Forward: This is a story of two men, Al Seyther and Dr. Erik Larsen, who happen to meet while on our tour of Korea. Each had told me that they thought they were one of two or three that survived a day of fighting on May 18, 1951 near this school.

Korean Revisit - September 10-17, 2000

by Erik Larsen, M.D.

On Sunday, September 10, 2000 I left my home in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin and started my journey back to Korea after almost fifty years. In 1950 when the Korean War began I was drafted as a doctor to serve as a medical officer in the United States Army. At the time I was 28 years old, married with a 2 1/2 year old daughter and in general practice in Chicago. I served as a captain in the Army from December 1950 to January 1953. For four months I was a battalion surgeon in the Second Infantry (2ID), 22nd regiment and for 9 months I was a MASH surgeon with the 8209 First MASH.

In January, 1951, I joined the 2ID unit while they were in combat and quickly became a seasoned combat surgeon. When I arrived at the front in South Korea I was befriended by the battalion surgeon for the 3rd Battalion, 23rd regiment, Captain Ernest L. Graveline of Pawtucket, RI. He and I became close friends and worked closely together whenever possible. Ernest was experienced in war and was totally dedicated to the care and well being of the sick and wounded. At the end of April 1951, after recovering from the first spring offensive of the Chinese Communist Forces (CCF), Captain Graveline and I were assigned to a forward position as doctors for Task Force Zebra which consisted in part of the 2nd and 3rd Battalion, 23rd Regiment of the Second Infantry Division. I established an aid station adjacent to the main supply road in the village of Chaun-ni on the northeast front along the 38th parallel in a very mountainous area close to Hill 1051. My aid station was a large squad tent which was dug into the ground adjacent to the cement foundation of a bombed out Korean school. What ensued during the early days of May, 1951 and especially on the morning of May 18 are described in my article “18 May 1951” which is attached.

Through the years I wanted to learn the details of my experiences in Korea and what really happened to Ernest Graveline. I already knew from corresponding with his parents, who are now deceased, that my friend had been captured by the CCF on May 18th, was harshly treated by his Chinese captors and had died as a POW. But what happened to my medics? Where is Chauni-ni? What is there now? Was the Korean school ever rebuilt? Little information was available to me until recent years when I was able to get some answers and information through the internet mainly from the Korean War web page and its various links. I purchased maps of Korea , got some additional maps from the US Army, and obtained names of war veterans. Through the internet I was able to contact other veterans and corresponded with them via e-mail and posted notices. I joined the Second Infantry Korean War Veterans Alliance and was made aware of the 50th Anniversary Revisit Trip September 10-17, 2000. I had been encouraged to return with this group by its founder and President, Joe Hess.

On arrival at the Seoul airport, all veterans were honored by a Korean honor guard composed of Navy, Army, Marines and Air Force. This was an overwhelming experience and throughout the journey in Korea from Seoul to Taigu and then back to Seoul we were honored by Korean and United Nations troops. There was a typhoon raging off the coast of Korea during the entire week that I was there.

The highlight of my return to Korea came on Friday, September 16 when Major Charles “Chip” Knighten, Deputy Command Historian of US Army Forces in Korea arrived at 10:00 AM at the Capitol Hotel in Seoul in a downpour. With him was an army van with driver named Air Force Pvt. Tracy. Major Knighten and I had corresponded prior to my trip by e-mail so he had an idea of what our goal was. He was well acquainted with the details of the May Massacre but he had not visited Hill 1051 or Chaun-ni. We were not certain if the village of Chaun-ni still existed nor whether a school was on the now busy road Highway 44. Three other members of the 50th Anniversary Revisit Korea group, Al Seyther from Haddenfield, NJ, and Jerry Miller with his daughter, Amity from Simpson, IL joined Major Knighten and me. Al had been wounded and captured on May 18 by CCT troops and had witnessed the road block of Task Force Zebra. Jerry Miller’s father was wounded in a nearby area and died in a front line medical facility. It was important to all of us to find the village of Chaun-ni, the school, if it existed, and visit a battlefield site that was very personal to us all. The weather was awful with high winds and torrential rains from the typhoon but our driver, Tracy was up to the task. Our destination was near the town of Hong Chong which is located in a northeast mountainous area of Korea on Highway 44. We arrived in Hong Chong at noon where we stopped for lunch at a restaurant connected to a gas station and had a delightful Korean meal consisting of soup, meats and kim chi. The drive from here to the anticipated school was about 8 miles and with great excitement I looked ahead and saw the hills along the left side of the road where the Chinese has swarmed and also the Hong Chong Gang River on the right side of the road with rice paddies extending to the mountains to the east side of the valley. There was no doubt in my mind that I had been here before. We came to the town of Chaun-ni and on the left side of the road Major Knighten spotted a building set back several hundred yards which turned out to be a Korean village school named after the great naval hero Admiral Yi Sun-Shan. We drove into the school parking lot determined to explore the site. Several women were outside the building and quickly summoned the principal who spoke no English. Since school was in session the principal came out into the rain and seemed to be confused as to what we wanted and why we were there. Major Knighten spoke to him in Korean whereupon the principal went back inside the school only to return about 10 minutes later smiling and welcoming. The principal now seemed to understand our reason for the visit to his school. I presented him with a plaque and attempted to read the inscription on it but because of my emotions I was unable to do so. Major Knighten stepped in, translated the words into Korean and the plaque was accepted by the principal who indicated that it would be placed in the school. (A copy of the inscription follows this article.) Later, after we surveyed the area around the school and took some pictures, I was invited by the principal to enter the school and visit with the children. I removed my shoes and went into the 1st grade classroom where I was immediately surrounded by around 30 beautiful boys and girls. I had my SONY videocamera with me and thought I was videoing the event but in the excitement of the moment, I had neglected to turn it on. But we all had fun laughing and making faces. I could not believe what a difference fifty years of peace could make. We stayed at the school for about 2 hours. I found the wall against which my aid tent was built and my medics and I were pictured almost 50 years ago. My maps and old photographs all certified the correct location of the battalion aid station. Hill 1051 was visible, the road was there ... the only thing missing was the masses of Chinese infantrymen swarming all over. The peak of Hill 1051 was visible and it was raining just as it was 50 years ago ... what a sight! We also checked out the village of Chaun-ni which had a church but seemed to be a sprawling collection of tin roof houses along Highway 44. After leaving Chaun-ni we followed the path of the ill-fated convoy. Approximately one half mile down the road, south of the school, we stopped the van and Major Knighten and I got out to see if we could find the site where the lead tank had struck a mine. We were successful and were also able to find where my jeep had blown up along with the depression in which I had hidden from enemy fire. It was from this spot that I witnessed the massacre of many GIs from the 23rd Regiment including those of the tank that was disabled and the personnel from all the other vehicles that were following the convoy. This is where I found myself alone during that horrible day. (On May 18, thanks to the timely arrival of two soldiers from another regiment, I escaped by running across the road and rolled down an embankment, losing my glasses which made me became totally disoriented. I swam across the river, scrambled up the other side and made my way across numerable rice paddies to a spot where an escaping tank picked me up. ) Looking across the road I wondered if my army issued glasses were still there. The Hong Chong Gang River was high with a fast current. It was about 100 feet wide and I noticed the far embankment was around 10 to 20 feet high in front of the rice paddies. How I managed to get up that embankment after having swum across the river fully clothed and shod, I’ll never know. Chalk it up to an adrenalin rush and my youth. Major Knighten took my video camera and properly filmed the area with me standing along the roadside. Incidently, the major and I were on that road at 2:55 PM which was the exact time that my jeep hit the mine ... my broken watch will forever attest to that. We then returned elated and exhausted but happy to the Capitol Hotel in Seoul. That evening Al Seyther and I had dinner and drinks together at the hotel reviewing the days activity with tears in our eyes. An unbelievable experience 50 years ago and today.

On the following day, Saturday, September 17, I played hooky from the tour group to get some needed R & R which included a Korean sauna with a glass of ginsing tea and a game of golf in an adjacent multilevel golf range. I also took advantage of the day and went shopping for a bauble for my Lynda. That evening I learned that the rest of the tour group had extended their tour that afternoon to include a visit to the Chaun-ni school that Al, Jerry, Amity and I went to on the previous day. They had heard the story of the presentation of the plaque and wanted to see the school for themselves and be a part, albeit a day late, of my adventure and tribute. That evening we all attended a formal dinner at the Navy Club Yong Song Army Base and all the veterans received a beautiful medallion of honor on a red, white and blue ribbon. This was presented by the base commander.

The following morning we had breakfast at the hotel followed by a tour of the Korean War Museum in Seoul which was one of the finest museums I have ever been to. Our flight back home occurred that evening and needless to say the sun finally came out as we departed the country we were sent to save fifty years earlier.

In retrospect I am glad I went on the trip. It was a long, hard trip but rewarding in more ways than I can possibly describe. I got to see what we were fighting for and feel very proud to have served in “The Forgotten War“.

Return Visit - September 15, 2000