the Army’s lore. But the army couldn’t rest on its considerable
laurels. There was another war and reorganization coming.
In April 1949, US Army Secretary Kenneth C. Royall told a crowd
in Chicago that the United States now has “the best Army in US
history, peace or war, barring none.” That claim would be tested
a little over a year later when North Korean troops invaded South
Korea on 25 June 1950. Not surprisingly, a reorganization after
WWII ended had depleted the Army’s ranks and most of the
troops in the Far East were ill-prepared for a war.
Those in Japan in particular lacked combat training and were
too used to occupation duties to jump into a war quickly and
efficiently. Sadly, they were thrown into the breach from late June
to September 1950. The troops did their best, but they were no
match for the combat-experienced North Korean troops. That
changed quickly after General MacArthur devised a brilliant
amphibious landing at Inchon on September 1950.
The operation placed US troops behind the North Koreans and
shut off their supply lines and escape routes. Thousands of welltrained
Army units arrived in Korea and turned the tide of the war
– until the Chinese entered it in October 1950. After that, combat
resembled the trench warfare of WWI, but Army troops held their
own until 27 July 1953 when a cease fire was signed. That did not
end the belligerence between the two sides.
1965
62 ARMY 245: Call to Duty