The Forgotten Greek Contribution to a Forgotten War

Unlike the Turks, Greeks have largely forgotten the contributions made by their soldiers during the Korean War.  Despite the fact that Greece was emerging from a devastating decade of occupation and civil war, they managed to send troops to fight in the United Nations effort to prevent the Communist takeover of South Korea. Whereas Turks honor and publicize their countymen's sacrifices in Korea, Greek Leftists would prefer to bury this episode of Greek history and the Greek government and media is more than happy to oblige. Politics aside, the military accomplishments of the Greek soldier in Korea should not be swept under the rug or forgotten and ignored by Greek society (or Americans).

The Greeks arrived in Korea later and in smaller numbers than the Turks.  On December 9, 1950, 840 infantrymen of the Greek Expeditionary Force Battalion arrived in country. After training and equipping by the Americans, they were assigned to the US First Cavalry Division’s Seventh Cavalry Regiment.  Initially, the Greeks had prepared to send a force of 3,500 men, but the Americans requested a smaller number; most of the Greeks who finally deployed  were volunteers.  The Greeks  were in place for the American-led counteroffensive in January, 1951 after Chinese forces crossed the 38th parallel. The battalion completed the first of a series of successful missions by defending “Hill 381” from an assault by the Chinese army. In doing so, they relied on their experience from the Greek Civil War, but they also had to deal with the unique conditions they encountered in Korea. Their inability to dig foxholes in the frozen ground was complicated by enemy tactics they had never encountered before: heavy artillery fire followed by human wave attacks of very large numbers of lightly armed infantry. Needless to say that they found themselves in a target rich environment and they made the most of it. Within the space of four hours the Greeks killed 800 Chinese out of an attacking force of 3,000 men. Much of the fighting was hand-to-hand, after the Greeks ran out of ammunition. The battalion earned plaudits from US Army General Mathew B. Ridgeway, who led the counteroffensive after the Chinese entry into the war. Later in the conflict, as the situation descended into stalemate and trench warfare reminiscent of World War I, the Greeks were to distinguish themselves once again with their tenacity in the defense.

Company "P"  of the  Greek Expeditionary Forces Battalion was assigned the defense of a vital outpost, a position designated "Harry". Outposts are defensive positions well forward of the main defensive line which serve as an early warning of an enemy attack. The company encountered a major enemy assault on the evening of June 17. After an intense concentration of enemy mortar and artillery fire, the hostile forces, which had taken up an attack position on the northeast and northwest side of the outpost , moved rapidly through their own and friendly artillery fire to gain a foothold on the northern slope of the position. Refusing to withdraw, Company P closed in and met the attackers in a furious hand-to-hand struggle in which many of the enemy were driven off. The Chinese regrouped, quickly attacked a second time, and again gained the friendly trenches. Immediately, the Greeks launched a series of counterattacks, simultaneously dispatching a diversionary force to the east of the outpost which successfully channeled the enemy thrusts. After 2 hours of close in fighting, the enemy was again routed and the friendly positions restored. The outstanding conduct and exemplary courage exhibited by members  of the Greek Expeditionary Forces Battalion, earned them a Presidential Unit Citation, granted only by Presidential decree and the equivalent of a Distinguished Service Cross, the second highest US decoration, for an entire unit.

By  the end of the war, 194 Greeks were killed in action and 459 wounded, while Turkish troops suffered 721 killed, 168 missing in action, and 2,111 wounded. Thus, the Turkish total of combined casualties and MIAs was almost 58 percent, although the Greeks were not far behind, with casualties of almost 53 percent. The original Greek contingent of 840 men suffered a staggering casualty rate of almost 78 percent, which required the dispatch of a second unit of 400 men in 1953.)

Lest we Forget.

Comments

[Hermes]

Stavros, excellent piece. Some Greek Australians who fought in Korea march in the Australian ANZAC military parade over here.

However, I believe you are a little unfair to draw comparisons between the Greeks and Turks in honouring their war heroes and dead. I believe Greece should generally be more appreciative of all its soldiers regardless of the whether the war was right or wrong in hindsight. But in Turkey the respect given to their soldier's efforts is part of the Kemalist militarist edifice. If that ever came crashing down, and a real Left was allowed to develop, then I do not believe there would be much difference between the two nations.

Actually, the Turks may eventually be more ambivalent.

[Stavros]

Hermes, I think your wrong about the Turks. Their respect for their soldiers is ingrained and will continue even if if they are rabidly anti-American. An increasing portion of the Turkish public is very anti-US. They may give Greeks some competition in that respect. BTW, Greece has also relegated the memory of those Greek soldiers who defeated the Communist guerrillas in the Civil War to the dustbin of history. Too bad.

[Hermes]

My argument is that a lot of respect for the Turkish military, by ordinary Turks, is due to the strict application of the Kemalist doctrine. No real questioning of this doctrine is allowed i.e. the Orhan Pamuk trial. Would you like Greece to end up like that?

And implying that a Turk (adjusting for Kemalism)is inherently more respectful than a Greek to their war heroes is grossly unfair and inaccurate. For example, the Australian government was instrumental in making Gallipoli an important war memorial. The Turkish government did nothing until recently.

And they have not relegated the Greek anti-Communist soldiers to the dustbin of history. On the contrary, they are honoured very highly.

[Stavros]

No one is suggesting that Greeks adopt a Turkish approach to democracy. The military
should stay out of politics. Greece learned that lesson some time ago. Nor am arguing that Turks are "more" respectful to their war dead. Only that the Greek government and media have largely ignored and do not publicize the contributions of those that fought wars against Communism. Perhaps they don't want to offend the Left. Perhaps it is because of a lingering Anti-Americanism. Maybe they are being politically correct. I agree that all of us should respect and remember those that have fought and died in our country's wars regardless of our feelings about the war itself. That applies especially to Americans.

[clifford boxley]

would like to make contact with the members of this force that are still with us today. they belong as members of the 1st cavalry division association.

[Dino]

My dad fought in Korea as part of the Greek Expeditionary Forces-was wounded twice and never really spoke of his experiences there other than the wave attacks of the Chinese and and that he saw a lot of death over there. That's about as specific as he got. He emigrated to the U.S. in '56. He was a proud Greek and a proud American. I would love to be able to find some sort of record or reference for researching his military service.

I served in the U.S. Army and was stationed in Frankfurt and had on occasion run into Greeks living in Germany. To say that they were anti-American is an understatement. As a Greek-American I was regarded as a Xenos, and with suspicion, instead of being welcomed with open arms or as a brother. One of these occasions was at the Greek Orthodox Church in Gruneberg Weg Park in Frankfurt. I was even asked what I was doing there and what did I want. The remark that contemporary Greeks are relegating their Korea-era service members to history's dustbin does not surprise me. The preference seems to be to distance them selves from all things American. By all accounts my dad was proud of his service, proud that he fought along side US forces which largely trained and supplied the Greek forces after WWII and proud of my service as well. I only wish he lived long enough to see me get my sergeant stripes.

I'm proud that he's considered an extended member of the U.S. 1st Cav for his service in Korea.

[Stavros]

Dino,

You should be rightly proud of your father's service. The Greeks in Korea gave a good account of themselves. Unfortunately their service has largely been forgotten.

I am surprised however by the welcome your received from the Greeks in Germany since it does not match my experience in Greece where I was stationed. I was embraced by most Greeks except for a few exceptions and treated accordingly. Greeks in Germany are not considered Germans and never will be. You can see what Germans think of Greeks nowadays as lazy and shiftless despite the fact that thousand of them worked to build the "new" Germany often at low wages. Anti-American feelings used to be very common in Greece, I suspect now with a bellicose unrestrained Turkey next door they might wish we hadn't left.