American Legion

Post # 214 Lebanon, Maine

"Veterans helping Veterans and the Community"

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Lebanon District Documents Smile National Department

Come and Honor our

KoreanWarVeterans

for our

Korean War 'Witness to History Event'

June 26th

1:pm - 3: pm

at the Hanson Elementary School

on the Upper Guinea Road in Lebanon, Maine

The Korean War began in the early hours of June 25, 1950, when North Korean troops

crossed the 38th parallel and invaded South Korea. The war featured some of the most intense

fighting ever experienced by American soldiers -- and some of the worst conditions. Nearly 37,000

American servicemen lost their lives in three years, the majority of losses concentrated in the

first year. This is a significantly higher figure per year than the 58,000 American casualties

spread over ten years in Vietnam.

There were both severe trials and staggering accomplishments during the war: the humiliating retreat

of inexperienced U.S. soldiers in the opening days of the war; the brilliant Inchon landings masterminded

by MacArthur; the grittiness exhibited in Chosin by the 1st Marine Division surrounded by a vast Chinese

force; and the savage hill fighting during the last years of the conflict. Although an armistice was signed

in 1953 between the United Nations, the US, China and North Korea, South Korea refused to sign, leaving

the two Koreas separate to this day.