SEALs Win/Lose ARCHIEVES

click on photo

   Paul Evancoe (SEAL) book for sale: “Own the Night”  

      Roger Guerra, Frogman Hunter Extraordinaire from TX.  Hunting Trip Auctions !
                                                                                                                                                                                             I am going!
                        

    Veteran frogman, Dennis Shryock,among first to hit Normandy beaches

     Bush words honor Navy SEAL, Nathan Hardy KIA

     Rick Hetzell Studio,  Need a Gift,  Check out his neat hand made stuff                

  Leif Babin awarded Silver Star Medal

  Swim, Bike, Run, Shoot, Kill : Navy SEALs

  Stephen “Otter” Otten SEAL volunteers to be jailed  in Santa Anna CA.

    Michael A. Monsoor, SEAL, KIA   ;  another good article on Mike Monsoor

     LT. Moki Martin (SEAL) receives Award for Heroic Action in Vietnam    

    Special Warfare Solutions                         

   CPO Lance M. Vaccaro (SEAL) killed in parachute landing fall (scroll to bottom of page)

                        Don Mann (SEAL) SEAL Training Adventures

 The Mike McQuillis Family  you will find Mike in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

New US Submarines Trade Nukes for SEALs

Navy Vice Adm. William H. McRaven, Commander, Joint Special Operations Command

     FIFTHs (1950) FROGS   and  UDT-SEAL Obituary Records and Frogman LINKs

     Senior Chief Thomas J. Valentine, 37, SEAL, Killed in Parachute accident    

Michael    E. Koch and Nathan H. Hardy (SEALs) KIAs HERE !

  Luis Ariel Suffront  (EOD) KIA Iraq, was working with SEALs

http://www.gratitudecampaign.org/fullmovie.php#

East Coast SEAL Reunion July 2007 Photos

Gulfcoast SEALs Christmas Party Photos

  HERE !

  Navy SEALs with HIGH internet profiles :  U.S. Coalition.org                           

  Senior Chief Thomas J. Valentine, 37, SEAL, Killed in Parachute accident     

  Alex Ghane (SEAL) Killed in Training

   LCDR LINDA BALL’s Photo ALbum,  The best looking diver in the U.S. Navy !

   Muster Ft. Pierce 2007,  Photo ALbum by Per Erik “Swede” Tornblom (SEAL)

   Dante’s Down the Hatch                    

   Jason D. Lewis (SEAL)  KIA Iraq

      Sufolk Police  Raid (SEAL)Elbert Tillman’s  Barn  filled with Military-Grade Explosives         

    Pete “The Pirate”Carolan (SEAL)  his  PATRIOT SEAL Art Studio

     CPO Mark T. Carter (SEAL) KIA in Iraq, Dec 2007;  A Blog for him here.

     CPO (SEAL) Mark T. Carter, 27, was killed in Action Iraq  Dec 2007

   Marcus Colburn (SEAL) broke every bone in his body                         

      Booksigning, Lone Survivor, Photo album of Katie Northrup            

       Michael P. Murphy, MOH awarded posthumously.  See the VIDEO!

  “SEAL JAVA Webs” by “Nightscribe” Mr .Rich  Young God Bless him.     Thank you very much for all your tributes to the U.S. Navy SEALs Links.

    Swim Fins for Super Human Speeds

   Mike McGreevy  Scholarship  fund

     Joseph Di Martino (SEAL)  RIP, my friend; my teamate;  a memorial 

     Legislation Would Designate the Ft. Pierce Museum the Official National Museum of  Navy SEALs                             

  LEWIS & MC RILL (SEALs) KIA by I.E.D. Also DAUGHERTY, cryptologic tech.

Petty Officer Nguyen Van Kiet   :      

Vietnam War: “It was their country. They deserve respect.”When Hollywood made a movie about the dramatic rescue of a downed American pilot during the Vietnam War, it left one man out: the South Vietnamese navy officer who was a key member of the rescue team.             note: the two links I had were removed from the internet, xin loi !

     Mr. Steve Schwarzer ABS Master bladesmith since 1983;   Need a GREAT Knife?

   Steve Elson LCDR (SEAL) Ret. 

  Navy SEALs on Submarines

   Nick Rocha helps Teamates Families

  Clark sets World Fitness Record

  David Goggins (SEAL) wins desert race

    The Sole Survivor SEAL Murphy, 29, was killed. So was SEAL Petty Officer Danny Dietz, 25 and Matt Axelson .  But at least one of  the four Seals survived.   Photos of Luttrell are  HERE!              The entire Photo Album is HERE !        A war hero from Huntsville, TX  rues a decision made in Afghanistan

Auto Assault 12 / AA12 / Combat Shotgun  check out this video !

    The ROAT (John) DEAL, the Off Shore Diver                       

    Veterans Stand Guard Before Dietz Statue Unveiled .    Photos are HERE.

      Chief Warrant Officer (W2) Ronald L. Tusi ,  RIP,    ex- HM1  UDT-12     

      SpecWarGru Recruiting Video  with clips from Movies BUD/S class 234                 

  Jack Walston (SEAL) PT Training in Houston TX     

   Archie Grayson R.I.P. Dec 13 2006 

   HM3(FMF)  Christopher Anderson KIA Iraq son of USNavy SEAL

  Rudy Boesch at Houston Boat Show Jan 15  2005

  Tribute to Jim Hazelwood(SEAL) 

     Some SEALs offered up to $125,000 to stay     

    SO3 Frederick C. Warneke  U.S. Navy SEAL          

     SEAL  Admiral  retires after 33 years of active duty

     SEAL 160 Ride Video  and  their Web PAGE photos of the ride.

    The Quiet Professionals, All Hands Article

     Joseph C. Shwedler  KIA Iraq

    U.S. Navy Commander (Ret.) Larry Geisinger 34 year Vet.

    Bob Bureker’s  EOD web site

     USNavy SEAL training BUD/S     and    the Latest article on BUD/S 

  Navy SEAL  Tom Mixon  in Austin TX       

   U. S. Navy SEAL Conditioning 

   LT. Herbert M. Ruth, Sr. 1930-1980                                    

      Navy SEALs, US Marines Use Positive Human Traits for Success

  TONS!  of SEAL and Specwar photos  HERE ! 

    Navy SEALs.com   nice small store.

   Xmas Party Gulfcoast SEAL 2006   

     VERISEAL Imposter News ( Wannabe’s, all kinds)    

    45 year Anniversary of the U. S. Navy SEALs, Joe Di Martino

    HM3 (FMF) SEAL’s  Son   KIA Iraq:  C. Anderson   another  Photo of Chris HERE.

  New NavSPECWAR Command for BUD/S Training

    Kyle A. Nolen, HN (FMF) KIA Iraq    hometown  Ennis TX

   US Navy SEALs By Michael (ILT) Welply, Mir Bahmanyar  ; the book

    U.S.Navy Leapfrogs parachute team

      Pearl Harbor SEALs KIAs   

     Aviation Ordnanceman 2nd Class (SEAL) Marc Alan Lee  FIRST SEAL KIA in Iraq    

     Henry Staples  SEAL dies  

      http://www.andover.edu/news/kristensen.htm   Navy SEAL KIA      

     Richard Marcinko (SEAL)“Rogue Warrior”  founder SEAL Team SIX

   Eric Crandall completes BUD/S, Contratulations! The only easy day was yesterday !  HooYah!

     Stepheno “Mato” Matulewicz (SEAL) with BLACKHAWK

  Charlaie Aeschliman (SEAL) Basketball Coach

    Moor’s Marauders, Divers looking for MIA’s   Gerry Flowers USMC member UWSS

   Stanley Carver, Korean Era Frogman, now an Artist       

   Two SEALs awarded Navy Crosses posthumously for action in Afganistan;  &  Navy Times article

   AO2 (SEAL) Marc Alan Lee, 28, died during a firefight Aug. 2 in Ramadi, Iraq, More HERE!                                         

  Special forces stretched thin by two wars 

    CDR Ryan K. Zinke (SEAL) awarded Bronze Star                                           

   Blackwater article and MORE on Blackwater  Deaths with photos

      Jack “Blackjack” Macione RIP

  Navy using SEALs for recruiting

    Gen.Patton speaks from his grave.

 

  SEAL Leapfrogs at Aloha Bowl

   GulfCoast SEALs photos of their Dec 2005 Christmas party 

  SEAL stealth boat in the making

  BUD/S Class 234  BLOG by www.socnetcentral.com      BUY the three DVD set of BUD/S Class234

  Jose Taylor (SEAL) Dies  Oct 16 2005 
  Website for SEAL articles & photos
   Ronald Gasper (SEAL) shoots  his  SEAL brother; Bradley Jondahl (SEAL) 
  MOH – Navy Cross (SEALs)recepients
  SEALville Photos on freeserver.com
   Chuck Pfarrer (SEAL) He wrote the movie script for NAVY SEALs
    UDT- SEAL articles  on Netfirms.com
   Scott Helvenston (SEAL) Died Iraq

Don Devereaux Mann –   Counter-Terrorism, Personal Protection and Inspirational Speaker

   Fallen SEALs remembered and honored in Coronada CA

   Neil Roberts SEAL KIA    more on these SEALs 

   Brian J. Ouellette SEAL KIA   

  Billy Burbank,(SEAL) Class 19 EC photo album
Capt. Norman Olson (SEAL) Ret.
Mathew G. AXELSON (SEAL) KIA
Capt. Aric Liberman (SEAL) 
SEALs KIAs in Afganistan Jul 2005

Spencer Dry (SEAL) KIA ‘nam Secret Mission ;see also  from: Naval Proceedings article on Spencer Dry, the entire investiation of their deaths.  Also an article by one of his Team Members

Memorial Day SEAL photos 2005 Houston TX
50’s Frogs Reunion in San Antonio TX
GulfCoast SEALs at Astroworld

  S.C.U.D. Operation by Jake Rhinebolt (SEAL)

  Capt (SEAL) Bill Early Dies
     Donald L. McPaul SEAL KIA Panama Canal
  Mi Vida Loca “Doc” Riojas(SEAL)
  40th Anniversary ST-2 Pictures (SEAL)
LCDR Rock Blais (SEAL) dies in a parachute accident
Neil Roberts (SEAL) KIA Afganistan
Issac G. “Ike”Rodriguez TM2(SEAL)  KIA Panama a Memorial
Jim Hazelwood LT (SEAL) HERE! :Kittiwake Decom. & USS Lexington
HM1 BRAD K. TUCKER(SEAL) KIA Afganistan
CPO Matthew J. Bourgeois (SEAL)KIA Afganistan
Photos (SEAL)Mi Buen Amigo
J.W. Janos (SEAL)  New SEAL Watch and MN Miss.River Locks
Chuck Newell’s (SEAL) SCUBA School, GI bill accepted!
Fred Miller (SEAL) GunSmith “MidAmerica Recreational INC.
Expose SEAL Wannabes!
Ted Kassa (SEAL) 1stClass DV
Chuck Newell (SEAL) SCUBA School
John Roat (SEAL)Class 29
KOREA,Doc Rio’s HELL Weeks!
Son of Laredo Poem by C.A. Presley HMC Ret. (RIP) my FMF Korea war buddy
F.O. UWSS Key West FL & the official site HERE!
Bagdad IraqTunnels
Wannabes USN SEALs
Rio & LouLou Japan Vacation 2003
Site Map The whole enchilada! not current.   XinLoi! 

Stephen BASS (SEAL) earns Navy Cross Medal

FO UWSS Key West Reuion  COronad CA May 2004

   RUDY BOESCH in SURVIVOR ALL STARS –     More   HERE!

Gulfcoast SEALs photos at SEAL Museum Ft. Pierce FL

Roy and Sue Boehm’s Party in Punta Gorda FL

  Ft. Pierce Museum Photos Muster XVIII Nov 2003

   SEAL Demonstration and the Young Lions Partying at Ft. Pierce

   Harbor CLearance Unit ONE

  Vietnam Task Force 116      

   Moose Creek Enterprises: Steve Robinson (SEAL) “No Guts, No Glory” his book       
   MST-2 ‘Nam

     Navy SEAL Articles

  Richard Black(SEAL) Retires
<align=”left”>  Pete “Pirate” Carolan (SEAL)
<align=”left”>  Ken Gless RIP
  Ryan B. Young (SEAL) KIA contract
  SPECWAR.net 
  LARRY BAILY(SEAL)  
 Dave Rogers (SEAL) “Just Cause”       
 Carl Ty Zellers II  (SEAL) 
  CURTIS ASHTON (SEAL) KIA
  HASBEAN SEALs
  Doc MARSHALL ST-1(SEAL)
  CYBERSEALs  web site;   a must visit for SEALs
  JOHN F. RABBITT (SEAL)RIP
  SharkbuilderDow Byers RIP
 ALL MY GEOCITIES GRAPHICS

  Richard “Demo Dick” Marcinko (SEAL)  &   At Intelligence Summit Forum
  MEMORIAL TO SEAL K.I.A.’s
“SWEDE” TORNBLOM (SEAL)(My white brother)
  JIM LAMPMAN (SEAL)
  John “Fly” Fallon (SEAL) RIP
USS John C.BREWTON KIA
Herbert M. RUTH RIP
Tribute to Sam Orr plus links to all his Articles

   Jon Smart (SEAL) Rowing Champ
GULFCOAST SEALs
Christopher L.Zevallos (SEAL)
Rudy Boesch  (SEAL) Survivor I

  SEALville    FreeServer pages:     Photos and stories on REAL U.S.Navy SEALs
U.S. Navy SEAL Training
C.A. “Rip”Presley HMC (RET)

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Vietnam Retspect by VC Col.

  UWSS, Key West FL, the Unofficial web site       and the        REAL one is WWW.UWSS.ORG
Panama  CPO D.L.McFaul  (SEAL) KIA – Navy Cross
Photos Reunion CA 8/16/02
Jake Reinbolt  and other SEALs in ‘nam : RIVER PATROL FORCE (TF-116)
Roy Boehm  (SEAL) Photos
ST-2 Four KIA’s ‘Nam
  Tribute to Scotty Slaughter, Shark Killer Extraordinaire

   Vietnam War Myths
Texan, John “Cheeze” Branchizio (SEAL) Killed    
David M. Tapper PH1(SEAL) KIA
Japan Vacation  3/2003 
      

  272 new Navy SEAL slots

  3/10/2004 
  The Hunt Heats Up The man in charge of catching Osama bin Laden ‘can drive a knife through your ribs in a nanosecond.’ Inside the search.
Names of our IRAQI KIA’s
  IRAQ:   Former U.S. Navy SEALs     working as Civilians Killed
  Jon Edwards class 28  East Coast.
  Rudy Boesch (SEAL) at Houston Boatshow photos

U.S.Navy SEAL Workout

  SEAL Team FOUR in Panama, 4 KIAs

  John Conners (SEAL)KIA Panama Fiasco

  The Big “Cock-Up” Operation Just Cause

.  More  HERE! & More HERE also.  “Doc” Moreno was seriously WIA, Panama

Doc and LouLou  2004 Vacation to visit Jake Rhinebolt and Larry Bailey 

Larry Lyons, “On The Road Ministry” & SEAL for Christ web site.

   To Be a USNavy SEAL book By Cliff Hollenbeck, Dick Couch

SEALville Photo Album Ft. Pierce FL Muster

   Muster 2005, Photo Album , Ft. Pierce Florida

   $6.1 million center may keep Navy SEALs closer to home

   SEALs, SWCCs to wear new ratings      

  President Bush Discusses Global War on Terror

   Move to Little Creek considered for SEAL center  

 Frogaphiles  go click on me see if you are a frogman     go click on me see if you are a frogman    Frogaphiles  go click on me see if you are a frogman      

  Dale Andrade – Navy Seals: The Vietnam Years (review) – Journal of

   Forty-three SEALs were killed in action in Vietnam, but none were captured or went missing. Dockery attempts to cover all this ground, managing to touch on …              More HERE on USNavy SEALs.  good reading.
muse.jhu.edu/journals/journal_ of_military_history/v067/67.1andrade.html

   Robert Kerry SEAL (MOH) and the Bloody Legacy of Vietnam

   Famous USNavy SEALs and much more,  is your name HERE?

    I don’t believe it !     This is total bullshit !  Look at the photos!  These are not Navy SEALs !  

    Jesse’s Dangerous Game  ; about his Propaganda for his election to Governor  of Minnesota

    Does Coronado California Train Killers?    

     Field Medical Service School in Camp Lejeune N.C.  (Montfort Point Universityfor FMF Docs)

    Afganistan 

    Blackwater, some of Doc Riojas Photos

      Blackwater   Blackwater: Profitable Patriotism      Blackwater Articles               Blackwater web site;  Mr. Prince Speaks; . . . . . . Mr.Prince on the Investigation         Mr. Prince fires back at Congress !      WAR Toys for Sale !

        Sep 2007: Attack on Blackwater is Attack on… Petraeus

   Rock Blais   LCDR (SEAL) dies in parachute accident

  Jose Taylor RIP

  Roy Boehm my 1st Class DV friend for life

  Stuart SorgStuart Sorg

  Nguyen Van Kiet   Thuy Cong; awarded USNavy Cross 

  Bradley Jon Dahl

  Jeff William Meggers

  LT Justin  USN SEAL

  Carl Higbie   more here on :   VERISEAL

  Jesse Hardy says he got SCREWED!Jesse Hardy says he got SCREWED!

  “Burning Up SEALs” – Misusing special-warfare assets.  http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1693407/posts    

    Erasmo “Doc” Riojas:   The Frog Puddle Photo Album  Join in and add your photos here

   Global Special Operations  101

    A Growth Spurt for the U.S. Navy SEALs says  SEAL Admiral

    Bureaucracy Hampers War on Terror says SEAL Admiral

  How the U.S. Navy SEALs Work

  flyfallon.htm

   ftpierce.htm

  japan.htm

  myway.htm

  sealrecruiter.htm

  ticitlhandle.htm  

  2004 FO/UWSS Photos        

  Tiger Woods visits SpecWarGruCoronado CA

   Global Special Operations,  SEAL info     

     Lt. Cmdr. Michael J. Walsh,  (SEAL)U.S. Navy (ret.)

     Global Special Operation

       LCDR Steve Elson (SEAL) an Interview

       Jose Taylor  LCDR (SEAL) and the Biet Hai in Vietnam      

       U.S. Navy SEALs, How Their Stuff Works         

        Mud-Bespattered Sailors Stumble Through Hell     

UDT,Enlisted Pin.                                             
          In the early years of the birth of the  “BUD.”   Officers  wore a Gold color version in UDT.  IF you wanna buy one go HERE! the NAVYSEALS.com Store.    tell them Doc Rio sent you for you 00% discount.

The Vietnam Wall  FAQ       and MANY answers.  Search the Vietnam WALL       

This is my hobby.  I know that I am crazy!  I do this to keep from going insane !                    Doc “El Locquito” Riojas 

some people say; “I am wasting my money!”   I would not do it if I could take it with me!

Contents  of  “Mi Vida Loca” de Erasmo “Doc” Riojas

           En        

   C U A U H T E M O C “Temo” Rocha  OLD LAREDO Texas   Photo Gallery 

       SPIRITUAL PRESCRIPTION by Chaplain Bill Simpson  Northeast Baptist Hospital  

     Julia Vera ,  Laredo TX Hollywood Actress     Julia Vera,   Movie Star, native of Laredo TX

    Erasmo Elias “Doc” Riojas,  The origins of these beautiful names                    

      Jesus “Chuy” Segovia’s  Laredo TX Photo Album

       Border Title Com MHS La Pithaya links 1916 to 2006 

    Feliciano “Pecha” Gutierrez , MHS Tiger Hall of Fame,  Photo Album                                     

    Norma Adamo Photo Albums

       Military Glossary


                                Army Troop Organization


Squad — The smallest military unit, it usually consists of 10 to 11 soldiers.

Platoon — A platoon is usually four squads. Platoons are usually led by lieutenants, with sergeants serving as their second-in-command.

Company — Companies consist of four platoons, a headquarters and some logistical staff. They are normally commanded by captains.

Battalion — A battalion is usually made up of four to five companies, including a support company and a headquarters company.

Brigade — A brigade is a collection of battalions, usually 2,000 to 3,000 troops. Brigades are most often commanded by a colonel.

Division — There are at least three brigades in a division. They are usually commanded by a major general.

Corps — Made up of two to five divisions, corps are the largest tactical units in the U.S. Army.

Marine Organization

The Marine Corps, a branch of the Navy, has some unit classifications that are unique.

Marine Expeditionary Force — An expeditionary force is made up of two or three divisions of Marines. The force is usually deployed on helicopter carriers or amphibious assault ships. Its equipment and weaponry includes tanks, artillery, Harrier jump jets and attack helicopters.

Marine Expeditionary Unit — Each marine division is known separately as a Marine Expeditionary Unit. The unit usually includes a battalion landing team, helicopter squadron and support unit.

 

     
other
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Wakeup! 
U. S.
A!

U.S.
Navy
SEALs
Win/Lose
Links
to
Erasmo
Doc”  Riojas’
SEAL Teamates.
A large collection of SEAL photos &  articles from Newspapers,
and from the men themselves also.
Send your contributions to webmaster:
el_ticitl@yahoo.com

This
LINK for you “Old Salts” who graduated from the
U.S.Army’s Ft. Benning Parachute Training School.   You
may still remember the song.
  

               


Supporting our Fallen Heroes –
THE
PATRIOT GUARD

    
The WANNABE
SLAYERS


Tribute to Jim Hazelwood(SEAL)
Thomas D. Segel
is a Texan, now of Harlingen TX, USMC
(Ret)

 

In Memory of
“Boun- http://www.soft-vision.com/lrrp


Col. Ted W. Guy, 4-18-29 to 4-23-99 – Never
Forgotten             
http://www.soft-vision.com/we-remember
http://www.soft-vision.com/hanoi


Col. Gordon “Swede” Larson
http://www.soft-vision.com/hanoi/larson


Col. Lou Makowski http://www.soft-vision.com/hanoi/makowski


US Army  Ranger/Advisor to BDQ http://www.soft-vision.com/ranger


The Frogs Puddle:  http://docrioseal.soft-vision.com
(Come Play in Docs Pond – Frogs in the oven at the moment)


Wannabe’s and Patriot Guard Riders:  http://www.soft-vision.com/guard/
( 3 wannabe PGR busted to date – more in the oven )


Restoring Honor Wannabe Slayers: http://want2be.info
To Report Suspected Wrongdoing in VA Programs and Operations
Call the OIG Hotline – (800) 488-8244


We must reserve the right not to tolerate
the intolerant tollerant.

Joe Oliver,(GED) 
Certified Gringo Editor
News & Views, Not Politically Correct, No Speil Chicker No
Grammatics
(Got Gramm A Tic Colla) Not A Yes Man
Houston, TX USA and PROUD of It!
Working together, we find solutions.
As one, ALL give a forceful voice to people rarely heard.

THE
U.S. VETERAN DISPATCH Ted
Lane Sampley

  

Have you ever been to Dong
Tam
on the MyTho River

in Vietnam?   click on LINK !
 


It was Bob “Eagle”
Gallagher  , I and others who got wounded in the wargames ‘nam,
we each got MedEvac  helicopter rides into  DONG TAM”s
U.S.Army’s  MASH hospital.    Dong Tam  was a
few  miles from MyTho where we were living in the Hotel Carter
Billet.   I was not seriously wounded, so I wanted to go home.
Lt. Pat Patterson (SEAL) visited me but he would not help me escape so
the next day I stole some clothing from their Medical Officers cloths
line, and I hitched hiked a ride  to MyTho.  I could not find
shoes that fit me so I wore hospital slippers.  DaiWee Pete
Peterson(SEAL)  said that he would keep me out of trouble and I
responded, “what can they do, sendme to Vietnam?”                         


Good old days when SEALs were the “Beer/Whiskey Generation.”    
 
     
“Make Love and War!”

KOREAN WAR (POLICE ACTION) Vets Ignored

On 25 June 1950 Communist backed North Korea invaded the Republic of South Korea. The United Nations designated a U.N. Command, led by America’s General Douglas MacArthur, to help South Korea. Participating countries, mainly the U.S., started sending troops. Units from all five U.S. military services were eventually involved, and included one Marine division, and several Army divisions. The Communist invasion pushed South KoreanForces, and early arriving U.S. and other U.N. troops to the southeast corner of the country at Pusan by August.

The Commandant of the Marine Corps, General Cates, was ordered by the Joint Chiefs to deploy the 1st Marine Division to Korea by mid-September, but the Division was below strength in equipment and men. Commandant Cates ‘requested President Truman to mobilize all reserve elements of the Marine Corps and attached Navy medical personnel to bring the division to wartime strength…’

Navy Hospital Corpsman James Crow, 18-years-old, was stationed at the Naval Hospital, Oakland, California, when transferred to the U.S. Marine Corps 1st Marine Division in Korea. He arrived October 1950, turned 19 that same month, and came home September 1951.

The 1st Division assigned Crow, along with 21 other Navy Corpsmen, to spend his tour assigned to the tough, elite and highly respected South Korean Marine Regiment attached to the division. The first 15 months of the war saw heavy action, and the 1st Division was in the thick of many operations, working alongside Army divisions in X Corp.

In August 1950, during the fighting at Pusan, all three separate Korean Marine Battalions were organized into the 1st Korean Marine Corps Regiment (Hae Pyon Dae), and attached to the U.S. 1st Marine Division 05 September 1950 for operational control. Thereafter, the ROK Marines performed 1st Division combat activities.

During this conflict, foreign media dubbed the [Republic of Korea Marine Corps] the ‘Invincible Marines’ after an incident in which a squad of ROK Marines wiped out an entire battalion of Communist forces. The ROKMC also saw action during the Vietnam War while stationed in DaNang.

 

 

Korean War vets missing from popular culture: America’s prime transmitter of cultural “values” has ignored the 1.8 million Americans who served in the 1950-53 war even during the 50th anniversary years.(portrayal of Korean War veterans in literature, film, television, media )
| From: VFW Magazine | Date: August 1, 2003 | Author: Van Ells, Mark D.


The Korean War was a crucial moment in American history. When the United States sent troops to stop Communist North Korea’s invasion of South Korea in June 1950, it signaled the nation’s determination to check the spread of communism. It was the first war fought under the authority of the United Nations. American troops remain in Korea today.

But sandwiched between the titanic scope of World War II and the vitriolic debate over Vietnam, the Korean War never really captured the public imagination. The year 2003 marks the 50th anniversary of the armistice ending the fighting in Korea. In that half century, the image of the Korean War veteran at the movies and on television remains vague, imprecise and influenced by the experiences of other wars. The Korean War is the “Forgotten War” in popular culture, too.

Korean War films of the 1950s and early 1960s were much like the scores of WWII movies popular at the time, but modified to meet the realities of Korea. The typical “melting pot” platoon, for example, now included black Americans and those of Japanese ancestry, acknowledging the racial integration of the armed forces.

New technologies also made appearances, such as helicopters in Battle Taxi (1955) and jet aircraft in films like Sabre Jet (1953), Jet Attack (1958) and most notably The Bridges of Toko-Ri (1954) based on the novel by James Michener.

In reality, the Korean War differed from WWII in many respects. For one, it was not nearly as large. The war directly involved 1.8 million Americans, as opposed to the 16 million who served in WWII. Indeed, Korea was often referred to as a “police action” and not a war at all. Korea was a remote country unknown to most Americans.

Although most Americans accepted the logic of Cold War containment, the primary adversary in their minds was the Soviet Union; Korea seemed to be merely a sideshow or prelude to a larger war. Its ambiguous conclusion–a cease-fire remarkably close to the prewar boundaries–also lacked the decisiveness of WWII. To Americans, the Korean War was an uncertain and unsatisfying affair.

Hollywood Takes the Dark Side

Hollywood dealt with the ambiguities of the war by sidestepping them or ignoring them altogether. Korean War films tended to avoid the war’s “big picture” and focused instead on small groups of fighting men–often lost or isolated units–in films such as Fixed Bayonets (1951), Combat Squad (1953) and Hold Back the Night (1956).

In Pork Chop Hill (1959), Gregory Peck stars as a junior officer fighting the military bureaucracy, as well as the Communists, in a seemingly meaningless battle late in the war. During the battle one young officer asks pointedly, “Is this hill worth it?” The men agree that it is, but only because they had fought so hard to take it, and not for any larger goals.

Many Korean War films fall into the film-noir style that was popular after WWII. Film-noir is characterized by dark psychological dramas in which the motives and morals of the protagonists are unclear and troubling. These films often take place in exotic settings, and contain shadowy lighting and uncomfortable camera angles that elicit feelings of anxiety, loneliness and vulnerability.

In the 1951 film The Steel Helmet, for example, Gene Evans stars as Sgt. Zach, a battle-hardened WWII “retread” who teams up with some inexperienced soldiers to establish an observation post in a Buddhist temple. But beneath Zach’s tough-as-nails exterior is a softhearted man who befriends a Korean boy, removes his helmet before a gigantic statue of Buddha and orders that the temple not be damaged.

In the midst of battle, Zach breaks down, flashing back to D-Day. Zach is bitterly critical of a green lieutenant. When the lieutenant is killed, Zach mournfully places his lucky steel helmet (it has stopped a bullet in a previous engagement) on his grave.

The Korean War also took place at a time when fears of disloyalty and domestic subversion had reached hysterical proportions. The war fueled such fears. During the war, the Communists beat and tortured American POWs, and then pressured them to sign “confessions” denouncing the American cause.

Only a small fraction of POWs “confessed,” but news reports and political opportunists seemed to suggest that Korean War soldiers routinely collaborated with the Communists, perhaps contributing to the war’s uncertain conclusion.

The concern that Korean War veterans might have been “brainwashed” by the Communists was the subject of several films, most notably The Manchurian Candidate (1962). Frank Sinatra plays Capt. Marco, a Korean War officer who leads a patrol and is taken prisoner. The Communists brainwash Marco and his men, erasing any memory of their captivity. One of the men, Staff Sgt. Shaw (Lawrence Harvey), is programmed to carry out political assassinations back home. Marco unravels the plot after the true nature of his captivity comes back in his dreams.

The Manchurian Candidate has been acclaimed as one of the best political thrillers ever made. However, Korean War veterans have charged that the film only reinforced the erroneous public notion that Korean War veterans were collaborators. Portrayals of the war’s veterans as weak-minded and psychologically unbalanced came to symbolize the war for many Americans and anticipated public perceptions of Vietnam veterans.

Influence of M*A*S*H

The Vietnam War also has shaped popular images of the Korean War. The 1970 comedy classic M*A*S*H focused on the exploits of undisciplined Army surgeons near the front lines. Though set in Korea, the language and looks of the hospital staff are reminiscent of Vietnam. In fact, the film is an impressionistic journey into the behavior of men and women under the unusual circumstances of war. It reflected the growing public cynicism about military authority in the Vietnam years.

The television program M*A*S*H, which aired from 1972 to 1983, was the most extensive look at the Korean War in American popular culture. The TV show did a better job of portraying the war than the film. For example, several episodes dealt with issues like McCarthyism and fears of subversion.

However, most of the program’s storylines could have come from the Vietnam War, or from any war–boredom punctuated by intense activity, the tragic tales of the wounded, the absurdities of bureaucracy, the gulf between soldiers and civilians. Anyone who has ever been associated with the military can appreciate the humor of M*A*S*H. But once again, the audience learns precious little about the Korean War.

In the decades since Vietnam, the American entertainment industry has devoted considerable time and money to portrayals of war. As a nation, we have celebrated the 50th anniversary of WWII (Saving Private Ryan, Band of Brothers) and reexamined our painful experience in Vietnam (most recently, We Were Soldiers) on both the big and small screens. Korea is once again missing in action.

Since Vietnam, Hollywood has released no more than a dozen films related to the Korean War. In some films, like MacArthur (1977) and For the Boys (1991), Korea is just one of many conflicts depicted. Inchon (1981), a portrayal of the brilliant 1950 amphibious invasion, was a box office flop and labeled by one critic “quite possibly the worst movie ever made.” With no clear public images of the Korean War, both Hollywood and the American public barely acknowledge it.

The lack of public recognition for their sacrifices has rankled many Korean War veterans. “I know teachers who never knew there was a Korean War,” complained one Missouri veteran. As the nation marks the Korean War’s 50th anniversary, Hollywood continues to churn out movies about WWII and Vietnam. Perhaps one day the Korean War will be the subject of an insightful, widely circulated film that does justice to the significance of the conflict and to those who served in it. As one veteran from Florida noted, “It’s nice to be remembered.”
MARK D. VAN ELLS, author of To Hear Only Thunder Again, is an assistant history professor at Queensborough Community College in Bayside, N.Y.

COPYRIGHT 2003 Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States

 

“Doc” Riojas’  HELL Weeks were in Korea !  Too many to count !