Thailand in the Korean War

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The Royal Thai Expeditionary Forces to Korea
21st Combined Regiment
Emblem of the Royal Thai Expeditionary Forces to Korea
ActiveAugust 1950 – March 1955
Disbanded1955, after armistice
CountryThailand
AllegianceUnited Nations
BranchArmy
TypeInfantry Battalion
Size11,786 over the course of the war[1]
Part ofUS 1st Cavalry Division
Nickname(s)"Little Tigers"
Engagements
Decorations
Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citations (3)
Presidential Unit Citation (United States) (Army)
Commanders
Notable
commanders		Major General Prince Pisit Dispongsa-Diskul
Lt. Colonel Kriengkrai Attanand
Major Kriangsak Chamanan

The Kingdom of Thailand was one of the 21 countries who responded to the United Nations request to send troops to aid South Korea during the Korean War 1950–1953. As well as being one of the first countries to openly express its support for South Korea's cause, whilst also being one of the UN's larger contributors to the war.[citation needed] Thai support was important to battles determining the outcome of the war, such as the Third Battle of Seoul.[citation needed]

Intervention

In July 1950, Thailand was the first Asian nation to respond to the US call for allies in Korea. Prime Minister Plaek Phibunsongkhram told parliament that, "by sending just a small number of troops as a token of our friendship, we will get various things in return." A month after agreeing to commit troops, Thailand received US$10 million in US economic aid and a US$25 million loan from the World Bank.[2] Forty thousand tons of rice were sent to Korea immediately as food aid, followed by an infantry battalion from the 1st Infantry Battalion of the 21st Regimental Combat Team[3] (later renamed the 21st Infantry Regiment, Queen's Guard), formed on 22 September, and several warships.[4] Later in the conflict, several transport aircraft were sent by the Thai government.

21st Royal Thailand Regiment

Operations in Korea

Battle of Pork Chop Hill

Main article: Battle of Pork Chop Hill

The Battle of Pork Chop Hill (31 October to 11 November 1952) involved numerous battles struggling for control of key territory along the front line while truce talks at Panmunjom proceeded. Pork Chop Hill was held by soldiers of the US 7th Infantry Division, the Thai 21st Infantry Battalion, and other units. They together repulsed attacks by the People's Volunteer Army (PVA). The Chinese made an all-out effort to capture the hill. Eventually, the UN forces withdrew from its heights, ceding it to the Chinese.

After the engagement, the United States military awarded Major

Bronze Star medals. The Thai unit earned the nickname "Little Tigers" for their valour.[5]

Pusan
, 1950.

In last spring of the war (March to June 1953), the Thai infantry spent most of their time training and as 9th US Corps reserve. They then relocated to Kyo-dong on 4 May 1953. A battle followed in the vicinity of the "Boomerang" from 14 to 27 July 1953 northwest of

Belgian victory in the Battle of Chatkol.[citation needed
]

Post-armistice

Small Thai contingents remained in Korea until June 1972[4] and a symbolic presence remains there in 2020.

Navy

USS Glendale and Gallup in Thailand, 1951 prior to being handed over to the Royal Thai Navy
. The Gallup, which had already served in Korea with the US Navy, would also serve there with the Thai navy under the name HMTS Prasae II.

On 7 November 1950 two Thai warships,

HTMS Tachin, arrived in Korea. They sailed for home a year and a half after the armistice on 21 January 1955.[4]

The transport ship HTMS Sichang arrived in Korea on 7 November 1950, remaining there until 15 July 1951.

Air Force

Korean war. Three task force contingents of the Royal Thai Air Force would serve in South Korea:[citation needed
]

  1. The first of a total of twenty-two Air Liaison Officers Teams was dispatched to the United Nations Command in 1951.
  2. The first of twenty-nine Air Nursing Teams began its mission on 26 December 1950, remaining there until 1974.
  3. A total of twenty-nine RTAF airlift mission teams served in South Korea from 1951 to 1971.

Heritage

Thai Victory Medal for the Korean War.
Ribbon of the Thai Victory Medal for the Korean War.

During the course of the Korean War, Thailand dispatched a total of 11,786 soldiers to Korea.[5] It is recorded that 129 Thai soldiers lost their lives in the war, 1,139 were wounded, and five were missing in action (MIA).[4] In 1974, the Government of the Republic of Korea built a monument, and a Thai pavilion in Pocheon City, to honour the Thai soldiers who took part in the Korean War. On 4 November 2008, the Thai Embassy in Seoul, with the cooperation from the Office of Defense Attache, hosted the opening ceremony of the Thai memorial at the United Nations Memorial Cemetery in Korea (UNMCK) to commemorate the sacrifices made by Thai soldiers during the Korean War. Thailand still maintains, as of 2020, one liaison officer at the Armistice Committee site and six soldiers as members of the United Nations Command Honor Guard Company in Seoul.

HTMS Prasae II was decommissioned from the

Rayong Province (Thailand
) by the Prasae River Communities Committee where she serves as a memorial. There is also a monument to the 21st Infantry Regiment.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Bilateral relations : Bilateral relations - Royal Thai Embassy, Seoul". Archived from the original on 19 October 2013. Retrieved 17 May 2013.
  2. ISBN 9780521759151
    .
  3. ^ "Soldier Vocabulary" (PDF). Inspector General Department (in Thai). Royal Thai Army. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
  4. ^ a b c d "UN Allies; The Kingdom of Thailand". The 60th Anniversary of the Korean War Commemoration Committee. Archived from the original on 14 March 2012. Retrieved 3 July 2012.
  5. ^ a b Satjipanon, Chaiyong (22 June 2010). "Heroism of the Little Tigers". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 24 February 2020.

Further reading


External links

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