The history of the Korean War will be the focus of the our meeting this Saturday, February 12th, at 9 am at Western Dakota Technical Institute in Rapid City.
School of Mines professor emeritus Chuck Thielen will recount the grim combat he faced as an infantry rifleman with the 1st Division, 7th Marines. At one point Thielen’s unit was overrun, wiping out everyone at his position except for him and another who were bayoneted as they pretended to be dead. “Sometimes under fire we had to line up wounded Marines in the
snow overnight,” he recalls while fighting in North Korea near Chosin Reservoir. “You could tell the ones still alive in the morning because they were the ones without frost buildup on their faces.” Thielen was the only college graduate in his unit.
A moment-of-silence will also be observed at the meeting for Korean War Marine Herbert A. Littleton who was awarded the Medal of Honor after being killed in action on April 22, 1951. Littleton entered the service from Black Hawk, went to school in Sturgis, lived in Spearfish, and worked in Rapid City.
Editor’s Note: For many of us the only mention of the Korean War was watching M*A*S*H* on television. The fact is that many Americans fought bravely and honorably on Korean soil and their stories have not been told. I urge you to attend this event and to hear of the sacrifices made on our behalf by these brave heroes.
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