“The
Navy and marines have never shone more brightly than this morning
.” (General Douglas MacArthur upon
completing Inchon operation)
[The additive color system] starts with darkness and mixes red, green
and blue light together to produce other colors. When combined, the additive
primary colors produce the appearance of white. (from http://www.rgbworld.com/color.html)
‘ At 6:33 a.m., following an intense air, rocket and naval gunfire bombardment,
landing craft carrying the first wave of Marines from the 3rd Battalion
Landing Team (BLT), 5th Marine Regiment, reached "Green
Beach," located
on the north arm of Wolmi-do and the first amphibious assault by American
forces against an enemy since 1 April 1945 at Okinawa was underway.
The initial landing was unopposed and the Marines quickly moved inland
against
scattered and very light resistance. A half or so after the initial
landing a group of Marines raised the American flag on the peak of
the island
although light, scattered fighting continued for several more hours.
3rd Battalion casualties for this operation were 17 wounded. North
Koreans defenders lost over 200 KIA while another 136 surrendered.
Once Wolmi-do
was secure the 3rd Marine BLT took up defensive positions facing Inch'on
and prepared to support the main landing later in the day.
Assault troops from the 5th and 1st Marines began going over the side
of their attack transports and into landing craft at 3:30 p.m. The first
wave of the 5th Marine's reached the seawall of Red Beach at 5:33 p.m.
A Company, 5th Marines, encountered in the troops in the trenches and
a bunker just beyond the seawall. An intense firefight ensued. The Marines
lost 8 men killed and 28 wounded. However, 22 minutes after landing the
company fired a flare signaling that it held Cemetery Hill, its first
objective. Meanwhile, the 2nd battalion, 5th Marines, had landed on the
right side of Red Beach, encountered only spotty resistance and gained
its objective.
Assault elements of the 1st
Marines began landing over Blue Beach at 5:32 PM., and advanced to
the Inchon- Seoul highway. By midnight, all
first-day objectives had been obtained.’
(Ed
Evanhoe on
September 15, http://www.korean-war.com/TimeLine/1950/09-15to09-30-50.html
)
|
In
Inchon, the second biggest harbor city of the South Korea, there
stands a big statue of the general McArthur whom many of the
South Koreans have admired as the ‘liberator’ from
the North Korean communists. 'Wolmido’ is
now a beach resort where one can see the ‘Green Beach’ memorial
which memorizes the successful Inchon landing. It
is estimated that 5 million people, about
one-sixth of the population at the time, were killed during the
Korean War. What really happened under the names colored?
|
|
* Many of the image’s
credits are Korea map from Nelles Map series, US army photos
by Ray
Ueno and others in Panmunjom-Facts
About The Korean DMZ by Wayne A. Kirkbride, South Korea: a country
study by Federal Research Division, Korea & DMZ. Panmunjom by
Panmunjom Travel Center, History
of United States Naval Operations: Korea by James A. Field, Jr., DEPARTMENT
OF THE NAVY- NAVAL HISTORICAL CENTER( http://www.history.navy.mil), and
Assault from the sea: The Amphibious Landing at Inchon by Curtis A.
Utz, No.
2, The U.S. Navy in the Modern World Series
|
