Task Force Smith

When I started to search for information about my dad's unit in Korea, I kept finding myself in websites that were about Task Force Smith.

I called my mother and said that I thought dad may have part of this unit, and how these men were doomed to be slaughtered from the get-go. She started crying and said, "He was....he was...."

Task Force Smith is an ugly true story about the US placing a very small unit of soldiers in place to scare North Korea into thinking the mighty US was there in a big way. About 500 US soldiers were put into place, most very young & had never seen combat, without adequate ammunition, and used WWI weapons that would malfunction during battle (Red breech blocks link here). They waited on the hill. It began as 7 North Korean tanks came down the road, followed by 20,000+ soldiers and more tanks. Our communication were lost when the first tanks came through destroyed them. I have read other soldier's letter saying when he looked up, he saw flying body parts. I will contact him to see if he would approve linking to his site.

Dad comments in his letters how few soldiers are left from the his unit. Since I have been gathering all of his war records I am finding maps he had drawn that show exactly where he was positioned with his bazooka when the first tanks come down the road. His bazooka was one that malfunctioned.

I will be uploading maps and photos soon.