sun,
And in the morning,
We will remember them.

By Captain David Weltman,
Veteran of World War II, Korea and Vietnam