#KoreanHistoryToday: Surrounded by approaching Chinese troops, UN Forces successfully evacuates about 100,000 North Korean civilians who were trapped in the port of Hungnam in 1950. It remains one of the greatest wartime humanitarian missions in history. pic.twitter.com/rSJih6Lt2C
The evacuation of Hungnam during the Korean War is a well known event, but I will have to read up more about Colonel Edward Forney’s part in the evacuation when I have the time:
The descendants of U.S. Marine Corps Colonel Edward Forney who helped evacuate about 100-thousand Koreans during the Korean War visited South Korea on Thursday.
The First Marine Division announced on Friday that it invited Forney’s granddaughter Alice Krug and great-grandson Ben Forney to mark June, which is the Month of Patriots and Veterans.
The two guests viewed a road named after Forney inside the unit in Pohang on the southeastern coast and an exhibition hall honoring his achievements.
Forney is considered to be a war hero because he persuaded then Commanding General of the U.S. X Corps, Edward Almond, to evacuate roughly 100-thousand refugees during the Hungnam evacuation in December 1950 from North Korea to the South.
He stayed on for three years after the war to serve as a senior adviser for South Korea’s Marine Corps. [KBS World Radio]
This would be a great memorial to see built one day to commemorate this mostly forgotten but important event from Korean War:
The American freighter SS Meredith Victory brings about 14,000 refugees into Jangseungpo Port in South Gyeongsang during the Hungnam evacuation in December 1950.
Lee Gyeong-pil was born aboard the last escape vessel out of Hungnam Port in North Korea during the mass evacuation known as the “Miracle on Christmas” in 1950, in the midst of the Korean War. He is a living embodiment of Deok-soo, the protagonist in the popular movie “Ode to My Father” (2014), which depicts the evacuation.
Lee was born on the SS Meredith Victory, the last ship out of Hungnam, as it reached Jangseungpo Port in Geoje, South Gyeongsang. During the evacuation, the ship carried about 14,000 refugees in a space originally built for 60 people.
Born last among five babies on the ship, Lee is nicknamed “the last Deok-soo.”
But at the time of his birth, Lee had another nickname; he was called “Kimchi-5” by the crew members, who named newborn babies aboard the ship “Kimchi-1,” “Kimchi-2” and so on, by order of birth.
The 66-year-old director of the Peace Livestock Hospital in Geoje is also director of the “1090 Unification Movement,” which raises awareness on and supports peaceful unification process.
He is currently raising support for the establishment of a monument for the Hungnam evacuation at Jangseungpo Port.
[Joong Ang Ilbo]
