Replies

ENTER THE 10TH SFG

The 10th Special Forces Group (SFG), in March 1953, sent 75 officers and NCOs to Korea to reinforce the 8240th. However, they were broken up and assigned as individual replacements.

UNITED NATIONS PARTISAN INFANTRY, KOREA
8240th ARMY UNIT
Korean War Partisan Operations
23 September 1953 - 30 April 1954

Special Forces teams, eager to engage in direct combat with the enemy, were sorely disappointed. Assigned to static partisan training positions, their skills were never really put to the test. An additional 126 men arrived after the war ended in the fall of 1953 and their A teams remained intact.

Guerrillas played a significant role in rescuing U.S. pilots shot down over North Korea. The 5th Air Force reported that of 93 pilots shot down between July 1950 and January 1952 who managed to evade capture, 29 were rescued by guerrillas.

Col. Albert Schinz, for example, was shot down on May 1, 1952, in a raid over MIG Alley. He bailed out and survived on a deserted island for 37 days before being rescued. His story was covered in Life magazine in the July 28, 1952, issue.

PARTISAN HONOR MEDAL
Awarded to Korean and American personnel who served with the 8086th and 8240th Army Units

Guerrillas conducted 4,445 actions in North Korea, inflicting 69,000 casualties (dead and wounded). They captured 950 prisoners and 5,000 weapons, destroyed 2,700 vehicles, 80 bridges and 3,800 tons of food. But this was not without cost. Guerrilla dead totaled 3,189, and at least four American advisers were KIA.

Airborne Rangers Set The Standard.
BY ROBERT W. BLACK

Army special operations units were not the only elite outfits in Korea. During the war, 18 Ranger companies were formed, 17 of which were airborne. The 8213th Army Unit (8th Army Ranger Company) was created with volunteers from units in the Far East. It fought in the drive to the Yalu.

Retired Colonel Ben S. Malcom

Airborne Ranger companies, numbered 1 to 8, were the select few that remained of the thousands of volunteers from the 11th and 82nd Airborne divisions.

Companies numbered 9 to 15 and A and B were the pick of the various infantry divisions. These men were four-time volunteers (the Army, the airborne, the Rangers and combat). They were America's original Airborne Rangers--the first men to wear the black and gold Ranger tab. Assigned at Army level, they were attached on the basis of one 112-man Ranger company per infantry division.

Seven Ranger companies fought in Korea: the 1st through 5th and 8th Airborne Rangers and the 8213th A.U. (8th Army Rangers). At a time when United Nations forces numbered more than 500,000, fewer than 700 of these Rangers were fighting to the front of every American Army division engaged in the war.

They participated in the first defeat of Chinese forces; they raided and destroyed a North Korean division headquarters; and they made the first combat jump by Ranger units. In the Eastern sector, they were first across the 38th Parallel on the second drive north. One 33-man Ranger platoon fought a between-the-lines battle with two Chinese reconnaissance companies, and 70 Chinese were killed. The Rangers lost two killed and three wounded, all of whom were brought back to friendly lines.

The Spook pin was made as a humorous gage for the Korean Special Operation personnel. They wore in unofficially under their collars. This pin gained in popularity very quickly. They are very rare. This is an original from the Paul Christensen Collection.

Wherever they went throughout the Army, the Rangers of the Korean War set the standard for excellence. From their example came the desire to spread Ranger leadership throughout the Army and the continuation of the Ranger tradition. These Rangers contributed six campaign streamers and two Presidential Unit Citations to Ranger honors.

The Ranger companies were deactivated in Korea by Aug. 1, 1951, with most members reassigned to the 187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team. Some 137 Rangers were killed in combat in Korea.

Additional Sources:

www.amazon.com
www.meatnpotatoes.com
www.koreanwarmemorial.sd.gov
www.thecitizen.com
www.norbay.com