Elgin service marks 60-year anniversary of Korean War

They fought in campaigns called Pork Chop Hill, Bloody Ridge, and the Naktong Breakout. The hostilities began 60 years ago this June and dragged on for over three years.

Before the Korean War was over, there were more than 36,000 "in-theater" deaths, including over 1700 from Illinois and 32 from Kane County, according to information supplied by the Kane County Veteran's Assistance Commission.

Sometimes called the "Forgotten War" - because it was overshadowed by the enormity of World War II and the Vietnam War - the conflict will be anything but this Memorial Day as the city of Elgin pays tribute to those from the area who fought and died in this struggle.

History books show the Korean War got its start on June 25, 1950 when Kim II Sung, leader of North Korea, launched a massive invasion of its neighbor South Korea. The area had been in turmoil since the end of World War II when Korea was divided into two countries - a northern Communist country and a non-Communist neighbor.

The aggression was denounced by President Truman who pledged U.S. support for the invaded country. The newly formed United Nations soon agreed upon a multination force - to be led by the United States - to come to the aid of South Korea.

Nationwide, reserve officers were soon called up and draft calls issued to eligible men. The first draft call in Kane County asked for 120 men. Additional notices requiring even more men soon followed.

The fighting in the beginning was brutal as campaigns such as the Pusan Perimeter, Chosin Reservoir and Kuni-Ri claimed more than 6000 lives.

One of the first from the area to die was U.S. Army Pvt. Dale Brooks of Elgin who was killed on July 25, 1950, one month after the war began.

By year's end, more than 10 Kane County residents were killed, according to information supplied by John Carr of the Kane Co. Veterans Assistance Commission. The intensity of the fighting soon led to the call up of National Guard units and Elgin was no exception.

In February 1952, the 66 men of Company C Illinois National Guard were "Federalized" or called into action by the President. One was Don Sleeman, then a 21-year-old member of the group, who will be the speaker during today's Memorial Day program.

As it would turn out, some would be sent to Korea and others to Japan and Germany. Standing on the fan tail of the troop ship going out of San Francisco, Sleeman said he thought to himself, "This is the first time that the U.S. military was in a war under a flag that was not the Stars and Stripes. What ... are we doing here?"

Clear purpose or not, the fighting was just as intense as Donald E. Boyer, member of an Anti-Tank Company in the 7th Marines, Fleet Marine Division, recalled in a letter now in the collection of the Elgin Area Historical Society. "The battle over here is fought from hill to hill," Boyer wrote.

"We live in tents here and got them dug in pretty good in case the enemy starts dropping mortar shells on us. The (expletive deleted) sure want to get their hands on the Marines over here in a bad way. They go out of their way to kill Marines. And, the (expletive deleted) sure don't like tanks very much either.

"I got used to the artillery fire pretty quick. A lot of my buddies went into the artillery. They sat about ten miles behind the lines and fired at the enemy. We don't go up to the enemy lines at night - only in the daytime."

Unlike the Vietnam War that drew extensive protest, very little appeared in the local newspapers opposing the war. One of the few exceptions was the parents of an Elgin soldier killed in action who wrote President Eisenhower objecting to "raw troops who were rushed to the front line."

History books show cease-fire talks bogged down over the treatment of Prisoners of War or P.O.W.s.

"We held many North Korean and Chinese P.O.W.s who didn't want to go back," added Elgin resident Don Wesner, who served in the U.S. Marines in Korea and who also be part of Monday's program.

"We were also upset that they were executing many of our men simply because they don't want to house them."

An armistice wasn't signed until July 1953. To this date, no peace has ever been signed, he explains.

"There were no homecomings after Korea," notes Wesner. "We just all went on with our lives. Those that served weren't even allowed to join the V.F.W. at the time - though we can now."

That lack of recognition will change for a brief time on Monday as the Elgin program puts the spotlight on those who were part of this "Forgotten War."

The event begins at 11 a.m. today, May 31, in the Soldiers Reserve Section of Bluff City Cemetery, 945 Bluff City Blvd., Elgin. There will be a shuttle bus from the main and east gates.