The Korean War - Photographs

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The Korean War - Photographs

Week of Decision: June 24-July 1, 1950

Photograph 1:

Louis Johnson, Secretary of Defense, General Douglas MacArthur and General Omar Bradley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff salute the Colors during a review held at the Palace Plaza, Tokyo, Japan, June 19, 1950, in Honor of Mr. Johnson. Johnson and Bradley were just returning from a Far East tour when the fighting in Korea broke out. There was no discussion in Tokyo of the possibility of a North Korean invasion.

Photograph 2:
President Truman with members of his Cabinet and other officials, in the Cabinet Room of the White House: (from left to right around table) Secretary of Commerce Charles Sawyer; Special Assistant to the President W. Averell Harriman; Assistant to the President John Steelman; Vice President Alben Barkley; Secretary of Labor Maurice Tobin; Chairman Stuart Symington of the National Security Resources Board; Secretary of Agriculture Charles Brannan; Postmaster General Jesse Donaldson; Secretary of Defense Louis Johnson; Secretary of State Dean Acheson; the President; Secretary of the Treasury John Snyder; Attorney General J. Howard McGrath; Secretary of the Interior Oscar Chapman.

Photograph 3:
President Truman and daughter Margaret board U.S.S. Williamsburg

Photograph 4:
General of the Army Douglas MacArthur greets Mr. John Foster Dulles, Republican Consultant to the State Department at the Haneda Air Force Base, Tokyo, Japan, June 21, 1950. Dulles, on a Far East fact-finding mission, had just left Korea and was in Tokyo when the first reports of the invasion arrived.

Photograph 5:
Heading from the Blair House to the White House are Attorney General Howard McGrath, President Harry S. Truman, and Defense Secretary Louis Johnson, June 27, 1950.

Establishing a Position: July 2-July 21, 1950

Photograph 6:
U.S. soldier stands beside a U.S. tank in South Korea

Photograph 7:
Map of Korea from the White House showing"Current military situation based on reports recieved in CIA as of 2 July 50."
Source: Truman Library.

Photograph 8:
24th Infantry Division troops of Task Force Smith at Taejon railroad station on July 2, 1950. Photo: U.S. Army. Source: D.M. Giangreco, War in Korea: 1950-1953 (Presidio Press).
Historical Note:
By July 5, north of Osan, these were the first U.S. ground troops to engage the North Koreans in combat. With about half a battalion of infantry and some artillery support, Lieutenant Colonel Brad Smith attempted to block the main north south highway. A force of 33 Russian-made T-34 medium tanks swept by Smith's force with little difficulty. Due to inferior World War II weaponry and lacking American air support because of poor weather, only a few of the tanks were disabled. Communications between the infantry and the artillery were destroyed as the passing tanks churned over the telephone lines laid along the road and the task force's radios proved faulty when wet. Arriving a few hours later, a column of North Korean 4th Division infantry was consequently able to flank the American position. Smith ordered a withdrawal, which soon became a rout. Equipment, the dead, and even the badly wounded were abandoned to the enemy. Killed, wounded, and missing in the Battle of Osan totaled 181 out of the task force's 540 men.

Photograph 9:
Eighth Army Commander Lieutenant General Walton Walker (left) is met by Major General William Dean at an advance airfield near Taejon, July 7, 1950. Photo: U.S. Army.
Source: D.M. Giangreco, War in Korea: 1950-1953 (Presidio Press).
Historical Note:
Walker informed Dean that the rest of the Eighth Army was on its way to Korea. Following the rout of Task Force Smith on July 5, Dean's 24th Division had continued to retreat in the face of North Korean pressure. On the morning of July 6, the U.S. 34th Infantry regiment abandoned, without a fight, P'yong'taek, the key to Dean's preferred defensive position astride the main highway. Falling back to Chonan further south on the highway, the 34th's commander was replaced by Dean on the afternoon of July 7.

Photograph 10:
Exhausted South Korean infantry stretch during a lull in the fighting, July 7, 1950. Photo: U.S. Army.
Source: D.M. Giangreco, War in Korea: 1950-1953 (Presidio Press).
Historical Note:
With the arrival of American troops, the South Koreans took responsibility for defense of the eastern half of the peninsula. Mountainous terrain, increased South Korean morale and U.S. air and naval support all combined to slow the North Korean advance in this sector.

Photograph 11:
North Korean prisoners of war under guard before they are interrogated at the 21st Infantry Regiment’s command post, south of Chonui, July 10, 1950. Photo: U.S. Army. Source: National Archives Central Plains Region.
That morning, several companies of the 21st attempted to maintain a roadblock just outside of Chonui on the eastern fork following a split in the main highway. They had to retreat by noon, although a counter attack by the 3rd Battalion of the 21st retook much of the area. After dark, the 3rd Battalion fell back to the next line of defense north of Choch’iwon. An early morning attack by over 1,000 North Korean 3rd Division infantry supported by tanks overran the 3rd Battalion positions killing the battalion commander and inflicting heavy casualties. 345 out of 667 U.S. troops were killed, wounded or captured. The 1st Battalion of the 21st, including the remnants of Task Force Smith, now prepared to defend Choch’iwon. As an attack by an estimated 2,000 enemy soldiers developed on the morning of July 12, it was decided to withdraw to the next line of defense, the Kum River line. In the same period, the 1st Battalion of the 34th Infantry Regiment had covered the remainder of that regiment’s retreat following the defeat at Chonan. The 34th took the west fork of the highway. By July 12, the 34th occupied the town of Kongju, also on the Kum River line.

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