Korean War @ MindSay

By Air Force Master Sgt. Adam M. Stump

Special to American Forces Press Service

July 28, 2008 - The vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff returned to his hometown to help dedicate a Korean War Memorial yesterday. Marine Gen. James E. Cartwright, a native of neighboring Rockford, served as the keynote speaker at the dedication.

The general, speaking to an audience of dozens of Korean War veterans and hundreds of others, said that while it may carry the "forgotten war" moniker, the conflict and the sacrifices of those who fought in Korea will never be forgotten.

"The Korean War was hard-fought and a great sacrifice," the general, a graduate of Rockford West High School, said.

Cartwright said the sacrifice included the thousands of men who died, including more than 50 from the tri-county area near Rockford.

"It is often said a nation's greatest treasure are its youth," Cartwright said. "We commit our youth every time we commit ourselves to war. Many of that great population of youth perished."

The general said he's seen a lot of the battle sites in Korea, having served five tours in the Pacific. Cartwright said he once took a Marine general on a flight parallel to the demilitarized zone, showing him the valleys and other areas where armed conflicts had occurred years earlier. In one of the corridors, Cartwright was telling the general about Chesty Puller, a famous Marine general who had been overrun and was heading back south.

The general Cartwright was flying that day had been a company commander under Puller. His entire company had been killed in one night during the battle. He then went back and got another company and every one of them was killed, as well. Cartwright said the experience was truly humbling.

"It is hard to explain the emotion of the people I was privileged to spend time with, to listen to their stories, to listen to their understanding of what occurred over there," Cartwright said.

But, the fight was well worth it, Cartwright said. Over his time in the military, he said, he's watched South Korea turn into a nation with a vibrant economy, massive industry and numerous highways. He said when someone looks across the DMZ into North Korea, "you don't see much," noting the country's struggling economy, limited industry and lack of highways.

"Today, we are turning over control of most of the combat forces and most of the combat responsibilities to the South Koreans," the vice chairman said. "We are moving from the DMZ as a nation to south of the Han River. It's the right thing to do. [South Korea] is ready to stand up."

(Air Force Master Sgt. Adam M. Stump is assigned to the Joint Chiefs of Staff Public Affairs Office.)

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing in action from the Korean War, have been identified and will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors.

He is Master Sgt. Cirildo Valencio, U.S. Army, of Carrizo Springs, Texas. He will be buried on Aug. 4 in Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C.

Representatives from the Army met with Valencio's next-of-kin to explain the recovery and identification process on behalf of the Secretary of the Army.

Valencio was assigned to Company L, 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division then occupying a defensive position near Unsan, North Korea in an area known as the "Camel's Head." On Nov. 1, 1950, parts of two Chinese Communist Forces divisions struck the 1st Cavalry Division's lines, collapsing the perimeter and forcing a withdrawal. In the process, the 3rd Battalion was surrounded and effectively ceased to exist as a fighting unit. Valencio was one of the more than 350 servicemen unaccounted-for from the battle at Unsan.

In 2002, a joint U.S.-Democratic People's Republic of Korea team, led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), excavated a burial site south of Unsan near the nose of the "Camel's Head" formed by the joining of the Nammyon and Kuryong rivers. The team recovered human remains.

Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory also used mitochondrial DNA and dental comparisons in the identification of the remains. 

By Gerry J. Gilmore

American Forces Press Service

July 23, 2008 - President Harry S. Truman's 1948 executive order that desegregated the U.S. military was a definitive statement of equality that declared all servicemembers must be judged by individual merit instead of their racial background, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said here today. "No aspect of black Americans' quest for justice and equality under the law has been nobler than what has been called, "the fight for the right to fight," Gates said at the commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the integration of the armed forces held in the Capitol Rotunda.

"Our commemoration today of the racial integration of the armed forces makes us reflect on how far we have come toward living up to our founding ideals and yet how much remains to be done," Gates said.

The Defense Department began breaking down the barriers of race at the conclusion of World War Two in 1945, Gates said. As in past wars, African-American troops had served in World War Two with honor and distinction, he noted. However, African-American troops had to fight and live separately from all-white units.

America's sons and daughters fought in World War Two to preserve freedom and human dignity for the world's people, Gates said. Yet, African-Americans who'd served with distinction in that war, he noted, "returned to face segregation and harassment at home," as so-called Jim Crow segregation laws in place across the South relegated African-Americans to second-class-citizen status.

Truman's Executive Order 9981, signed July 26, 1948, was an important statement and an important step, Gates said. However, he said, Truman's directive "had to overcome stiff institutional resistance, as deeply entrenched attitudes were hard to change."

For example, "segregated units remained the norm and integrated units the exception," Gates noted, for several years after the integration order was issued.

The start of the Korean War in June 1950 prompted the need to put hundreds of thousands of Americans into uniform after the U.S. military had demobilized following the end of World War Two.

"With the sudden outbreak of war in Korea, the urgent demands of the battlefield trumped the old habit of Jim Crow," Gates said.

Before the start of the Korean War, he said, 50 percent of African-Americans in the Marine Corps -- about 750 men -- served as stewards. At the end of the Korean War in 1953, Gates said, there were 17,000 African-American Marines, and only 3 percent served as stewards.

"By 1954, the Korean War was over, the last of the segregated units were dissolved, and the momentum for equality and civil rights was carrying over into American society as a whole," Gates said.

In the ensuing decades after Truman's directive took effect, "black and white Americans trained, served, and fought together with honor and distinction," Gates said.

Today's integrated U.S. military continues to "put merit and integrity above all," Gates said, noting there's still more to achieve.

"My hope and expectation is that, in the years ahead, more African-Americans will staff the armed forces at the highest levels," Gates said. "We must make sure the American military continues to be a great engine of progress and equality -- all the better to defend our people and our values against adversaries around the globe."

By Donna Miles

American Forces Press Service

July 10, 2008 - Defense officials today pointed to the 13th consecutive month of recruiting success as a sign that the all-volunteer force, now 35 years old, remains solid. Recruiting and retention statistics for June, released today, show that all services met or exceeded their active-duty recruiting goals. The June figures mark more than a full year of across-the-board recruiting successes.

Pentagon spokeswoman Eileen Lainez said this trend, particularly during a protracted conflict, demonstrates the strength of the all-volunteer force.

Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, expressed appreciation earlier this week for military recruiters and the big role they play in filling the ranks in a challenging recruiting environment. He noted during his June 8 visit with enlisted troops in Mosul, Iraq, that only 30 percent of Americans between the ages of 18 and 24 are eligible for military service.

"I've seen tremendous success in recruiting all across the services," he told the troops during an "all-hands call" at Forward Operating Base Marez. "My hat goes off to those who recruit as they continue to make their numbers from month to month."

The June recruiting and retention figures reflect recruiters' hard work and young people's continued willingness to step up and serve, Lainez said. The Army signed up 9,365 new soldiers in June, 101 percent of its 9,250-soldier goal. The Marine Corps recruited 4,531 Marines, topping its monthly goal of 3,934 recruits by 15 percent. The Navy met its goal of 4,209 sailors, and the Air Force brought in 2,203 airmen, six recruits over its June goal.

In the reserve components, the trend lines remained positive as well, Lainez said. The Army National Guard recruited 5,290 soldiers in June, 100 percent of its goal. The Marine Corps Reserve reached its goal with 1,054 recruits. Despite falling 1 percent short of its June goal, the Army Reserve, with 3,138 new recruits in June, stands at 108 percent of its year-to-date goal, Lainez said.

The Air National Guard recruited 910 airmen, 119 percent of its June goal, and the Air Force Reserve met its 690-airman goal. The Navy Reserve and Air Force Reserve both met their June goals, recruiting 725 sailors and 690 airmen, respectively.

Meanwhile, retention remained strong in the Army, Navy and Marine Corps, Lainez said, with each service meeting or exceeding its year-to-date goals.

Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of Multinational Force Iraq, praised troops' commitment to continue serving as he re-enlisted 1,215 servicemembers during a Fourth of July ceremony in Baghdad.

"Volunteering to continue to serve our nation while deployed is both noble and inspiring," he said. "It is, as award citations often state, in keeping with the finest traditions of our military services."

July 1 marked the 35th anniversary of the U.S. armed forces consisting solely of volunteers. Until July 1973, the military operated under an involuntary draft policy to produce manpower to fight the country's wars. Draftees served during both world wars, the Korean War and the Vietnam War.

Since then, volunteers have served the armed forces through peacetime and war, including the Cold War and conflicts in Panama, Grenada, Somalia, Bosnia, Kosovo, the Persian Gulf and elsewhere around the world.

Bill Carr, deputy undersecretary of defense for military personnel and policy, said the all-volunteer force has continued to prove itself during ongoing operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"There were concerns about how today's fight would affect retention, and yet, retention has been as strong as any period in our history," he said on the all-volunteer force's 35th anniversary. "Volunteers want to serve; their performance is strong, their behaviors are strong, and their discipline is high."

Their choice to become members of the armed forces "speaks volumes for the dedication and loyalty of our nation and its volunteers," Carr said.

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing in action from the Korean War, have been identified and will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors.

He is Pfc. Milton Dinerboiler Jr., U.S. Army, of Elkhart, Ind. His burial date is being set by his family.

Representatives from the Army met with Dinerboiler's next-of-kin to explain the recovery and identification process, and to coordinate interment with military honors on behalf of the secretary of the Army.

In late November 1950, Dinerboiler was assigned to the Heavy Mortar Company, 32nd Infantry Regiment, then attached to the 31st Regimental Combat Team (RCT), 7th Infantry Division. The team was engaged in battle against the Chinese People's Volunteer Forces near the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea, from late November to early December 1950. Dinerboiler was captured by the Chinese and marched on a route north of the Chosin Reservoir. He died in mid-to-late April 1951, from poor health and the lack of medical treatment. He was buried beside a hill along the route.

In 2002, a joint U.S./Democratic People's Republic of Korea team, led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), recovered human remains from an isolated grave north of the Chosin Reservoir. The site correlates to a route that American POWs were taken while being moved north to a POW camp. 

Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory also used mitochondrial DNA and dental comparisons in the identification of Dinerboiler's remains. 

For additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO Web site at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call (703) 699-1169.