Talk:Korean axe murder incident/Archive 1

duplicate info
the Panmunjom Tree has its own non-wikied article, someone should merge them maybe? Cornellrockey 17:11, 3 December 2005 (UTC)

Death by axe or truck
It's not clear of the deaths were caused by the axe or the truck. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.94.189.11 (talk) 20:22, 29 April 2006 (UTC)

Article re-arranged
I've created a new article for the Axe Murder Incident and copied across the content from the former Operation Paul Bunyan (OPB) article. It seemed odd to me that no Axe Murder Article existed, and since OPB would not have taken place without it, I reorganised the articles so that they are the other way around, with OPB mentioned as a part of the Axe Murder Incident. Bobo12345 05:39, 3 August 2006 (UTC)

Please delete
I'm a clumsy Wikipedia newbie and I didn't know about the Move function and tried to do it all by hand! Sorry! I intend to delete this page and Move it from the Operation Paul Bunyan article, once this has been deleted. 61.209.194.166 is my IP by the way, so it is only I who has made changes to this article. Bobo12345 06:17, 3 August 2006 (UTC)
 * Now fixed, no problem. Tito xd (?!?) 07:33, 3 August 2006 (UTC)

Further information
Actually, I'm addressing several points with other discussions and the article itself. Parts I could edit directly (in the article), but other points I'm not sure how to properly word it. I'll leave that to somebody else who is more articulate.

Capt. Bonifas was actually killed by a 'karate chop' to the back of the neck by Lt. (Bulldog) Pak Chol. After the North Koreans (KPA) picked up the axes dropped by the KSC civilians, several of them used them to begin chopping on Capt. Bonifas, until his body was covered by the truck.

Lt. Barrett had jumped a low wall which lead down (about 15 ft.) into a tree filled depression (visiblity from the top was nil). Lt. Barrett was chased by several KPA guards into the depression and died there. The actual 'fight' only took a few minutes, and the UNC (American and South Korean)personnel evacuated the area without Lt. Barrett, since nobody saw him go into the depression. However, the people working at Observation Post (OP) #5, where the video was taken from, observed KPA guards from a checkpoint next to the depression taking turns going into the depression with an axe. One would go down with the axe and a couple of minutes later would climb back out and hand the axe to another guard who would then repeat the process. This continued for almost 90 minutes before a security contingent was sent to investigate, at which time Lt. Barrett's body was found and recovered. Almost every square inch of his body was cut up.

The tree was originally scheduled to be trimmed on Aug. 12th when my platoon was supposed to be working, and I was scheduled to be on the detail. However, it was raining hard that day so it was delayed until the 18th, which was my platoon's day off.

At the time, we worked a 72-hour 'shift' which consisted of 24 hours within the JSA, from 8am one morning until 8am the next morning. We would then head back to Camp Kitty Hawk (renamed to Camp Bonifas 10 years later), just outside the DMZ fence for breakfast and a change of clothes, then we would head back to the Day Quick Reaction Force (QRF) site. We stayed there until (usually) 4pm. We were on QRF duty until 5pm, but we would usually leave about 4pm so that we could run (exercise) back to Camp Kitty Hawk. We then were off for 24 hours, from 5pm until 5pm the next night, at which time we were then on Night QRF duty until 8am the next morning when we started back in the JSA again.

Regarding the UNC personnel in the area at the time. Each side (UNC and KPA) was allowed only 30 enlisted personnel and two officers inside the JSA at any one time who could be armed with a sidearm (pistol). At no time were rifles or machineguns allowed in the JSA, though occasionally we saw the KPA unloading them when they would open their checkpoints in the morning. The area where the 'fight' took place was surrounded by three occupied KPA checkpoints, two had AK-47's and the third (about 500 meters away) had a .51 cal. machinegun (I saw it numerous times during my 13 months), all of which had clear fields of fire to CP#3 where the 'fight' occured. The UNC only had OP#5 which could observe CP#3, at a distance of about 250-300 meters, and only armed with .45 cal pistols. Each UNC/JSA member at the 'fight' was armed with their sidearm, and the mattocks were in the back of the 2 1/2 ton truck at the scene. The personnel were not standing around carrying them, per JSA policy.

Since this was 1976, only 23 years after the Armistice was signed, all of the KPA guards selected to work at the JSA were orphans who were raised being told that their parents had been killed by Americans during the Korean War. Hence, they all had an extreme hatred of Americans.

I have some 'stuff' of my own at JSA Stuff

Not quite sure how end this correctly, but here goes.

wbfergus 13:55, 26 November 2006 (UTC)

This article needs major work
This article needs major work. I thought to start it out since it seems to be very interesting. I want to ask http://members.terracom.net/~vfwpost/opn-PB.html if we could use his pictures, but I'm pressed for time. -James --68.80.190.94 20:21, 7 May 2005 (UTC)

This artical needs contents on NK side of the story. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Srinivasasha (talk • contribs) 08:40, 24 November 2005 (UTC)


 * So are you willing to volunteer to go to North Korea and get their side of the story? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.234.99.65 (talk) 08:49, 24 November 2005 (UTC)


 * Lol, haha. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Nissi Kim (talk • contribs) 23:05, 2 June 2006 (UTC)


 * I know the guy who took most of those pictures of Operation Paul Bunyan. I'll email him and ask for permission.
 * wbfergus 17:17, 27 November 2006 (UTC)
 * Here's the text of an email I just received, per the above:
 * "Knock yourself out. I won't object.


 * Also, Kirkbride gives permission for us to use his stuff ... just in case you want to use it. He is living in Korea right now.


 * So, the pictures are free to use... BTW, Kirkbride is the author of the VFW site.
 * wbfergus wbfergus 20:08, 27 November 2006 (UTC)

Language Box
I disagree with the placing of the large, layout-disruptive multi-translation box, and have reverted it pending discussion (please see previous edits for the box).

I consider this is a rather inelegant way of placing information into the article which I consider of secondary importance (especially seeing that one translation was already nicely inline). If such a box was added to all articles about a thematic that happened in a non-Englisch-speaking country or was named in foreign languages in addition to English, it will end up producing substantial clutter on Wikipedia. MadMaxDog 06:29, 12 January 2007 (UTC)

Citation junkies
How to handle the needs/requests of citation junkies, those that want everything cited? Many different parts of this article are referenced in the refences cited, but it's impossible to cite each and every sentence somebody wants cited, if it's already been cited once isn't it? Or is there some way to globally signify to the citation junkies that if they read the references the citation they need/want is there? Or is it already "assumed", that once an article has a reference to something/someplace, that it (can) apply elsewhere in the article as well? wbfergus 14:40, 20 January 2007 (UTC)


 * Wbfergus, the article is well cited. Sometimes, for particular statements (like the "This tree planted by Kim-Il-Sung", where I placed the fact tag myself) it is nice to directly place appropriate inline citations. Same for anything which is contentious. But apart from that - no worries. Just leave it as it is, and don't try to overdo it.


 * As for multi-citations - have a look at current reference #1. That shows how to use one source for citations at multiple places in the article. Cheers, MadMaxDog 22:57, 20 January 2007 (UTC)


 * I was refering to yesterday when somebody with just an IP address deleted part of a sentence and wanted a source for it, though it is mentioned on several of the references cited elsewhere. Thanks for pointing out though how to do a multi-cite. I hadn't noticed that before. wbfergus 23:50, 20 January 2007 (UTC)

Merge Nomination
I nominate this article to be merged with Bridge of No Return, because some of the content is copied nearly verbatim from that article, and this article could be shortened to section-length without any loss of value. Vedek Wren 05:36, 23 January 2007 (UTC)


 * I don't see why the Bridge of No Return page should be merged with this. Just because the Axe-Murder Incident occurred near the bridge doesn't mean that the information should be in the same article. The Axe Murder Incident was an event, the Bridge is a location. If anything, the Bridge article could be merged with the Joint Security Area article, but I don't think it's necessary - they just need synchronising. Bobo12345 08:00, 23 January 2007 (UTC)


 * Oppose the idea totally, as per Bobo12345. In fact, Bridge of No Return should be condensed instead, though not merged into this one either. MadMaxDog 11:07, 23 January 2007 (UTC)


 * I'd be opposed to it as well. I know I could add (and plan on adding) a lot more information to both the Joint Security Area and this article as well. If I can get some of my old Army buddies motivated enough to log on here, they can help add more information to the three articles also. Since we were there, it would really help to get more than just my input on the three articles. The reason they seem to have the same information about something like the Bridge of No Return is to me it makes no sense (and looks terrible) if the information conflicts between articles. I don't mind a repeat of the same information, but seeing opposing or otherwise conflicting information about the same thing in different articles looks bad. wbfergus 19:23, 23 January 2007 (UTC)

Chronology
One thing I notice about this article -- and several other published accounts on the web -- is that the account jumps from April 18th to April 21st as if nothing happened between those dates. Perhaps part of the reason for the gap is the massive press blackout that was conducted by the US forces and South Korean authorities on April 19th and 20th. A blackout which avoided mentioning a mech heavy task force rolling north out of Camp Casey, consisting of one company each from the 1-72 Armor and the two infantry battalions in 1st Bde, 2nd Inf Div - a force which was turned around when politicians decides not to allow an immediate military response. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 147.238.100.22 (talk) 20:44, 18 July 2007 (UTC)

Image mislabelling
I saw that the pics of the incident were mislabeled. "First two" was used to describe the first and third pictures, due to the original source being horizontal and not in vertical columns like the Wiki presentation. I can't chop up the photos and don't know the syntax for tables well, so I simply changed the text descriptions to match the actual photo order. I know it doesn't look great, but it's the best I can do. -ZZ — Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.169.210.66 (talk) 19:34, 21 August 2007 (UTC)

I find the following statement very flippant and it could be reworded to seem more official
Kim Il Sung was often portrayed by the North Korean Communist Party propagandists as being responsible for almost everything in North Korea

Something really should be done about this in my view. It is so flippant. 167.206.75.157 (talk) 14:45, 10 September 2008 (UTC)

I concur, whether or not it is true is irrelevant, It is most certainly not in an encyclopedic tone and is basically an opinion, and has no place on the article. I think the sentence should simply be removed and with regards to the exchange it refers to, it should be clear that it is not verifiable. ill go ahead and make the change. Leomann (talk) 00:04, 3 September 2009 (UTC)

Cobras laser targeting?
Aside from the POV language regarding the Cobra flights near the DMZ, the sentence refers to laser targeting. I'm no expert, but I don't believe Airborne Laser Ranger and Marked Target Seeker (LRMTS) were that well developed at the time. Thus I tagged the unreferenced statement. Any info from anyone? Srich32977 (talk) 14:26, 4 August 2010 (UTC)


 * LRMTS was in its most primitive form available around the 1960's. However, its another thing entirely that it was DUE to laser targeting that the North Koreans stopped firing. The entire sentence should just be removed as there is no sources to prove this exact thing occured. In fact, I'll remove it now. Anyone with complaints please give a responsable reason to keep it. 142.229.106.51 (talk) 19:28, 20 August 2010 (UTC)


 * I am new to this article: I was on an ADA TACSITE/mountaintop looking down into the DMZ on its edge but this incident was on the edge of what we could see and hear. The cobras came within visual range and we were told they had asked for permission to fire so our tension level was thru the roof. And then we all heard a "braap", then the shooting suddenly stopped. We thought one of the cobras "demonstated superior firepower" or had taken out the NK guns without permission... We then all got another "hold fire, hold fire- only fire if fired upon". We never did find out what actually happened. I think this side event had more at stake then anything else that happened that day. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.67.250.26 (talk) 08:17, 30 September 2010 (UTC)


 * Also, It's my understanding that these lasers can temporarily blind people... but I don't know if that actually happened or if someone is assuming something. Who ever wrote this info might be able to provide more info and I would like to know what really happened after all this time. I think it would be proper to trim the sentence to just communicate the firing stopped once the cobras came within sight/range. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.67.250.26 (talk) 08:32, 30 September 2010 (UTC)

Military Rank Style?
What is Wikipedia's military rank style? This article switches back an forth between common civilian style (Capt., Lt., etc.) and military style (CAPT, 1LT, etc.) Fustigate314159 (talk) 17:32, 13 December 2010 (UTC)
 * I believe you are looking for is: Manual of Style (abbreviations), but you won't find specifics there regarding this basic question. The truth is that the military uses all of the aforementioned abbreviations in various capacities. MLA and APA do not address this issue specifically and generally defer to military style guides (i.e. the Tongue and Quill). — BQZip01 —  talk 23:56, 5 January 2011 (UTC)

"scheduled to be trimmed seven days earlier"
I can't find a source for this. Anyone? Also did both North and south agree to it beforehand? Demogorgonite (talk) 23:00, 2 December 2010 (UTC)


 * Ok, I think the article needs to change the fact on how it seemingly portrays that both north and south korea agreed to cut the tree down "days earlier." From this official report: http://www.nautilus.org/projects/foia/panmunjon.pdf It states that on August 6, soldiers came to survey the tree, and when a north korean solider was told that they were going to cut the tree down, the KPA soldier told them not to. General Stilwell was not informed of the KPA's opposition, since the matters were so "routine". On August 18, the soldiers came to cut down the tree, and that is when the incident occurred. I am not seeing any sources for how the north and south both "agreed" to cut the tree down on a "schedule". Demogorgonite (talk) 23:33, 2 December 2010 (UTC)


 * Well, I was supposed to be on the earlier tree trimming detail, but it was postponed due to rain (just a drizzle, but the Korean civilian workers didn't want to work - lighting fears). It was discussed, we let them know, they agreed, since they were doing tree trimming themselves in other areas. But, the day it supposed to be done, it was postponed and then agreed upon to be done on the 18th, which wasn't a day I'd be working, and 1st platoon was on duty then. I have seen these facts mentioned in other articles, not just my own memory, so they are verifiable. I am pretty sure at least one of the references says this in at least one of them. I'm pretty sure the VFW site said it also, but since it is no longer up (at least that page), I'll have to use the wayback machine (Internet Archive) to see that page as it was several years ago, or somebody else can. I've been a tad busy lately to do much. wbfergus undefinedTalk 13:34, 19 August 2011 (UTC)

video footage
the article claims that home movie footage was shot of the axe killings, does anyone have a source for where this may be obtained? Thisglad (talk) 06:44, 25 December 2007 (UTC)
 * You could probably try the Army through a FOIA request. wbfergus undefinedTalk 11:04, 25 December 2007 (UTC)
 * In Rick Atkinson's book, The Long Gray Line he states that the video shows that the US soldiers present with Bonifas and Barrett panicked and fled, abandoning the two officers to the mercy of the mob of North Korean soldiers. If true, that may account for why the US Army has never released the entire video publicly.  I've heard that the copy of this video shown at the DMZ visitor's center has this portion edited out. Cla68 (talk) 06:51, 30 January 2009 (UTC)
 * I was on the edge of the DMZ when this happened and I saw this video well after it happened (several months later)and I saw it differently but I can still remember watching it. Everyone was attacked and one of the officers ordered the others to head away from the bridge but I don't know why, I thought the others were being directed to cover some civilian workers off camera. I don't know which one but it was proably Bonifas. He may have tried to do a rear guard action... I agree it could look differently to some and it could look like the others panicked and ran away. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.67.250.26 (talk) 08:53, 30 September 2010 (UTC)
 * Actually, a friend of mine has been in contact with Capt. Shirron, Capt. Bonifas' replacement, who also is the one that took the pictures, ot at least most of them. Until such time as myself or somebody can work the new material into the article, there is now some NEW, unreleased photos and information about this day at http://www.jsavets.org/ wbfergus undefinedTalk 13:19, 17 August 2011 (UTC)
 * Actually, I stand corrected, I had the names mixed up. It was Lt. Shaddix, not Capt, Shirron, and Lt. Shaddix got the film from Guy Breider, who was the ones taking the pictures. Lt. Shaddix was with him at OP#5, and had the film flown to Japan for processing, since there wasn't a place in Korea to develop that type of film used. It was personal film for a personal camera that was used after the 'official' Army camera ran out of film. The video was taken, but with such poor quality (8mm), at that distance, and from someone excited and scared (3 North Koreans had also snuck up behind them, the footage was grainy, out-of-focus, and to jumpy to see much except blurs. Many of us who were there have been having numerous conversations back and forth getting all the details worked out, for proper attribution of the photo's, etc., along with discussing how the 'official' Army version of various things are incorrect, like saying Lt. Barrett is the guy at the top of one of the photos. Everybody who was there knows 1.) that Lt. Barrett was white (not black as in the picture), that was Sgt. Bickley or PFC George, and 2.) Lt. Barrett never made it that far. He was attacked and killed down in the depression area to the left. There are also additional new pictures available on Facebook in the (open) 'JSA Veterans' group. wbfergus undefinedTalk 15:16, 19 August 2011 (UTC)

Wording of Pak's order
Although the article says Pak's order was simply "Kill them", according to the cited source which I downloaded, he is actually quoted as saying "Kill the bastards". I made the change for this reason. If anyone wishes to verify, the quote is on Page 13 of the PDF file cited, which is still available online at the link shown. 68.146.80.110 (talk) 14:50, 19 December 2011 (UTC)

Photo removals
A series of photos was removed today, based on "POV captions". Seems the better action would be to remove or rewrite the captions. The photos appear to be from an old newspaper (based on the yellow background). These photos were quite helpful in depicting the event, and I urge replacement.--S. Rich (talk) 05:20, 20 October 2010 (UTC)
 * The photos are not the problem, the captions are. The captions are severely POV. Some time in the next few days, I can crop the captions out, and reload them as six individual photos. Unless someone else can do it sooner. Kingturtle = (talk) 12:10, 20 October 2010 (UTC)
 * And what was wrong or POV with the captions? The UNC personnel ARE the one wearing the white helmets. It is impossible to discuss this article properly without the photos, they are the proof of overwhelming odds, etc. and clearly show the fight. wbfergus undefinedTalk 15:24, 19 August 2011 (UTC)
 * Over a year on, can we have the photos back please? (I haven't seen them!) 90.195.174.53 (talk) 00:16, 21 December 2011 (UTC)
 * There are many pictures available at http://jsavets.org/KirkrideTrib.htm and elsewhere on the site, but I don't have the time to add them back in. wbfergus undefinedTalk 17:26, 12 July 2012 (UTC)

Citation
I don't know how to edit the page properly to show this, but link 16 is broken. Saicotic (talk) 02:30, 4 April 2013 (UTC)

Title
When seeing "axe murder incident" as the title of a link, users will be turned away, because "axe murder" usually means murdering someone with an axe (à la Lizzy Borden). We must seriously consider changing the title to something more accurately representing the topic, such as "the Poplar Tree Incident", "the Hatchet Incident", or "the Tree Trimming Incident". My personal favorite is "1976 Korean Tree Incident]"; "Operation Paul Bunyan" is also great and very accurate for the content. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 108.6.247.7 (talk) 20:24, 15 October 2014 (UTC)
 * Agreed, this has long been a problem.
 * "Operation Paul Bunyan" isn't obviously clear what it means, so it should remain a redirect here, rather than a canonical name.
 * "1976 Korean tree incident" (note the sentence case) isn't terribly clear either. I'd like to see "murder" in there too - can we justify this? (is an international death between armed forces legally the same as a civil murder?) Andy Dingley (talk) 20:32, 15 October 2014 (UTC)
 * Title at least needs something along the lines of "North Korean ... Incident" - current title might mean anything from some pycho-murder to a horror movie.50.111.26.229 (talk) 12:58, 18 August 2016 (UTC)
 * I agree that the title is problematic. There is a long discussion above about whether it is a murder. In some people's opinion, the Korean War never ended. This is exaggerated but certainly there was a state of hostilities, particularly in the period of the Korean DMZ Conflict which just proceeded this incident. If there is a state of hostilities, the killing of an enemy combatant would only be murder if the soldier who was killed was trying to surrender. Many soldiers are killed in their sleep, and that isn't considered murder. If North Korean soldiers had been killed in an incident like this, few would suggest they had been murdered. It is true that many sources, mostly American, call it the "Axe Murder Incident", but they aren't bound by neutrality. Saying this was murder is very much a pro-American point-of-view. "Axe murder" also evokes popular culture like Lizzy Borden and So I Married an Axe Murderer. Operation Paul Bunyan only refers to the American operation that occurred in response to the clash. Perhaps, if "Axe Murder Incident" is the most common name, then it should be in quotation marks. But Panmunjeom Axe incident might be better as it pinpoints where the incident happened.--Jack Upland (talk) 08:54, 13 June 2018 (UTC)

This sentence is ambiguous.
"The U.S. Army officers had been part of a work party cutting down a poplar tree in the JSA that partially blocked the view of United Nations (U.N.) observers when they were assaulted and killed by the North Koreans, who claimed that the tree had been planted by Kim Il-Sung.[1] What exactly did the tree partially block? Did it block the view of the United Nations? Or did it block the view of a crowd of people? Why were the men chopping down the tree? It seems to say the observers were assaulted and killed by North Koreans. Who is "they" referring to? "...United Nations observers when they were assaulted..." could mean the observers were assaulted. At first is seems that the men were cutting down a tree that blocked the view of the United Nations. Very confusing. I don't know the history. Can someone revise this a bit? Perhaps break it down into at least 2 or 3 sentences and not use words like "they"? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 47.33.243.120 (talk) 13:53, 22 October 2018 (UTC)
 * This is the sort of crap we get when people ignore WP:LEAD and instead push their own agenda above the fold. I'll see what I can do. Kendall-K1 (talk) 14:38, 22 October 2018 (UTC)

My memories of "The Incident"
I had 36 days left in Korea when the incident happened.

Panmunjom - the "Peace Village" - has a series of watch towers. On the South side the watch towers are designed such that they can see / monitor each other. For example, tower #2 can see tower #1 and tower #3. The tree in question was in the North Korean side but it was obstructing the view between two towers from the Allied Command.

The Allied command informed the North Koreans several times that they were going to prune the tree. The North Koreans kept saying "no you're not!" and, finally, the day came to prune the tree. The Americans used a contingent of civilian Koreans to do the actual work and two officers (Capt. Arthur Bonifas and 1st Lt. Mark Barrett) as escort. It is worth noting that the North Korean soldiers, armed with axes, only attacked the US soldiers and left the civilian South Koreans alone.

After the attack, the response from the US forces was pretty swift and decisive. All of the 2nd Infantry Division was put on alert and went to the DMZ (De-Militarized Zone). All other combat units of the US military in Korea were put on war footing (DEFCON 1) but were not mobilized. The air force flexed its its muscles by bringing B-52's from Guam, F-111's from the US mainland; the navy sent the USS Midway (aircraft carrier) from Japan. I cannot confirm this but, at the time, the scuttlebutt was that the B-52's and the F-111's were carrying nuclear weapons.

We did receive intelligence that North Korea had requested help to the USSR and China but they essentially told the North Koreans "you're on your own." After that, the North Korean airspace was very quiet!

When time came to take care of the infamous tree, the information we were given was that we were going to go in and rip the tree off "...and if they shoot one bullet, its on!" At the same time that the Americans were ripping the tree out, a contingent of South Korean Special Forces, dressed as civilians, was standing by "just in case." We had as hard a time keeping the South Koreans from starting something as we had keeping the North Koreans from escalating further! --George casablanca 04:20, 1 February 2006 (UTC)


 * Very interesting. Thanks, George. --Dhartung | Talk 03:56, 16 March 2006 (UTC)
 * Damn, we should've invaded, if they weren't getting any help from the China and Russia.--KrossTalk 12:42, 29 May 2006 (UTC)
 * Thanks for the story - this is the some of the content that really adds to Wikipedia, IMHO! Vedek Wren 05:33, 23 January 2007 (UTC)
 * I am very new to contributing to please excuse any indiscretions. My father flew with the 430th TFS out of Mountain Home at the time of this incident. I showed him this article and he immediately commented that the base it had the 111's at was wrong. There was a discussion of which to go to, Gwangju or Teago. He can't remember precisely why, but he really didn't want to go to Gwangju and had been to Teago many times (and was familiar with it). The decision was to go with the latter. As for scuttlebutt about their being nuclear armed, I strongly doubt it. He's made the comment in the past that the only time he carried nukes was in the F-89 and the F-101 years prior. He confirms all air crews (111's/52's) had their targets assigned and it was a definite go to make reprisal strikes, but that the 111's flew to Korea with their bomb racks attached. The 111 would carry a nuke in its bomb bay. The racks are used for conventional bombs. An aside: the 111 was cleaner with the racks on the wings than without. Hence, when needed, they were ferried on the planes rather than transported. Some freak fact of aerodynamics. Additionally, unofficially, the 111's were unable to fly with weapons the day of the tree chopping, due to the unavailability of required ground test equipment. Though, they did fly practice the days leading up to it. So, the N Koreans knew they were around and considered them a threat (mission accomplished). M1super90 —Preceding undated comment added 01:21, 14 October 2010 (UTC).


 * I was with the 1st Bn, 72nd Armor (part of 2nd Infantry Division) at Camp Casey during and following the incident. As George Casablanca noted above, forces in Korea were brought to DEFCON 1 (not DEFCON 3 as reported in the article).  On the 19th, 2nd Inf Div sent out a fully-loaded task force consisting of C Company 1-72 Armor, and one company from each of the two mechanized infantry battalions in 1st Brigade.  Taking the two infantry companies from different battalions was unusual, because the normal procedure would have been to use two companies from the same battalion and to place that battalion commander in command of the Task Force.  Taking the two infantry companies from different battalions made it less conspicuous when the Brigade Commander, COL Cooley, assigned the tank battalion commander, LTC Roache (sp?), to command the task force despite the force consisting of one tank company and two mechanized infantry companies. COL Cooley ordered LTC Roache not to lead the task force from the front as they both knew LTC Roache would have done.  The Task Force proceeded north along the route to PMJ in a series of short movements and delays as the question of direct military action was passed up the chain of command.  I don't know who made the decision to have the task force turn back, but I do know that this decision was made above the 8th Army level.  I can't comment on the readiness level of the two mechanized infantry companies, but the tank battalion had just returned from annual tank gunnery qualification two weeks prior to the incident so they were operating with the same crews who had just completed gunnery qualification. During the week following return from gunnery, the battalion had known they were the only remaining unit in the Division waiting for their Annual General Inspection, so the "surprise" inspection which started on August 16th wasn't much of a surprise and the entire time following gunnery had been devoted to intense vehicle maintenance.  If there was any unit in the US Army at a high state of readiness on that day, it was this tank battalion.   N4aof (talk) 20:46, 30 April 2019 (UTC)