Post-Korean War Deployment From 1954 to…

*Updated - US Army, Colonel, Engineers, Dress White Uniform:

* Reshooting for the 3rd time-looking for a better ribbons bar.

Here, we see a set of Officers Dress a 'Summer' White Uniform. These are pretty darn rare, and no longer in use by the Army as it looks to 'Navy' I suspect. The Germans did something similar in WWII, which may be seen a bit more often, more so with their Luftwaffe officers.

These were used by only the 'Higher Echelon's' group of officers on special occasions. and then there are dress and dining options. Generally, no insignia is on the sleeve, I guess because they are dignitaries at the UN or some huge event.

The uniform is, just the way we got it. I believe the uniform was dropped from the line when Class A came along in 1959/60. This uniform is that of a Colonel in the Engineer's Branch. It is very unfortunate the cap was lost before I bought it. You'll notice the double-breasted jacket is a different cut than the Navy and Marines, where they have the standing collar-a Leatherneck had to have it that way. These folks were responsible for Building and Repairing Bridges, Bridge Demolition, and building them - like the one over the Han River Railroad Bridge., and the Pukhan River Bridge Construction.

They used Floating Bridges and obtained Ferries as well as Rafts, they were needed to provide Road Construction and a lot of Civilian Construction, they were used for Demolition Duty, and Mine Clearing operations, even I guess for Supply and Transport duty there.

The Colonel could have been with a number of outfits there, I try to look them up, Engineer Combat Brigades, Engineer Combat Groups… Boat Units go on and on...need I say there were a lot of Engineer outfits there-far more than I have room to write about...See for instance just one of the Corp's displacements at: http://www.6thcorpscombatengineers.com/engforum/index.php?/topic/2199-us-army-engineer-units-korean-war/ This uniform would have been (At one time) Starched beyond comprehension, and white as white get's too, likely with white gloves was in the box, and black shoes I'm thinking with the officer’s cap, he would still have a white shirt as well I think. The uniform I do believe carries over into the 60s in different places, like tropical postings, or Dignitary work.

*Oddly I now notice that on his ribbons bar is the Distinguished Flying Cross, an Air Medal with 4-5 stars! Navy Commendation Medal? American Campaign, Asiatic/Pacific Medal with a star...WWII Victory, Occupational Forces, National Defense, Korean Service Medal, UN Service Medal, and Korean Unit Citation Medal! well...seems on got by me here, this I don't buy...could have happened...but I think I'm going to have to pull that one again and redo the shoot one day. (FIX THIS AND RE-SHOOT). He has a nice, more beat-up matching hat as well that should be shown here.

ARMY Dress White Uniform: I use this picture for reference as they are rare and hard to find, there are transitional uniforms like the Army Air Force becoming the Air Force as an entity, independent of the Army-Army was big enough, so identification of these uniforms does get a bit confusing. Here is the WWII cut, note the white shoes even.

After the cease-fire came into effect... The daily patrolling and building of defensive positions continue, thousands of mines were laid down, and miles of razor wire and sensors were laid. Missions to try and pierce the DMZ and observe the other side went on, and continuous skirmishes happen along the border, sniping, and psychological warfare continue to tell to this day.

1st Cavalry Div. MP. into the '50s:

The 1st Cavalry was called to do Occupational Duty after the fall of Japan, and they shipped over from the Philippine Islands. They would sever there for 8 years, but then in 1950 North Korea invaded the South, and was the fighting was bitter fighting down to the area that became known as the Pusan Parameter, and the 1st cavalry was sent over to double up on the US. and Allied forces there, and they were surrounded on 3 sides.

They would push on, and then they were encircled completely and, surrounded-they had to pull back and retreat, and fight their way back to the US. lines, suffering terribly having huge losses, losing 265 men.

They showed up unprepared for the intense fighting at hand, and things got out of hand fast, and they had a poor repetition for a while, some Generals had given poor orders actually and civilians had paid the price. But they would be proud of their shoulder patch once again. But attack still comes, and casualties added up, but they would hold the position.

The 1st Cavalry Division fought on threw 1951, there were many ongoing and no-name battles, but they pushed the communist forces back towards the 38th paradelle where it hats all started. They were relieved in January 1952, by the 45th Infantry Division, that had come straight from the United States, and they were Army National Guardsmen.

After receiving their relief, the division returned to Occupational Duty in Japan. Buy than things had changed dramatically, and Japan was rebuilding their superstructure, and factories were rebuilding, new roads, water lines, and telephone wires going up all over. The Big Cities were growing again.

Then the 1st Cavalry Division deployed to Korea again in 1957, not returning home again until 1965. This tour of Korea was not so much as fighting, but here to for the rebuilding of the country.

1st Cavalry Divisions during the Korean War 3,811 casualties killed in action and 12,086 wounded in action, and there were 9 Medal of Honor recipients during the Korean War.

This uniform could represent any part of that time. The jacket is a cold-weather field jacket, from the late WWII design. and his cap-insulated ETO type of cover. this would steer it to the issue to the people who went over to Korea as well, the pattern stayed into the '80s with slight modifications like zippers and materials. and there was a liner that could be worn with the jacket.

1st Cavalry Division in Korea: In Korea, they were basically infantry, in Vietnam they became an 'Air-Mobile' or 'Air Cavalry Division' the after Vietnam ended, 1st Cavalry Division was converted from the air-mobile light infantry role into a triple capabilities (TRICAP) division, (much the larger.

1st Cavalry Div. MP. into the 50's cont:

The Brown wool trousers turned Green and changed in materials threw this time as well. The helmet shows his work as an MP of the Division, with its common white band and MP on the front configuration.

As an MP on duty would wear the black and white armband, some timed the backing was blue then. They did much of this service in both Japan and Korea. The MP is necessary for military service not just for keeping the law, but the direction of traffic, roadblocks, and checking papers and whatnot of people entering a base.

The MP we often lead in Convoy duties work as well. the Helmet is pristine, as is the uniform, he would have had white webbing over the jacket and possibly white spats over brown polished boots. He would have carried a sidearm, nightstick, had a cuff, med kit, and extra .45 ammunition magazines on the belt.

1st Cavalry Division in Korea: After their arrival in South Korea, and being thrown into the Pusan Parameter, they started a major offensive of probing and attacks in multiple directions in the Taegu area in order to try and break out of the Pusan Perimeter. During their time in Korea, the 70th Tank Battalion was their armored support.

breaking out to the Naktong and Nam Rivers fighting all the way. There were many battles to follow at places called Hill 154, and then seizing of Hill 268, all this back-and-forth bitter fighting and that continued at Hill 303, Hill 518, Hill 490, Hill 464 then Hill 314. and heavy fight over the Han River. and back over the 38th parallel, threw the human wave attacks by the Chinese Army Forces.

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Captian, 1st Cavalry Div. 'Ike Jacket', back from Korea:

Before noon 4 Sept. 1945, US. Troop ships were dropping anchor in Yokohama harbor, and soon the First Team would ride in the landing craft, they had the honor of leading the Allied Forces to enter Tokyo, The war was over officially, but no one knew what was to follow for sure.

As the various elements arrived at the docks, they were staged up and assigned different areas of responsibility, across the nearby cities. and 5 airfields were seized and taken under control. As the soldiers arrived, they found no resistance, there were no major incidents. Luckily both sides were tired of war and were realizing the cost of the war already, both were probably surprised by how the occupation went into effect.

Although Martial Law was in effect, the two sides that previously did their damnedest to kill each other, miraculously worked very well together, they had learned to respect each other and their different ways...and they started to build the rebuild, and they made things work and come together, the hard-driven Japanese put Japan Back together, and the contractors came in and helped, and the Japanese learned some in the western engineering, and building ways and city's shot back up the new Japan would excel.

I'm thinking the uniform at one time likely had ribbons on the right breast as well, in the way of unit presidential citations, and recognition from other places- but not knowing who he for sure served with and when can’t fill the spot in, and with most of these uniform's I had to really look at them, and analyze them for what they actually represent, and have tried to keep them intact and straight as I could, but many were fudged up and a bit lost, played with, or kept by the original owners, none can be exactly as they were, but I try to represent them correctly- sometimes finding my own mistakes when I edit the photos. I go over and over them, the like here maybe has to re-shoot anyways but try all the time to respectfully show these service uniforms as they would have looked.

It wasn't long before the training began again for the First Team, and shortly after they the fresh troop trained, war broke out in Korea, and the Communist Threat was in action-and the First Cavalry shipped off, and soon they got their baptism of fire in South Korea. The 1st Cavalry's exploits would grow in time and become a legend during the 1960s and into the '70s during the Vietnam War.

This later cut "Ike Jacket” shows a Captain back from Korea, the Cavalryman very well might have been on Occupation duty, when the Korean War started and was sent from Japan to Korea as well. while he was there a year and a half, the war was 3 years long. So, if he was there from the start-he must have wondered if he would be called back.

In 1951 elements of the team began coming back to Japan, from South Korea, and a bit different situation in Japan, a different place, and colder on the Northern island, near the Russian, controlled Sakhalin island to the North East, The Russians took the Island, the price of going to war with them, and they never gave them back.

This soldier, not only served in WWII and in Korea too in the 1950s His CIB should have a star over it then, I should change this, but this is how it may have looked on his return from Korea before he received the Star on it... His decorations from the top - Army's good conduct medal, the American Defense Service Medal, followed by the American Campaign Medal, the European / African / Middle East Campaign Medal WWII Victory Medal, and the Occupational Duty Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Korean Service Medal with star, Armed Forces Reserve Medal, and the UN Service Medal.

The First Cavalry Division learned that the new 'Limited War Concept' was a very nasty business. The quick movement of troops, with limits to where they could go, and where they could not, Political-Warring would be different now. It would only get worse in Vietnam. These would be hard, costly, and expensive lessons learned on how to do this kind of war.

On his left cuff, he shows us that he has re-enlisted 3 times, hence the 4 service stripes, and interestingly, his 'Battle Bars' show 6 months in WWII and a year and a half in Korea as there are 2 different styles present on the cuff. What’s interesting, is the battle bars are below the service stripes, this is not regulation and I assume where they were first installed on the uniform, and the stripes are a later add-on without removing the bars.

1st Cavalry Division in the Post-War:

The First Cavalry Division's story goes way back, and there are volumes of official documents and files on their experiences, I can’t tell it all here, there are several officials, and veteran-like sites to tell all their exploits. And they’re not done-The have been around ever since, and now with the introduction of the 'Air Assault' and 'Air Mobility has added a whole new perspective to their operational capability, another de-mention really of possibility's I suspect they will be around a long time.

1st Cavalry in Japan:

Guards at a cache' of valuables, standing guard over the items. The guards are from the 1st cavalry division, and in the post-war, the horsehead and stripe emblem was installed on the side of the helmets, and liners this is clearly seen in many photos some parade photos show them a nicely polished-a sign of post-war appearance.

1st Cavalry Division in Korea: The 1st Cavalry Division Made a name for themselves in the Second World War and did a good job on occupational duty, but in Korea, they had to do it again, and then in Vietnam, they soared! There is still a top-notch outfit, well equipped, and to this day a main component of the US. Army. The pictures are of the 1st Cavalry Division, on post-war duty, rather after WWII or Korea, I’m not sure except the first picture of the enlisted man, in an olive uniform has returned home (or to Japan) from Korea as shown by Korean War Decorations, unique is the fact he is with the 7 Regiment, Company C, the “Garry Owen” their roots going back to the Indian Wars, when under command of George Custer.

7th Infantry Division, Post War / Korea:

Back to the Business of War: The initial assault on South Korea completely overwhelmed the forces there, whatever the reason, rather than the training, or moral, number of soldiers or the coordination between South Korean Forces and US/UN Forces, whatever, they had held a line in a small pocket, with a port, and this allowed the buildup pf forces to push back the Communist Forces.

Hourglass div. Korean War:

The 7th Infantry Division was officially first activated in December 1917 in perpetration for World War I, they were stationed at Fort Ord, in California. They served in World War I, but only briefly. It was called again to serve in the Pacific Ocean theater of World War II, and here is where they really went to battle at large. they took heavy casualties fighting the Imperial Japanese Army, landing at the Aleutian Islands, Leyte, and Okinawa.

Editing >>>>>>>>>Following the Japanese surrender in 1945, the division was stationed in Japan and Korea, and with the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950 was one of the first units in action.

Editing >>>>>>>>>At the outbreak of the Korean War in June 1950, the 7th Infantry Division commander, Major General David G. Barr [zh], assembled the division at Camp Fuji near Mount Fuji.[63] The division was already depleted due to post-war shortages of men and equipment and further depleted as it sent large numbers of reinforcements to strengthen the 25th Infantry Division and 1st Cavalry Division, which were sent into combat in South Korea in July.[64] The division was reduced to 9,000 men, half of its wartime strength. To replenish the ranks of the understrength division, the Republic of Korea Army (ROK) assigned over 8,600 Korean soldiers to the division.

The Colombian Battalion was at times attached to the division. With the addition of priority reinforcements from the US, the division's strength was eventually increased to 25,000 when it entered combat. Also fighting with the 7th Infantry Division for much of the war were members of the three successive Kagnew Battalions sent by Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia as part of the UN forces.

The 7th ID. took part in the Inchon Landings and then continued the advance to the north. I will stop here to explain the decorations. under his Enlisted style Infantry-collar insignia, the Combat Infantryman's Badge. and the Ribbons Bars show he's been officially wounded twice, the Good Conduct Medal-3 hitches in the Army, some WWII Ribbons, American Service Medal with Star, American Campaign Medal, Pacific Service Medal with 3 campaign stars, WWII Victory Medal, National Defense Medal, and his Korean Service with its medal, and UN Service Medal and the UN Medal with a star.

The division was paired with the 1st Marine Division under the control of the US X Corps taking part in the Inchon Landing, under the code name Operation Chromite. These two divisions were supported by the US 3rd Infantry Division as a reserve. Some 230 ships took part in the landing at Inchon (15 September 1950), The 'KPA' (Korean People's Army) was totally taken by surprise.

Note the 7th Infantry Division insignia on the sleeve over the early green and gold stile Specialists Rank, a new rank level, and a new loon, hand-sewn in, this style changed for male troops in the '60s but remained I believe for females for some time.

7th ID. as part of X Corps advanced to Seoul and took up the fight there, they were suffering moderate casualties if one can say that.

But Chinese forces then Counter-Attacked them, nearly defeating the scattered division. The 7th later went on to fight in the Heartbreak Ridge, and Battle at Pork Chop Hill, as well as Battle of Old Baldy. The 7-ID then landed at Wonsan on 26 October, and then It won on 29 October. The ROK forces moving overland took the occupied ports though before the Division had completely landed, the duty was to slow them down with sea mines.

On 21 November, the 17th Infantry reached the banks of the Yalu River. The division then advanced to Hyesanjin, at the China/North Korea border by the Yalu River, about the most northernmost advances for all UN soldiers of the war, soon a Cease-Fire was announced.

Note: Between WWII and Korea this soldier served 2 1/2 years. and 9-12 years of service depending on the length of each enlistment 3 or 4 years.

As the Korean War ended, the division headquartered at Camp Casey with their artillery units now supporting the 1st Cavalry Division just south of the DMZ. They served there until the mid-1960s. In the late 1980s, they were called again to go overseas and briefly served in Operation Golden Pheasant in Honduras, then again in Operation Just Cause in Panama chasing Noriega.

By the early 1990s, they helped in Operation Green Sweep, a domestic event, and then again during the 1992 Los Angeles Riots! The division then became a training& evaluation unit with the Army National Guard brigade which was inactivated in 2006.

But as of 26 April 2012, the Department of Defense decided to reactivate the 7th Infantry Division, with the headquarters supporting the mission of America's First Corps area of operations. This uniform represents the beginning of the uniform change with the 'Class A' Green uniforms and was one of the last of the WWII Look. His Overseas Cap still carries the medium blue piping for his infantry branch, this would leave the cap in the 1960s, only officers, generals, and chaplains would retain colored piping. Of course, it had matching trousers and Brown boots, a khaki shirt and tie, and whatnot like the rest of the dress uniforms of the time.

Note: the Ary ‘Specialists’ replaced the Technical Sergeants of WWII, a program, that went into effect 1 July 1955, grouped NCO grades E-4 to E7, which had a corresponding specialist position that mirrored it, so the T’s were lost, and a new rank insignia adopted. All that said, it has been pointed out that this is the Female style, and I believe that is true, but possibly they started out looking this way, or it was all that was available?