If you are someone who is borderline on the tape test the Army is currently focusing on getting rid of you regardless of how fit you are:
Faced with a $37 billion budget shortfall and a significant reduction in troops, the Army is “trimming the fat” by reinstating a program that sends home soldiers who fail to meet body-fat standards, Fort Gordon officials said this week.
The Pentagon revised its body-fat regulations last month in an attempt to “return to the basics” and build a “leaner and meaner force” that includes only soldiers in peak physical condition, said Master Sgt. Christopher Wallace, the training coordinator for the Signal Corps’ Regimental Noncommissioned Officer Academy.
Though height and weight requirements remain unchanged, the Body Composition Program gives commanders the power to flag overweight soldiers and require them to see a dietician, develop an action plan and go through monthly assessments.
The Army was more lenient when soldiers were needed in Afghanistan and Iraq, Wallace said, and overseas command stations did not provide adequate space for troops to exercise.
Now, the Army wants “top-notch recruits who meet and beat the standard, instead of just barely making it,” Wallace said.
First Sgt. Roberto Berry, the head of the NCO Academy at Fort Gordon, said the Army began phasing in changes in November. Looming ahead were sequestration, which left a $37 billion hole in the Defense Department’s budget, and news that troop levels would be cut by 80,000 soldiers by the end of fiscal year 2017. [The Augusta Chronicle]
If you are someone who is borderline on the tape test the Army is currently focusing on getting rid of you regardless of how fit you are:
Faced with a $37 billion budget shortfall and a significant reduction in troops, the Army is “trimming the fat” by reinstating a program that sends home soldiers who fail to meet body-fat standards, Fort Gordon officials said this week.
The Pentagon revised its body-fat regulations last month in an attempt to “return to the basics” and build a “leaner and meaner force” that includes only soldiers in peak physical condition, said Master Sgt. Christopher Wallace, the training coordinator for the Signal Corps’ Regimental Noncommissioned Officer Academy.
Though height and weight requirements remain unchanged, the Body Composition Program gives commanders the power to flag overweight soldiers and require them to see a dietician, develop an action plan and go through monthly assessments.
The Army was more lenient when soldiers were needed in Afghanistan and Iraq, Wallace said, and overseas command stations did not provide adequate space for troops to exercise.
Now, the Army wants “top-notch recruits who meet and beat the standard, instead of just barely making it,” Wallace said.
First Sgt. Roberto Berry, the head of the NCO Academy at Fort Gordon, said the Army began phasing in changes in November. Looming ahead were sequestration, which left a $37 billion hole in the Defense Department’s budget, and news that troop levels would be cut by 80,000 soldiers by the end of fiscal year 2017. [The Augusta Chronicle]
(Note:This is a guest posting from ROK Drop reader Steve McGee that served in Korea when the below incident happened.)
It was a normal day on March 6th 1970 and in the evening one of our guys had to pull guard duty at the motor pool at Camp Red Cloud. The camp is located in the city of Uijongbu, South Korea. The slicky boys would try to steal parts from the trucks if not the whole truck. It was fenced with barb wire at the top but they would still try. Earl Harms checked out his M-16 and two clips of live ammo that night and headed to the motor pool. Around 10:00pm he came through the barracks and I waved at him as he passed back by on his way out. The next morning we got up and headed for chow. After chow we went to work at the motor pool.
Camp Red Cloud’s main gate in 1966. Picture from Flickr user Ottmar.
When I got there some people who had arrived early were already talking about not being able to find Earl. The motor pool was the old wood style with bays on one end and offices at the other with an OVM equipment room loft above the offices. The bays were high for the trucks which made the offices and OVM room two story. There were three offices, an outer office, a middle generator office and the tool room and a desk. The loft OVM room is where we stored extra equipment. The tool room had a ladder on the wall that went up to the OVM room. You could also access the OVM room from the bays. In the outer office we had file cabinets and desk. His M-16 was leaning up against the file cabinets and the clips were laid on top. We started a search for him and some went out to check the grounds. I had a key to the tool room and went back and keyed the door. I sat down for a minute at the desk and picked up a comic book.
When I sat down I looked up and noticed the sliding wood door to the tool room was slightly open and the light was on. I figured maybe he went up there and was sleeping. I went up the wall mounted ladder and slid the door open. There I found Earl hanging from the end of a rope stark naked. Why he was naked I don’t know. There was a five gallon gas can that was tipped over beside him. His clothes were all piled neatly just a couple of feet from him. His hand behind his back. I have tried over the years to zero in on my memory to see if his hands were tied. I froze in shock. I fell backwards off the ladder and landed smack on my ass. I jumped up and went running out screaming he’s dead, he’s dead. SGT Corey caught me outside and shook and slapped me. I had run by everyone one else as they thought I was nuts.
They took me next door to the other office and left. I remember sitting there watching an ambulance and MP’s rolling into the motor pool. After awhile the ambulance left. The MP’s and people still all over the place when they realized where they left me. They took me to the dispensary where I don’t remember a whole lot of. I remember seeing a doctor then I left with two guys with me. As we walked out the back door there was the ambulance with the back doors open and a black body bag inside. I did not find out until years later when I got my records that they had drugged me up pretty good. I do remember that I had two guys that went with me no matter where I went. To the bathroom even. I called them my shadows. I don’t know how many days after it happened my shadows told me the brass wanted me down at the motor pool. I told them No. They almost carried me down there.
Picture of Camp Red Cloud in 1966. Picture via Flickr user Ottmar.
When we got there we went in the outer office and they sat me in a chair. I remember there were MP’s, some officers and the CID. I should say here that he had just re-enlisted and was married to a Korean national, thus the CID. They started asking me questions and then opened a brief case and took out 8×10 glossy black and white pictures of what I already had burned in my mind. It was him hanging and where they had cut him down. I flipped out again and ran out of the motor pool with my shadows running after me. I never went back there again. I transferred to another unit until I left Korea. Earl was a friend and he drove the 5 ton wrecker and we use to make runs to the different units. I still have pictures of him in our year book. No one ever talked to me about it nor did I get any counseling. I was never told the end results of any investigation. I went on to spend 18 months in Germany with the 8th infantry division motor pool.
Since I got out I never talked to anyone about it. I have had PTSD and back problems from the fall off the ladder for which I am now totally disabled from. back in the early 80′s after joining the VVA and through the first councilor I ever talked to about it, we got my medical records. By chance I found a friend that served with me there. His name was Gerald. He lives just a short way from me. I had to have my wife call him and afterwards she says that he doesn’t know much more than me. He was the second one up the ladder after me and I did not know that. He said that he thought that it had to do with something sexual. I started posting in the web site, Korean Tour of Duty and ROK Drop about the incident to see if anyone I served with at that time could tell me more than what I knew.
This last year out of the clear blue I get an e-mail from Earl’s niece. She lives in Nebraska where the family is from and she had read my post as she was looking for answers to. After several e-mails I told her what I knew. Earl’s mother is still alive and in a nursing home. The family does not believe what the Army report says. The funeral was held and Earl’s Korean wife came over for it. The funeral home director told the family that there were bruises on his body around his shoulders. Debbie ask if it would be alright if her uncle (Earl’s brother) could call me and I said sure. He did and after I told him he just said thanks and hung up. The mother must have a report from the military but she is not sharing it and Debbie is not wanting to ask her for it yet. Only family can get the official report until 60 years after the incident then it opens to anyone. I was never told if it was suicide, a sexual thing or it was murder. Sure would like to know.
Note:You can read more GI Flashbacks articles by clicking on the below link:
Korean War Service: 2-19 Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division
Posthumously recognized with the Medal of Honor in 1951.
Picture of Mitchell Red Cloud Jr. in his US Army uniform. Picture via FreeRepublic.com.
Introduction
For soldiers that receive orders to the 2nd Infantry Division located near the Demilitarized Zone in South Korea one of the camps that all soldiers will eventually visit or at least hear about is Camp Red Cloud. This camp is located in the commuter city of Uijongbu just north of South Korea’s capitol of Seoul. Camp Red Cloud is home to 2ID’s division headquarters and other support units. Though every soldier in the 2nd Infantry Division knows of Camp Red Cloud very few actually know who the camp is named after. I can remember when I once had a lieutenant ask me if the camp was named after the sunsets seen from the camp over the mountains in the evenings. What many people do not realize is that Camp Red Cloud is actually named after a person and not for any red clouds seen in the air. The person the camp is named for is Mitchell Red Cloud Jr. who was recognized with the Medal of Honor for combat actions during the Korean War.
Mitchell Red Cloud Jr. was born on July 2, 1924 in Hatfield, Wisconsin on the traditional lands of the Winnebago Native-American tribe to Mitchell Red Cloud Sr. and Lillian Winneshiek. Mitchell Jr. was the oldest of three boys that the couple would have. As a boy Mitchell Jr. was well known for his outdoor skills that he perfected while going on hunting and fishing trips on the reservation. Mitchell Jr.’s schooling began at the Clay and Komensky Rural School before moving on to the Winnebago Indian School for a year. For high school he enrolled in the Black River Falls High School before deciding to drop out at the age of 16.
Red Cloud During World War II
Mitchell Jr. made the decision to drop out of high school because he wanted to pursue a career in the US military. Just one month after his 17th birthday he received permission from his dad to enlist in the Marine Corps. Red Cloud’s enlistment date into the Marines was on August 11, 1941. Due to his outdoors skills and physical conditioning honed from growing up on the Indian Reservation, Red Cloud excelled at boot camp and became an outstanding Marine. His first duty assignment was at Camp Elliot in San Diego when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. After the bombing Red Cloud was assigned to the 2nd Marine Raider Battalion and deployed to the Pacific to fight in World War II. In November 1942, the then Private First Class Mitchell Red Cloud found himself in heavy combat on the island of Guadalcanal which was the scene of some of the most ferocious fighting of all of World War II.
Red Cloud spent a month in the jungle with the Raider Battalion fighting the Japanese on the island. After the US military was able to secure Guadalcanal from the Japanese, Red Cloud like many other personnel that served on the island became sick with the tropical diseases malaria and jaundice. He suffered extreme weight loss and was sent back to the US for medical evaluation in January 1943. The medical personnel recommended a discharge for Red Cloud but he refused. Red Cloud’s refusal to accept a discharge saw him redeployed to the Pacific theater again just in time to participate in another brutal fight against the Japanese; this time on the island of Okinawa. On May 17, 1945 while serving as a radio operator during the Battle of Okinawa PFC Red Cloud was shot in his left shoulder. He was medically evacuated to Guam for treatment before being shipped back to the US.
Picture of Mitchell Red Cloud in his Marine Corps uniform during World War II. Picture via Wikipedia.
With World War II over Red Cloud accepted his discharge from the Marines on November 9, 1945. The Marines gave him an honorable discharge and $56.70 before he returned to the Winnebago Indian Reservation in Wisconsin. While on the reservation Red Cloud got married and his wife gave birth to a daughter. Despite these personal developments in his life outside the military, Red Cloud decided after only two years on the reservation to reenlist in the US military. Red Cloud decided this time to not join the Marines, but instead the US Army in 1948. I wasn’t able to find anything definitive on why Red Cloud reenlisted in the military, but maybe he just grew restless after experiencing so much combat during World War II? Maybe it was just the more practical matter of providing for his family that caused him to reenlist in the military? His younger brother who had enlisted in the Army had just did in a peace time training accident; so maybe Mitchell enlisted in honor of his brother? Finally maybe he enlisted because after spending two years away from the Army he realized he is a true warrior and the military was his calling? For whatever the reasons were the US Army was getting an experienced soldier that was badly needed in the US military that had lost the vast majority of its combat veterans due to the post-World War II drawdown.
Red Cloud During the Korean War
The first unit Red Cloud was assign to was E company, 2 battalion, 19 Infantry Regiment of the 24th Infantry Division. The 24 ID at the time was responsible for conducting peacekeeping duties on the southern Japanese island of Kyushu. The assignment to Japan must have seemed like easy duty for Red Cloud compared to what he had been through during World War II. However, the relaxed time he spent in Japan didn’t last long when on July 3, 1950 the 24th ID was deployed to the Korean peninsula to stop the communist backed North Korean military that had invaded South Korea. The North Korean military crossed the DMZ that separates the two countries on June 25, 1950 and appeared to be on its way to reuniting the country that had been divided by US and Russian occupation forces after World War II. US President Harry Truman however decided to militarily intervene to stop the communist invasion of the Korean peninsula and the only troops immediately available to deploy to Korea were the peacekeeping troops located in Japan. Most of these troops were draftees that had not fought during World War II and had little combat training while stationed in Japan. Though these troops were eager to fight in what was being called a “police action” at the time; it would be up to hardened World War II vets like Mitchell Red Cloud to get these guys ready for battle. Red Cloud at the time of his deployment to Korea was a 25 year old Corporal who was respected by the men in his unit due to his prior combat experience. He had the nickname “Chief”, was easy going, and was quick to give advice to the younger troops that all looked up to him. They would soon learn to respect him even more.
Taskforce Smith soldiers arrive in Daejon during the Korean War, picture via Wikipedia.
Of the four US military divisions stationed in Japan, the 24ID was chosen to be the first to deploy to Korea. The first element of the 24th Infantry Division to arrive in Korea was the ill fated Taskforce Smith that first saw action against the North Korean military just south of Osan. The light infantry unit found themselves in battle against a foe with Soviet provided tanks and due to the superior firepower Taskforce Smith was soundly defeated. You can read more about Taskforce Smith at the below link:
Defeat would become a reoccurring theme for the other 24th ID units who were thrown into combat against the North Koreans with little to no weapons to combat the North Korean tanks. The battlefield chaos for the 24th ID reached its climax when the Division Commander Major General William Dean was captured during the Battle of Taejon. You can read more about General Dean at the below link:
This was the chaos that Corporal Red Cloud found himself in that most have been vastly different experience for him compared to his time in World War II. During that war he had fought in many successful battles against a much more dangerous enemy and now just a few years later he was part of one of the greatest military debacles in US history.
The 24th ID may have been soundly defeated by the North Koreans, but it and the other divisions from Japan that were thrown into battle, did enough to slow down the North Korean invasion until more troops from the US could arrive to help hold the Pusan Perimeter. Red Cloud and the rest of the men in the 2-19 Infantry Regiment saw combat soon after arriving in country on July 12, 1950. The unit saw combat during the defense of Daejon and then moved south towards Taegu and held part of the line along the Pusan Perimeter. Eventually General Douglas MacArthur would execute his famed Incheon Landing Operation that changed the course of the war and threw the North Koreans into a massive retreat. This allowed the 24th ID to reconstitute itself and soon enough Corporal Red Cloud and the rest of the personnel in the division were crossing the DMZ into North Korea to finish the war. In November 1950 the US military and its United Nations allies who had recently deployed troops to Korea, had advanced deep into North Korea when unbeknownst to them the Chinese military had decided to come to the aid of their communist ally North Korea. The unexpected attack by the Chinese caused the US and UN forces to a massive retreat that was quickly turning into yet another military debacle. This was the state of the war that Corporal Red Cloud now found himself in as he sat in a listening post on a hill north of the Chongchon River in North Korea on November 5, 1950.
The Chongchon River can be seen at the very bottom of the map which is located just north of the North Korean capitol city of Pyongyang. To the northwest of the river the positions of the 19th Infantry Regiment on November 1, 1950 can be seen. Map via Wikipedia.
The UN forces were in retreat and the bridge across the Chongchon River was a critical asset to support the southward movement of friendly forces. The 27th British Commonwealth Regiment which had just recently deployed to Korea and Red Cloud’s 19th Infantry Regiment were both positioned on the north side of the river to defend the bridge on November 2, 1950. Due to the shortage in personnel there was a five mile gap between the two units that was to be patrolled to prevent infiltration by the Chinese. However, the patrols ended up proving ineffective as the Chinese were able to successfully probe and discover this gap between the two units.
On the night of November 5, 1950 a 1,000 Chinese soldiers from the 355th Regiment were able to follow field telephone lines laid down in this gap to the positions of the 19th Infantry Regiment. Fortunately for E Company they had someone in a listening post that night that was awake and very attentive in looking for any Chinese infiltrating towards their position on Hill 123. That man was Corporal Red Cloud. A friend of Red Cloud’s in the company, Private First Class Ed Svach would later tell how Corporal Red Cloud had once told him that he could smell the Chinese coming. Red Cloud said, “It’s like hunting those Wisconsin deer. I can smell them coming.”
Red Cloud had been in a listening post that night with his assistant machine gunner on a ridge below the company command post. Red Cloud also knew how the Chinese liked to attack. The Chinese would launch a small frontal attack to draw attention that way but the main attack force would actually be infiltrating from the sides and rear. That is why Red Cloud set up his listening post to the side and rear of the company command post. At 3:20 AM in the morning Red Cloud let out a cry when he spotted Chinese infiltrating towards the E Company position who were following the communications wire leading to the command post. After being spotted the Chinese charged Red Cloud’s position from a 100 feet away and shot and killed his assistant machine gunner. Using his Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR), Red Cloud stood up out of his listening post and unleashed direct fire into the advancing Chinese. Red Cloud’s direct fire slowed the Chinese assault and bought time for the Company Commander, Captain Conway to wake everyone up and consolidate the defense of the E Company position. Unfortunately Red Cloud’s warning was not enough to alert everyone in the company in time because the Chinese were able to shoot some of the US soldiers in their sleeping bags. E Company was getting over run and one veteran of the battle is quoted in John McCain’s book, “Why Courage Matters” as saying:
“I wanted to bug out. I just couldn’t figure out how”
While Red Cloud was holding off the initial Chinese assault he was shot twice in the chest. One of the E company medics, Perry Woodley went to Red Cloud’s position and applied pressure bandages to his two chest wounds. Red Cloud seemed fine and continued to fire his BAR at the Chinese. Woodley left Red Cloud to go help other wounded soldiers. He returned a short time later to check up on Red Cloud again. He found Red Cloud surrounded by about a dozen Chinese bodies and more severely wounded than from when he last saw him.
Position of the 2-19 Infantry Regiment north of the Chongchon River where Corporal Mitchell Red Cloud Jr. was killed in action. Notice the area that the Chinese infiltrated through just west of the 2-19th’s position to get into their rear area. This was the gap between them and the British 27th Brigade which was mostly composed of Canadians that was supposed to be patrolled by both units to detect the Chinese. Map via Wikipedia.
Woodley told Red Cloud that he had to get off the mountain or he was going to die there. Red Cloud refused medical evacuation from his position and instead propped his wounded body up on a tree to continue firing at the advancing Chinese with the BAR. One soldier at the bottom Pete Salter said that he actually used a web belt to tie Red Cloud to the tree so he could stay up right to keep firing. Something not widely known about this battle is that another man, PFC Joseph Balboni stayed in a position near Red Cloud that created a crossfire that pinned the Chinese down enough for other men in the company to try and escape down a draw to the south.
After Woodley and Salter left the position they could hear the BARs from Red Cloud and Balboni continuing to fire on the advancing Chinese. The battle lasted for about an hour before Corporal Red Cloud and PFC Balboni would eventually be killed by the advancing Chinese. However by this time the men of E Company were well alert and retreating off the hill side from the massive Chinese assault to supplementary fighting positions a 1,000 yards to the south. From there the regiment was able to consolidate and make a defensive line to hold off any further Chinese attacks. There four quad 4′s with .50 cal machine guns were used to clear the hillsides of Chinese troops chasing the E Company survivors down the draw. Other units in the battalion would not be as lucky as E Company, if you can call E Company lucky. The nearby A Company would be nearly wiped out as many soldiers were killed while sleeping in their foxholes due to the surprise Chinese attack. E Company soldiers that survived that battle said that their unit likely would have been wiped out too if it wasn’t for Corporal Red Cloud holding off the Chinese attack.
The next morning with the sun out which provided air cover, the battalion was able to return to the old E company position to retrieve the bodies of the deceased. They found that the dead Americans soldiers had been stripped to include Mitchell Red Cloud. The only deceased soldier not stripped was 1st Lieutenant Leslie Kirkpatrick who had all of his clothes and gear on except for a missing West Point ring. Kirkpatrick had been killed while coming to the aid of a wounded soldier during the battle. His body was found with his head lying on his helmet as if he was sleeping. It is believed that one of the other lieutenants in his company placed his body like that after recovering his West Point ring to give to his wife. However, that lieutenant had been killed as well during the battle and the Chinese stripped his body and took the ring. Kirkpatrick was a 1949 graduate of West Point. Of the 670 cadets that graduated that year, 41 of them to include Kirkpatrick were killed in action during the Korean War.
Picture of Leslie Kirkpatrick as a cadet at West Point. Picture via SidneyLanier.org.
Red Cloud’s stripped down body was found lying near the tree where he died. He had been reportedly shot a total of eight times. All around Red Cloud were the bodies of Chinese soldiers. It was reported that over 30 Chinese bodies were found around Corporal Red Cloud’s position. Corporal Red Cloud’s recovered body would eventually be laid to rest in the United Nations Cemetery in Pusan. The other BAR gunner PFC Balboni would be credited with killing 17 enemy soldiers before being killed himself. PFC Balboni would posthumously be recognized with the nation’s second highest honor, the Distinguished Service Cross. In all the battalion estimated that about 500 enemy soldiers had been killed on the hill that day.
Post-Korean War Honors
A few months later in April 1951 the Congressional Medal of Honor was presented to Corporal Mitchell Red Cloud Jr.’s mother during a ceremony held at the Pentagon. She was presented the medal by General Omar Bradley. Here is what his Medal of Honor citation says:
At the Pentagon in April 1951, Lillian “Nellie” Red Cloud, mother of the late Cpl. Mitchell Red Cloud Jr., is handed the Medal of Honor awarded her son for his “dauntless courage and gallant self-sacrifice” against Chinese forces in North Korea the night of November 5, 1950. Gen. Omar N. Bradley, then-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is at left. ” – See more at: http://korea.stripes.com/base-info/cpl-mitchell-red-cloud-jr-annual-ceremony-planned#sthash.AZOcG1Oc.dpuf
Cpl. Red Cloud, Company E, distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty in action against the enemy. From his position on the point of a ridge immediately in front of the company command post he was the first to detect the approach of the Chinese Communist forces and give the alarm as the enemy charged from a brush-covered area less than 100 feet from him. Springing up he delivered devastating pointblank automatic rifle fire into the advancing enemy. His accurate and intense fire checked this assault and gained time for the company to consolidate its defense. With utter fearlessness he maintained his firing position until severely wounded by enemy fire. Refusing assistance he pulled himself to his feet and wrapping his arm around a tree continued his deadly fire again, until he was fatally wounded. This heroic act stopped the enemy from overrunning his company’s position and gained time for reorganization and evacuation of the wounded. Cpl. Red Cloud’s dauntless courage and gallant self-sacrifice reflects the highest credit upon himself and upholds the esteemed traditions of the U.S. Army. for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty in Chonghyon, Korea, 5 November 1950.
At the Pentagon in April 1951, Lillian “Nellie” Red Cloud, mother of the late Cpl. Mitchell Red Cloud Jr., is handed the Medal of Honor awarded her son for his “dauntless courage and gallant self-sacrifice” against Chinese forces in North Korea the night of November 5, 1950. Gen. Omar N. Bradley, then-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is at left. ” Photograph via the Stars & Stripes
In 1955 his family was able to get his body moved from the UN Cemetery to the Ho-Chunk Cemetery on the Winnebago Indian Reservation back in Wisconsin so he could lay in rest with the rest of his tribe. His friend Ed Svach escorted the body back to the US where he remembered his friend being buried in the custom of the Winnebago people. The sides of his coffin were removed so his soul could escape, a bow and quiver of arrows was laid next to him so he could hunt in heaven, and bowl of fruit was laid next to him so head would have something to eat during the journey.
Mitchell Red Cloud Jr.’s grave in Wisconsin. Picture via FindaGrave.com.
In John McCain’s book, “Why Courage Matters: The Way to a Braver Life” he includes quotes from veterans from the battle that say they owe their lives to Mitchell Red Cloud. One of the survivors, Pete Salter said that during the battle he prayed to God in his foxhole to let him survive this fight and he would live a better life. He said his prayers were answered by Mitchell Red Cloud who sacrificed his life so many other men could survive. Salter in the mid-1960’s would take his kids to the Winnebago Indian Reservation to see the grave of Corporal Red Cloud. Salter broke down crying at the site of the grave of the man who had saved his life. Inscribed on Red Cloud’s grave are these words:
“The son of a Winnebago chief and warriors who believe that when a man goes into battle, he expects to kill, or be killed and if he dies he will live forever.”
Picture of marker above Mitchell Red Cloud’s grave site in Wisconsin. Picture via FindaGrave.com
Since Corporal Red Cloud’s death, the US military has made efforts to ensure that his memory does live forever by naming various military installations and equipment in his hnor. The first thing that I could find that was named after Red Cloud was when Camp Red Cloud in Uijongbu, South Korea was named after the Medal of Honor recipient.
Mitchell’s Club on Camp Red Cloud is named after him as well. There is also a rifle range on Ft. Benning, Georgia that is named after him. On August 7th, 1999 the newly commissioned strategic sealift ship, the USNS Red Cloud was launched from its dock in San Diego in honor of the fallen warrior. His daughter Annita Red Cloud, his granddaughter Tris Yellow Cloud, and other dignitaries from the Ho-Chunk tribe were there for the ceremony. Kenneth Kershaw, a veteran of E Company, 19th Infantry, who was able to survive the battle that night also attended the ceremony. He simply told the crowd that he attended the ceremony because “If it were not for the alarm sounded by Mitchell Red Cloud, I would not be here today.” The last commemoration I can find for Red Cloud was on the 50th anniversary of his death in 2000. The Korean War Commemoration Committee held a ceremony in honor of Red Cloud at his grave site in Black River Falls, Wisconsin. The committee presented Red Cloud’s daughter Annita with the Republic of Korea War Service Medal that had recently been authorized by Congress for Korean War veterans to wear.
Despite these attempts by the military to honor Corporal Red Cloud within the American public and even the US military his story is widely unknown. Red Cloud’s life story is why I have continued to advocate for Hollywood to explore using stories from the Korean War as movie material. A movie based around E Company with Mitchell Red Cloud as a main character and climaxing with the Battle of Hill 123 would make for a great movie. Red Cloud’s life is one to be remembered not just for his Korean War service, but for his service in World War II as well. There probably are not many US military servicemembers that fought at Guadalcanal and Okinawa during World War II and then the Busan Perimeter and then finally against the Chinese during their intervention into the Korean War. Clearly Mitchell Red Cloud Jr. is not only a Hero of the Korean War, but one of the nation’s most heroic military heroes that unfortunately few people know anything about.
Note #1: More stories about Heroes of the Korean War can be read at the below link:
Note #2:During my research I found only the two above photographs of Mitchell Red Cloud. If anyone knows of more photographs of Red Cloud please leave a link in the comments section.
Note #3:If anyone knows where to find a picture of PFC Joseph Balboni I would like to post his picture here as well.
Note #4: If anyone knows of any other buildings or site named after Mitchell Red Cloud Jr. please leave a comment and share it with everyone else.
The South Korean city of Uijongbu has a long history of being host to hundreds of thousands of US Soldiers over the past 60 years. Out of all the current and past US military bases in the city Camp Stanley has housed more Soldiers than any other:
Where Camp Stanley is located today was originally a truck depot during the Korean War and became a tent city to house troops following the war. The tent city was eventually named after Colonel Thomas H. Stanley in 1958 who was the commander of the 36th Engineer Regiment during World War II that was killed in a vehicle accident in Italy. I could not however find the reason why this camp was named after someone killed in World War II. If anyone knows please leave a comment. I have seen some of the veteran sites out there that offer old photographs of Korea but Bruce Richards’ site is the best archive of old photographs of USFK facilities I have seen yet. Using Bruce’s picture archives here are a few historic photographs of Camp Stanley:
For those that have been stationed at Camp Stanley before, the above image of tent city is starkly different from what has been built on the camp today. Not only is the camp extremely different but so is the terrain because the mountains in the background look completely deforested compared to the thickly forested slopes of the mountains today.
In this aerial photo from 1955 the rice paddies that still surround the camp to this day can be seen:
This next image from 1961 shows how much development took place in less then 10 years with all the tents replaced with quonset huts and other permanent buildings:
This next image shows a 1964 image of the “ville” adjacent to Camp Stanley:
Needless to say Camp Stanley has changed a lot over the years and is currently a logistical support base for the 2nd Infantry Division after long being the home to 2-2 Aviation Battalion and the division’s artillery units for many years. Camp Stanley has actually escaped being surrounded by urban sprawl due to the fact that is located right next to a Korean prison and it’s adjacent rice paddies. From Camp Stanley you can sometimes hear the prisoners singing songs and cadence from the prison. You can often see them working in the prison’s rice paddies as well. The picture below is of Camp Stanley as viewed from Surak Mountain that show the rice paddies in front of the camp:
This picture provides another view of Camp Stanley as seen from Cheonbo Mountain in Uijongbu:
The Uijongbu Prison is easily seen due to its distinctive blue roof. Camp Stanley also has a distinctive tree lined road that leads to its side gate that goes right by the prison. While driving up the road the prison can easily be seen:
Camp Stanley is the largest base in Uijongbu which due to its size is the only US military installation in Uijongbu that has a true “ville” located adjacent to it appropriately called Stanleyville. The base is located in the southeastern corner of the city and since it is surrounded by mountains and rice paddies it is unlike other bases 2ID where it has not consumed by the urban sprawl. There has been talk in the past about closing Camp Stanley, but I think as long as 2ID remains north of Seoul this camp will remain open due to its size and location that is not a burden on the local community. Here is the north entrance to Camp Stanley from the road leading up to the camp past the prison:
Compared to the earlier 1975 image the gate to the camp has changed a bit over the years. Right next to this gate is the Nameless Music Cafe:
The other way of accessing the camp is by continuing to drive down Highway 43 to the camp’s main gate. While driving down the highway there are some really nice views of Suraksan Mountain that can be seen:
Here is the eastern gate into Camp Stanley as seen from Highway 43:
The Highway 43 gate is primarily used for military vehicles to enter the installation from.
Here is a view looking inside of Camp Stanley:
Here is a view of some of the barracks buildings on the camp:
Here is a picture of the old PX building which has been turned into a education center:
Right next to the old PX building is the new building that was opened back in 2005:
The new Camp Stanley PX when it opened was quite nice and I was surprised by how big it was considering the size of the camp plus the fact that other nearby installations were all being closed out back in 2005. Well the employees at the PX found other people to sell the merchandise to as the Camp Stanley PX would have the distinction of operating one of the largest blackmarketing rings in the country that was finally broken up in 2009. Here is the view looking to the east from the PX which on a clear day has quite a nice view of the nearby mountains across the valley filled with rice paddies:
Here is the view from the PX looking up the hill towards Surak Mountain where one of the few quonset huts on Camp Stanley is still visible:
Next to the PX is the Community Bank which is still open and serving customers on Camp Stanley:
Near the bank is the post chapel:
Near the church there is also a small theater on the camp:
Across from the PX is the commissary which now has this map posted on it in case somebody some how gets lost on this small post:
This commissary is actually pretty good because my wife and I found the customer service to be outstanding and the employees very friendly:
For being a small commissary the shelves were stocked with most items Americans would want to buy, but my only gripe like with many other commissaries in Korea is that the blackmarketing was easy to spot:
All in all though by 2ID standards Camp Stanley is pretty nice installation though it is much quieter now compared to past years when it was home to artillery and aviation units. Likewise Stanleyville has also died down with the exit of all those combat arms soldiers. There is still enough soldiers here though where Camp Stanley is still home to the only real soldier “ville” in Uijongbu where one can find the typical juicy bars, pawn shops, chicken on a stick shacks, counterfeit clothing stores, coin & plaque shops, and other typical staples of a “ville” in Korea:
The ville also has some apartments for families to live in for those thinking about bringing their families to Korea. The few that I have seen were pretty rundown and I almost had to have one soldier move out of his apartment until the landlord agreed to fix some safety issues. For those that have lived in Stanleyville please leave a comment and let everyone know what you thought about your time living there? Likewise if you have been stationed on Camp Stanley please share your thoughts about the camp in the comments section.
The final picture once again from Bruce Richards site is an aerial picture of what Camp Stanley looks like today:
In the above picture you can see Camp Stanley in the middle of the image while Stanleyville is the area with the blue roofed buildings on the left. The Uijongbu Prison can be seen on the top of the picture. The fields of rice that could be seen in the earlier images, like I said before are still visible today around Camp Stanley and are worked by the prisoners housed at the correctional facility. I hope everyone enjoyed this profile of Camp Stanley considering it days are supposedly numbered due to impending USFK transformation plan if it ever happens. Due to Korean governmental delay games and US budget issues I wouldn’t be surprised if Camp Stanley is open for another decade or more.
If you have an interesting or funny veteran story from your time in Korea I would love to hear it. If it is a good story I am willing to publish it here on the ROK Drop. It doesn’t matter what decade you served just as long as it is interesting or funny. If you have a story to share you can e-mail the story to me.
Thanks for reading the ROK Drop.
Note:You can read more from the ROK Drop featured series “A Profile of USFK Bases” at the below link:
I always liked CP Stanley, like a small town and away from the flag pole. Was there 1991-1994 and again 2002-2004. Worst decision ever made was to move DIVARTY/Fires BDE up to Casey.
Friends:
I was stationed at Camp Stanley in the “dark ages” 1959-1960. My unit was the 13th Trans Co (Lt Hel) (H-21C).
It is to me unbelievable how things have changed over the years. In 1959-1960, the area and Korea in general looked as it did…maybe 100 years ago.
God Bless all the Troops that served “over there.” I retired with 36 years service, I will turn 80 on 12 Nov 2012. SGM(Ret) Donald R. Fox
I was at CP Stanley from 1990-1991, during Desert Storm/Desert Shield. At that time, the camp was home to the 2/2 Aviation, an artillery battalion, and several small support units. I was in F Battery, 5/5 ADA. I can remember posting guards at night and hearing people screaming over at the prison. It was pretty weird. I also remember that we didn’t call the town next to the camp “Stanleyville”- we just called it The Ville or “downrange.” The locals called it Kosan-dong or something like that. CP Stanley was a pretty nice place to be considering that many soldiers in the 2nd ID were at camps on the DMZ. For instance, my battalion HQ was at Camp Stanton, which was way up near Munsan.
I was stationed with 2ndMPco in 82, i lived in a quanset hut there were holes in the walls but we sort of loved it, it was a busy place for us! especially down in the vill (Kosong-Dong) when i first got there the MP could only check clubs if there Korean National Police officer escort said yes, we would say “we checkie checkie” they would say no, than with a lot of help from the Post Commander i got it changed so the MP’s could check clubs on our own, thats when we started getting busy, got some great memories of that place, BEST KATUSA’s i ever worked with!
Been at Stanley a few years. Small post, not very many units there now as in previous years. Lots of hills to give cigarette smoking soldiers opportunities to act like they are about to die fall out of runs in the first 1/4-1/2 mile. Very difficult to get to after 7-8 AM with traffic. Long way away from the subway line 1. You have to walk way down hill, take a bus to get within 1/4 mile of the Uijeongbu station, + the walk all the way in. This delays your trip to Seoul considerably. It is actuall faster to take a city bus south, change to a bus crossing the south side of Soo-Rak mountain to get to another line. Next to no one goes to the “Ville” in the evenings. many Soldiers prefer to party in Seoul with the increase in mobility and the ability to saty in a motel instead of having to return to barracks by midnight. If USFK re-instates that policy, then USFK will really see madness happen in hte ville again. As it is now, teh clubs prolly don’t make enough money to pay for electricity. Only 2 clubs ding enough business to stay in business, especially the club where all the MPs used to hangout.
i was stationed at campstanley also known as camp hummingbird from 1963 thru 1964 with the 13th trans. would like to have a good picture of the 13th trans emblem of lucifer the cat on the fourleaf clover. you may e-mail me at kelljim1@aol.com.
thanks
I was stationed at Stanley from 1971-9-1972, A Battery. It sure has changed looking at the photo’s. God Bless all the troops.
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A South Korean soldier faces trial in a military court, accused of sexually assaulting a female U.S. soldier at Camp Casey on Dec. 19, 2nd Infantry Division and Ministry of National Defense officials confirmed this week.
The soldier’s first hearing in the South Korean military court is scheduled for Feb. 2 in Dongducheon but will be closed to the public, a defense ministry spokesman said.
The 6th Infantry Division soldier has been jailed since his arrest, the spokesman said.
I can guarantee you that if the soldier is found guilty the ROK Army will punish him much more severely than the light sentences handed out to South Korean civilians who have raped US soldiers in the past. In my unit a few years back we had a senior KATUSA go to ROK Army jail for 2 months just for hazing a soldier. Worst of all for him was that his time in jail did not count against his two year ROK Army commitment. His hazing crime? He would make new KATUSAs sing patriotic Korean songs in front of the unit. Finally one new KATUSA complained and the next thing we knew the senior KATUSA was in jail. I can only imagine how long a sexual assault conviction would land a soldier in ROK Army jail, especially when you consider the ROK Army is really going to want to save face with their USFK allies.
It will be interesting to see how this turns out when you consider in 2003 a similar incident happened between a USFK a soldier sexually assaulting a KATUSA trainee at Camp Jackson:
A U.S. military court on Thursday sentenced an American soldier to 30 years in jail for sodomizing a South Korean soldier, the U.S. military said. Two other American soldiers suspected of involvement in the assault are under investigation.
Sgt. Leng Sok was court-martialed at Camp Casey in Dongducheon, north of Seoul, on charges of aggravated assault, indecent acts, sodomy, submission of a false official statement and conspiracy.
Sok “has been found guilty in all five charges,” said Lt. Col. Steven Boylan, a spokesman for the U.S. Eighth Army.
The victim’s family actually handed over jurisdiction of the case from Korean authorities, despite protests from anti-US groups, to the US military because of the light sentences given for sexual assaults in Korean courts. The convicted sergeant in this case received 30 years in jail. That’s sending a message and I expect the ROK Army will probably want to send a message as well.
Anyway as OFK points out the irony of this rape is quite evident when you consider all the righteous outrage from sectors of Korea over the US soldier who is alleged to have a raped a Korean woman a couple of weeks ago. I haven’t seen anything about this case in the Korean media yet compared to the instant headlines the US soldier made after his arrest two weeks ago. This is just the continuation of a trend of when crimes are committed against US soldiers little if any articles in the Korean media are written about it compared to instant headlines every time a US soldier commits any crime no matter how small against a Korean civilian. The soldier doesn’t even have to commit a crime, it just has to appear he did to make headlines. This is how the Myth of GI Crimes is cultivated in Korea.
UPDATE: I just saw a report on this on Anderson Cooper 360 today and of course they slanted and twisted the facts as well. For one the suicide rate of 19.9 per 100,000 soldiers in Iraq, CNN said was higher than the average civilian suicide rate. Yes it is higher than the average suicide rate, but it is not higher than average suicide rate of the civilains of the same age group and gender of those who committed suicide as General Kiley pointed out in the below Reuters article, but CNN conveniently left this information out of their Anderson Cooper piece. They did make sure to harp on how they believe the suicide rate is going up due to increased deployments even though General Kiley in the below Reuters piece says the statistics don’t support it, especially when the average suicide rate of the last two years when combined is lower than the 2003 level, which of course CNN conveniently didn’t mention at all either.
Twenty-two U.S. soldiers in Iraq took their own lives in 2005, a rate of 19.9 per 100,000 soldiers. In 2004, the rate was 10.5 per 100,000 and in 2003, the year of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, the figure was 18.8 per 100,000.
The figures cover U.S. Army soldiers only. They do not include members of other U.S. military services in Iraq such as the Marine Corps.
Lt. Gen. Kevin Kiley, the Army’s surgeon general, cautioned against overinterpreting the figures, saying suicide rates tended to fluctuate from year to year.
“We think that the numbers are so rare to begin with that it’s very hard to make any kind of interpretation,” he said at a news conference to present a study on the mental health of U.S. soldiers in Iraq.
“We have not made a connection between the stress on the force and some massive or even significant increase in suicides,” he said.
While every suicide was one too many, Kiley said, the suicide rate among soldiers was lower than the average among civilians of the same age and gender.
So the truth comes out at the very end of the article. Basically the minute number of soldiers who did commit suicide this year in the Army while stationed in Iraq is actually near identical to the 2003 number and if you take an average of the suicide rate from the last year than the overall number is actually much lower than the 2003 number. Then the article concludes with the information that if your kid joins the military and goes to Iraq he/she is less likely to commit suicide compared to if he/she just stayed at home where the civilian percentage is higher. Yet, the big headline is the rise in suicides in the military.
Why doesn’t the MSM come up with a fairer headline of, US Army Suicide Rate Rises, But Still Lower than Civilian Rate. Aren’t these fairer headlines? However, the MSM is not about fairness, it is about framing left/right issues and the military suicide rate is something they are trying to frame as soldiers committing suicide because of too many deployments because that is what the left wants you to believe even though the statistics do not support it. I can guarantee you one thing, if the suicide rate goes down next year, you will hear nothing about it. It is just like with recruiting numbers, as long as the military continues to make it’s recruiting numbers you will hear nothing about it, but if the military misses it’s recruiting mark for one month than it will be front page news.
