1st Units of doomed Task Force Smith enter Taejon

1st Units of Task Force Smith entering Taejon, 7/2/50

U.S. Army 24th Infantry Division Photo
D.M. Giangreco, War in Korea: 1950-1953 (Presidio Press).

American Ground Forces Enter the Battle

The Korean War, 1950-1953


Lt. Col. Charles B. Smith, Commanding Officer, 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division, led the first American troops to fight against North Korea. Task Force Smith, with only two under-strength rifle companies, B and C, and part of the 1st Battalion, supported by part of the 52nd Field Artillery Battalion, fought elements of the North Korean 4th Division and 105th Armored Division, a few miles north of Osan, on July 5, 1950.


ADDRESS - TASK FORCE SMITH MEMORIAL - 5 July 1998
by Bill Wyrick, former Plt Ldr, 2nd Plt, C Co, TFS

(The rostrum is located to the right front of the audience and the speaker faces essentially north. The audience is at the speaker's left and the monument and Hill 117 to his right The speaker addresses the men who were KIA, MIA, or POW [DIEH] on 5 July 1950)

Fellow members of Task Force Smith, it has now been 48 years since we deployed on this hill. We did not realize it at the time, but we were the vanguard of the United Nations Forces who came to help the South Korean people defend their freedom. Our mission was to delay the main enemy forces coming down this historic invasion route Seoul - Taejon - Taegu - Pusan.

My comrades, 53 of you were Killed In Action here on that day so long ago. 5 of you are still Missing In Action. 34 of you died in unspeakable conditions as Prisoners Of War in either South or North Korea. To you I report that we completed our assigned task with honor. The enemy had to deploy his forces in order to eject us from this hill. When the enemy's tanks reached this spot, followed by a convoy of truck-mounted Infantry many miles long, they were traveling at 20-25 miles per hour. About seven hours later the enemy's infantry was slowly occupying the high ground to my right. Afterwards, when the main body of the enemy's force continued down the road to my left they were walking at 2-3 miles per hour.

There are a number of your comrades here with me today. They marvel at the progress the Korean people have made since we arrived here so many years ago. Your sacrifice undoubtedly played a major role in the defense of their freedom.

To the Korean people assembled here today, I say thank you for honoring my comrades. Always remember that here, on the fifth day of July 1950, your people and my people became Blood Brothers.

When you explain the meaning of freedom to your children - tell them about Task Force Smith and the foreigners who died here. Tell them that FREEDOM IS NOT FREE!


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A SOLDIER DIED TODAY

He was getting old and paunchy and his hair was falling fast,
And he sat around the Legion, telling stories of the past.
Of a war that he had fought in and the deeds that he had done,
In his exploits with his buddies; they were heroes, every one.

And tho' sometimes, to his neighbors, his tales became a joke,
All his Legion buddies listened, for they knew whereof he spoke.
But we'll hear his tales no longer for old Bill has passed away,
And the world's a little poorer, for a soldier died today.

He will not be mourned by many, just his children and his wife,
For he lived an ordinary and quite uneventful life.
Held a job and raised a family, quietly going his own way,
And the world won't note his passing, though a soldier died today.

When politicians leave this earth, their bodies lie in state,
While thousands note their passing and proclaim that they were great.
Papers tell their whole life stories, from the time that they were young,
But the passing of a soldier goes unnoticed and unsung.

Is the greatest contribution to the welfare of our land
A guy who breaks his promises and cons his fellow man?
Or the ordinary fellow who, in times of war and strife,
Goes off to serve his Country and offers up his life?

A politician's stipend and the style in which he lives
Are sometimes disproportionate to the service that he gives.
While the ordinary soldier, who offered up his all,
Is paid off with a medal and perhaps, a pension small.

It's so easy to forget them for it was so long ago,
That the old Bills of our Country went to battle, but we know
It was not the politicians, with their compromise and ploys,
Who won for us the freedom that our Country now enjoys.

Should you find yourself in danger, with your enemies at hand,
Would you want a politician with his ever-shifting stand?
Or would you prefer a soldier, who has sworn to defend
His home, his kin and Country and would fight until the end?

He was just a common soldier and his ranks are growing thin,
But his presence should remind us we may need his like again.
For when countries are in conflict, then we find the soldier's part
Is to clean up all the troubles that the politicians start.

If we cannot do him honor while he's here to hear the praise,
Then at least let's give him homage at the ending of his days.
Perhaps just a simple headline in a paper that would say,

Our Country is in mourning, for

 A SOLDIER DIED TODAY

© 1987 A. Lawrence Vaincourt


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