Just to show we are not just a people to be regarded as possible slaves of nazi invasion.
A Belgian mobile patrol proceeds through the Imjin Valley. The Belgians were hugely respected by the British: the battalion was, in the words of Sergeant Andre VanDamme, one in which “…the spirit was firmly present.” Before volunteering for Korea, a number of Belgian officers had served in the commandoes, maquis and SOE; some of the men had fought in the French Foreign Legion
Sleeping Belgian: An undramatic, but typical scene on Line Kansas; An exhausted infantryman - probably returned from a night patrol - lies on a hilltop strongpoint, his weapon near at hand.
From the journal of the 3 US Division : " Frontline "
Belgian joint fight for freedom
( taken over from the front line gazette in camp Pangori Korea )
In January 1951, a group of volunteers comprising the Belgian United Nations Command landed at Pusan, Korea.
The battalion was composed of 750 Belgian men and a platoon of Luxemburg men under the command of Lt- Col Albert Crahay The brown-bereted Belgian and the Luxembourg came as a volunteer to fight in Korea. His fighting religion is " L’Union fait la Force " ( In unity there is strength)
In the months to follow the Belgian force demonstrated the ample cohesive qualities of the United Nations, by gallantry the displayed while serving under American commanders. Their audacity in combat was almost unparallel among troops in Korea.
Battle of IMJIN
The Belgian force again demonstrated its acquired reputation as seasoned combat veterans at the battle of the Imjin river; during the period 20-26 April 1951 the Battalion displayed aggressive action, inflicting more than 30 times their own number of enemy casualties. Communist forces repeatedly conducted assaults which were valiantly repulsed by the Battalion. When the fanatic assaults threatened to overwhelm them, the Belgian launched devastating bayonet counterattacks. Withering barrages of mortar fire, plus effective delaying action by the unit, allowed other friendly forces to withdraw. It was here with the Luxembourg Volunteers and the British Forces, that the heroic Battalion received a PRESIDENTIAL CITATION FROM THE UNITED STATES for his outstanding conduct in battle.
CONSTANT FIRE
The Belgian Battalion left the Commonwealth Division on 20th August. From that time until 30 September, they trained in the 3d DIVISION
area under a Division instruction team after which they were reattached to the 15th INFANTRY.
Later, they were attached to the 1st CAVALRY DIVISION and in the battle of
BROKEN ARROW fought with great skill and determination. Ordered to hold, the Battalion carried on a continuous enemy assault for five days and nights. On the sixth day when the fighting subsided, the position remained in Belgian hands
In June 1952, the unit again joined the 15th INFANTRY and was committed in the IRON TRIANGLE area.
CASUALITIES
During the Korean conflict, the Belgian United Nations Command suffered more than 100 men killed and missing in action. One of the six missing men returned as a prisoner of war. Six of those killed included a combat patrol executed by the Chinese at the Imjin river in April 1951
At the close of the Korean conflict, the Belgian Battalion remained on the alert. Rigorous training programs were conducted to keep the unit at a peak of combat readiness
THE EXTRAORDINARY HEROISM DISPLAYED BY THE MEMBERS OF THE BELGIAN UNITED NATIONS COMMAND THROUGH THE ENTIRE KOREAN CONFLICT REFLECTS GREAT CREDIT ON THEMSELVES AND THEIR HOMELAND