While it is true that the United
States supplied the bulk of fighting men and resources to save South Korea from
a Communist takeover in the 1950-53 war, there were 21 other United Nations
partners that made contributions. Among the first allies to join us from the
very beginning were the British. If the Korean War was long felt among its U.S.
veterans to be the “Forgotten War”, the same image befell the British in
spades. Still recovering at home from the terrible carnage of WWII, England had
other things to worry about. As a matter of fact though, British Commonwealth
forces sent nearly 100,000 men to serve alongside us in that faraway land,
including the Royal Gloucestershire Regiment in 1951 which suffered heavy
casualties as the newly-committed Chinese armies swept southward.
Before making the final stage of my
own journey to the Land of The Morning Calm, I processed through the U.S. Air
Force base at Iwakuni in Japan’s south, where I was treated to the sight of
P-51D Mustang fighters “celebrating” their return from a victorious mission
over North Korea in some of the most spectacular low-altitude precision flying
I have ever seen. This was 77 squadron of the Royal Australian Air Force, one
of whose pilots became the first non-American fatality of the conflict.
In the year to follow, I had the
privilege of serving with and getting to know a good many Brits, including a
top secret undercover assignment with two “spooks” from SAS (Special Air
Service.) My first associations were with NCO’s of the 1st Royal
Tank Regiment, several of whom became regular visitors to my outfit’s well
stocked bar. Three of these “Tommies” usually stopped by my tent to visit and
trade stories-of-home until one night
when there were only two. Missing was one very young corporal who always wanted
me to open up my hand-made locker-box so he could enjoy a peek at my
sweetheart’s (now my wife) photo taped to the inside of the hinged cover. I was
saddened to learn he would not be coming back. He became the first friend I
would lose over there.
Frequently I would have a chance to
visit with these and other friends at their own command post as I delivered
close-air bombing plans, and often I would ride with them on a jeep patrol. At
around 1400 hours though, wherever we might be or however close the gun fire,
it was Tea Time! It seemed that in
every small group of fighting Brits, at least one of them had the fixin’s, and
everything else stopped while we took time for a “brew-up” with careful
attention to detail, red-hot tin cups and all. Either that, or we might find a
NAAFI (Navy, Army & Air Force Institutes) roadside canteen – usually a big
tent with collapsible tables and chairs – where there would be two tea lines:
those who took their tea with milk, and the odd-balls who didn’t.
Soldiers of the famed Gloucestershire
Regiment of the British Army take time out for tea in Korea, where they won a Presidential unit citation from the U.S.
after the Imjin River campaign. Defense Dept. Photo
The days I spent in the constant
company of the two “Special Air Service” guys (I’m sure that the first names by
which I knew them were not real,) were quite different. Depending on where our
inquiries had taken us, we would end up at their “headquarters”, a large squad
tent, but with wood floors covered by plush Turkish rugs, stuffed easy chairs,
and an Indian waiter in immaculate whites with a clean tea cloth draped over
one arm. The tea would be served in fine china with freshly made cakes and
crumpets on a matching dish; and we were within ten miles of the front! Even
though these elite and very professional men had served a long stretch in India
without even a visit to “Old Blighty”, they were the most British Brits. I ever
met.
America became a “coffee-drinking”
country in the 18th century as a symbol of our independence and a
backlash against British taxation, and so Americans might find the English
obsession a bit strange. What I noticed in Korea though was the strong sense of
tradition and ability to slow down, relax, and take “time out” in the midst of
chaos when it came to tea time in the trenches. (I LOVE our Commonwealth
friends!)
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