2nd Marine Division (South Korea)
2nd Marine Infantry Division | |
---|---|
Active | 20 September 1965 – 16 April 1981 (brigade) 16 April 1981 – present (division) (43 years) |
Country | South Korea |
Branch | Republic of Korea Marine Corps |
Type | Infantry Division |
Size | Division |
Part of | ROK Marine Corps Headquarters |
Garrison/HQ | Gimpo, Gyeonggi Province |
Nickname(s) | Cheongryong (Blue Dragon) |
Engagements | |
Decorations | ROK Presidential Unit Citation |
The 2nd Marine Infantry Division (Korean: 제2해병사단; Hanja: 第2海兵師團), also known as Blue Dragon Division (Korean: 청룡부대; Hanja: 青龍部隊) or more literally the Aqua (color) Dragon Division, is an infantry division of the Republic of Korea Marine Corps.
History
On June 1, 1965, Prime Minister of
On August 17, the Republic of Korea Marine Corps attached various battalions, companies, and platoons to the 2nd Marine Regiment to increase its size to a brigade. The Marine Corps originally planned battalion to regiment size unit, but reports from Vietnam said that separating army and Marines was more appropriate to operate.
With President
The 2nd Marine Brigade was a mostly volunteer group that included many of South Korea's early Chaebols (
Vietnam War
The Blue Dragons were initially deployed to Cam Ranh Bay in September 1965, but in December moved to Tuy Hòa to provide security against the NVA 95th Regiment.[1]
In August 1966, the Blue Dragons moved to
Initially, the
Significant operations and actions involving the Brigade include:
- Khánh Hòa Province from 8 to 14 November 1965[3]
- Operation Flying Tiger: in early January 1966, joint operation with U.S./Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) Forces.[1]: 145
- Operation Van Buren: a rice harvest security operation with the 101st Airborne Division and ARVN in Phú Yên Province from 19 January to 21 February 1966 results in US claims of 346 VC killed for the loss of 45 ROK and 55 U.S.
- Bình Định and Phú Yên Provinces[3]
- Quảng Ngãi Province from 3 to 10 October 1966[3]
- Quảng Nam Province when they were attacked by an estimated three VC Battalions supported by heavy mortar and recoilless rifle fire. The VC launched secondary attacks on each flank of the company before attacking with one Battalion against the Company center, breaching the perimeter and using flamethrowers and bangalore torpedoes against the company's bunkers. The Company counterattacked and with the aid of a South Korean Marine quick reaction company helidropped into the position succeeded in driving back the VC with ROK forces claiming to have killed 243.[4]
- Operation Giant Dragon: in Quảng Ngãi Province from 17 to 22 February results in ROK claims of 16 VC killed and 61 weapons captured[4]
- Operation Dragon Fire: in Quảng Ngãi Province from 5 September to 30 October 1967 claims that 541 VC were killed.[5]
- The recapture of Hội An: during the Tet Offensive
- Bình Định Province from 5 to 20 May 1969 results in claims of 4 VC killed[6]
- Operation Victory Dragon: on Go Noi Island, Quảng Nam Province from October 1968 to December 1970.
- Operation Pipestone Canyon: on Go Noi Island, Quảng Nam Province from 26 May to 7 November 1969.
- 26th Marines on 7 September 1969. This was the first amphibious assault ever conducted by the Republic of Korea Marine Corps[3]
- Operation Hoang Dieu 101: with III MAF and the ARVN 51st Regiment in Quảng Nam Province from 17 December 1970 to 19 January 1971, unknown casualties[3]
- Operation Golden Dragon II: a clear and search operation in Quảng Nam Province from 4 to 21 January 1971[7]
- Operation Hoang Dieu 103: with III MAF and the ARVN 51st Regiment in Quảng Nam Province from 3 February to 10 March 1971[3]
The conduct of ROK forces is praised by some South Korean participation in Vietnam states that "the Koreans were thorough in their planning and deliberate in their execution of a plan. They usually surrounded an area by stealth and quick movement. While the count of enemy killed was probably no greater proportionately than that of similar American combat units, the thoroughness with which the Koreans searched any area they fought in was attested to by the fact that the Koreans usually came out with a much higher weaponry count than American forces engaged in similar actions."[1]
A total of 320,000 South Koreans served in the Vietnam War, with a peak strength (of any given time) at around 48,000.[1]: 131 About 4,000 were killed.
Commanders during Vietnam War
- Sep 1965-1967 : Brig. Gen. Kim Yun-sang
- Oct 1967 : Brig. Gen. Yi Bong-chool
- 1970 : Brig. Gen. Lee Dong-yong
Order of battle during Vietnam War
2nd Marine Brigade
- Direct Control Company
- 1st Marine Battalion
- 2nd Marine Battalion
- 3rd Marine Battalion
- 5th Marine Battalion
- 2nd Field Artillery Battalion
- 628th Field Artillery A Unit (Army)
Unit statistics for the Vietnam War
Start Date | End Date | Deployed | Combat | KIA | WIA | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Officer | Non-officer | Total | Large | Small | Total | Officer | Non-officer | Total | Officer | Non-officer | Total | ||
October 9, 1965 | February 24, 1972 | 2,166 | 35,174 | 37,340 | 175 | 151,347 | 151,522 | 42 | 1,160 | 1,202 | 99 | 2,805 | 2,904 |
War crimes
In February 1968, soldiers of the Brigade were accused of perpetrating the Phong Nhị and Phong Nhất massacre.
In February 2023, The Seoul court awarded Nguyen Thi Thanh compensation of $24,000, with the judge finding that Nguyen's relatives were killed on the spot and the plaintiff seriously wounded, and that this is obviously illegal.[8][9]
After the Vietnam War
After returning from the Vietnam War, the 2nd Marine Brigade was expanded and restructured into as the 2nd Marine Division in 1981.
See also
- Republic of Korea Marine Corps
- 1st Marine Division
- Vietnam War
- Capital Mechanized Infantry Division
- 9th Infantry Division
- Republic of Korea Armed Forces
- Ganghwa Island shooting
References
- ^ .
- ^ "dcbsoftware.com". www.dcbsoftware.com. Archived from the original on 2012-03-05. Retrieved 2010-03-27.
- ^ a b c d e f "Vietnam Archive Operations Database". Texas Tech University - Sam Johnson Vietnam Archive.
- ^ a b "Review of the events of February 1967" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2005-02-23. Retrieved 2010-04-01.
- ^ "flyarmy.org". www.flyarmy.org.
- ^ "History of the USS White River (LSMR-536)". Archived from the original on 2011-02-26. Retrieved 2010-04-12.
- ^ "Marines in Vietnam: Vietmanization and Redeployment" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-05-22. Retrieved 2010-07-31. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ "South Korea court rules in favour of Vietnam War massacre victim". AlJazeera.
- ^ "South Korea to pay US$24,000 to Vietnamese woman who survived military massacre". This Week In Asia.