The Korean War is a tragic event for both countries and individuals. For those who were living during the war, it was simply hell. While participating in the Korean War, I experienced how terrible the war brought to each individual. The war took everything away in my family in an instant. The second brother was wounded in the battle, and the third brother was killed in action. At the time, I was 18 years old and was forced into the war.
It was 16thofAugust,whentheBattleofDabu-dongtookinplace.Iwasforcedintoamilitarytruckbythepoliceonmywaytoschoolasusual.Iwasconscriptedwithouthavingtimetotellmyfamily.I'mnottheonlyonewho'sbeenconscriptedlikethis.Atthattime,studentsandyoungpeoplepassingbytheroadwere picked up almost half-willingly and half-not.
During the war, some became KATUSA. This was how South Korea's first KATUSA appeared. Now I know what kind of mission KATUSA is performing, but at that time, I even had no idea what the word KATUSA stands for. In July 1950, during the Korean War, President Syngman Rhee and U.S. Army General MacArthur committed to the KATUSA program, and the program started on August 15. It began mainly in Busan and Daegu, which the North Korean military could not occupy. I was drafted on the 16th, so I was almost the first subject.
In the process of moving from Daegu to Busan by train, we realized that we belong to the United Nations Army and have to go to Japan for basic training. We, the first KATUSAs, landed in Yokohama, Japan, and joined the U.S. Army's 7th Infantry Division camp near Mount Fuji. About 100 of the members who joined the camp at the time were assigned to the 17th Regiment of the 7th Infantry Division.
Even though English is the global language, but there was no people who can speak fluent English at that time. Even those who learned a little English were often used to reading rather than conversation. Most of us were far from English. The dog tag, which came out the next day after arrival, was engraved in English. When we received the dog tags, we were so surprised that even we chattered about them. As such, English was so new to KATUSAs. Training was led by the US Army instructors, and we were confused without understanding their commands.
In that situation, I became an assistant. The assistant had to speak English to a certain extent. There were bachelor’s degrees, teachers, and college students, but few people understood the instructor's words. The instructors must find someone who could speak English to train, but no one came forward. The friend sitting next to me recommended me. He saw me carrying an English dictionary all the time because I heard from my eldest brother that English ability would be essential in the future. The instructor tested some of the trainees with a few basic words of conversation and selected some as assistants. There were a few people who were fluent in English, and they were deployed to other units.
The assistant served as a messenger to connect the instructors and trainees. It was a tough job for me as an assistant. There were some difficulties in understanding all the instructors' directions. Still, as we were trained, we began to have a sense of duty to participate in the war and build comradeship. We arrived at Busan Port after about three weeks of training without anyone falling behind. Through this process, the first KATUSA was born.
As soon as I arrived at Busan Port, I participated in the Operation Chromite. For us, this operation
was our first participation in the war as a member of the United Nations Forces. We were in the medical unit and were primarily dedicated to treating wounded soldiers. Since then, I had been on the mission of KATUSA, participating in most fronts of the Korean War.
