I had reserve duty this last weekend.  One of the Sargeants in the unit was sharing some pics he took while stationed in S. Korea.

He showed us a monument where a tree used to stand honoring US soldiers killed by the North Koreans in the early 80's.  Has anyone else heard of this?

He said that there are bunker/towers which watch the border.  A particular tower had its view obscurred by a tree which had gradually grown in size over the years.  This tree was obscuring a specific site where prisoner/spy exchanges are made.

So the story is, the US Army Captain ordered his men to prune the tree.  Along comes a N. Korean patrol who not only crosses the border onto S. Korean soil but tells the US troops to stop cutting the tree down.  The Army Capt. Tells the men to keep cutting the tree.  After several minutes of arguing back and forth, all the while the tree is being pruned...  eventually the N. Korean steps back and orders his men to kill them all!

The whole entire incident is on video tape.  Apparently there is an Army Museum where the incident may be viewed frame by frame.  All newly stationed US soldiers on this base are required to view the film and be debriefed on this incident.  In the pictures, the sargeant said you can see the US troops being hacked to death with machetes and axes... the sad thing is, they were all wearing pistol sidearms.  The pictures show them running trying to get away but NONE of them used their weapons.  Nobody knows why?

Anyway, I was just wondering if anybody heard about this incident?  I was in highschool back then but dont remember hearing about it in the papers or news?

Ronnie was president back then, if this had happened today, dont you think we would have retaliated?  The sargeant said that this incident almost led to WWIII.

M.

I also was in High School and remember the incident fairly well. It did receive a lot of press coverage but was not even close to starting WWIII. It was in 81 if I remember correctly. I had already enlisted in the USMC and was waiting for graduation. I ended up deploying to the R.O.K. several times from Iwakuni, Japan where I was stationed from 83 to 85.

I don't remember that particular incident, but I do recall a couple of boarder gaurds getting their necks cut by the NK's.  It was in the early 80's while I was in the Air Force.  I was stationed here in the States so I may not have heard the whole story.

Here: [url]http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/ops/paul_bunyan.htm[/url]

This happened in 1976. The tree stump was still there when I was there in 1985.
Shortly before I arived in Korea, a diplomat from a Eastern Europeon country visiting Panmunjom decided to make a break for it.  He made it, but the North Korean guards that tried to stop him did not.  Nobody is sure how many North Koreans were killed. One for sure, others were taking cover behind some bushes, the bushes were shot up by U.S. and South Korean troops. Two South Koreans were killed. Americans suffered minor injuries, like twisted ankles and such.

Yes, the incident happened pretty much as described. I was just back from Korea (in the Marines Corps) when this happened.
As I recall, the thing was that the ARMY had NO ammo on them as to not imply a threatening presence to the North Koreans.
I don't know whatever happened to the nimrod who ordered/led that goatscrew but I hope he was quickly seperated.

The Army has had many dumbassed incidents where the troops had little or no ammo at all. This was another one of them.

[img]http://members.aol.com/specialtie/axe.jpg[/img]

[url]http://members.aol.com/specialtie/axe.htm[/url]

On 18 August 1976 at 1030 in the morning, a UNC work force of five Korean Service Company personnel accompanied by and UNC security force, including the Joint Security Force (JSF)  Commander, Captain Arthur Bonifas, the on-duty Security Officer, Lieutenant Mark Barrett, and one Republic of Korean Army (ROKA) officer started to prune a large tree in the vicinity of UNC Check Point #4.  This tree partially obscured the view between UNC Check Point #3 and UNC Check Point #4.  Shortly afterthe work force arrived at the tree and began to cut it back, Korean People's Army (KPA) personnel appeared at the work site.  For a short time, the KPA security observed the pruning without apparent concern. Suddenly, the KPA security force commander demanded that the JSF commander cease pruning or there would be trouble.  When Captain Bonifas did not order the operation stopped, the UNC security force was attacked by a numerically superior force of KPA guards wielding pick handles, knives, clubs, and axes.  The UNC Security Force withdrew but not before the JSF Commander and the UNCS Security Officer had been killed.  In the skirmish, the ROKA officer, three Korean Augmentees to the US Army(KATUSA) and four US enlisted men were wounded.  The UNC quickly responded to the North Korean government and executed Operation Paul Bunyon.

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