| Above is one of many LST's to serve in the Korean War. This is not the only time that LST's served in ice laden waters |
| LST's in the Korean War Continuing to serve where materials and troops were needed. |
| The landing of US Troops at Inchon, Korea in September 1950 was the beginning....... |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Amphibious ships of the Inchon Invasion Landing Ships, Dock USS Cabildo LSD 16 USS Colonial LSD 18 USS Comstock LSD 19 USS Gunston Hall LSD 5 USS Tortuga LSD 26 USS Whetstone LSD 27 Landing Ships, Men LSM 226 LSM 546 Landing Ships, Men, Rocket (launching) LSMR 404 LSMR 409 LSMR 412 LSMR 525 LSMR 536 (USS White River) Landing Ships, Tanks LST 391 LST 503 LST 529 LST 561 LST 629 LST 692 LST 715 LST 722 LST 758 (pictured) LST 762 LST 772 LST 819 LST 822 LST 914 LST 963 (USS Sphinx) LST 973 (USS Trapp) LST 975 LST 1006 LST 1032 LST 1048 LST 1073 LST 1078 LST 1080 (USS Pender County) LST 1081 LST 1082 LST 1083 LST 1089 LST 1101 LST 1148 Many LST's and other ships delivered materials and equipment to and from Korea after the Inchon Invasion.The LST 1126 made one such a trip in 1954. We experienced the famous, and extremely fast falling tide around Inchon, and were required to go on shore power when unable to unload and disembark in the short time required. Liberty on base only was allowed, however the Marine guards at the base entrance didn't know that and some ventured into the city. Returning through the bow doors with contriband ... (WHO, ME ??) |
| Women serving in the Korean War In August 1950, the Women Reserves were mobilized for the Korean War; the number of women on active duty in the Marine Corps peaked at 2,787. The Korean War gave women serving in the Marine Corps new career opportunities outside of the usual clerical and administrative service and a chance to return to several duty stations. A 1951 report by the Procedures Analysis Office determined that Women Marines were capable of serving in 27 of 43 military occupational specialties such as personnel and administration, intelligence, logistics, mapping and surveying, fire control, instrument repair, electronics and aviation electronics, motor transport, public information, operational communications and disbursing. However, most Women Marines served in the traditional areas such as clerical and administration. For women officers, only nine fields were considered appropriate for women. My, how times have changed!!. We now have women filling nearly all of the same billets as the men, and proving themselve worthy of the assignments. |
| LST- loaded with Marines for Inchon, Korea Invasion |
| Caring for the wounded in transit to the USA on a C-54, and where needed in Korea |
 |
 |
| Inside the Tank Deck (WWII Tanks) |
 |
| Amphibious Tanks (AMTRAKS) Korean War - Vietnam War Gulf Wars |
|
1953 The ship participated in the preparations for nuclear bomb testing in the Marshall Islands. The 1126 operated in and around the Marshall Islands making port in Hawaii for materials and personnel required in the islands. Jack Miller gives a good day by day overview of this tour of duty in the 1951 - 1953 years section. Because of the secrecy of the duty, it was considered a hardship tour of duty with many married and short timers getting off before it left for the islands. The ship was on this tour of duty for most of the year, arriving back in the states in October 1953. |
| 1950 LST-1126 operated around San Diego and supposedly made the Alaskan resupply run again. |
| 1951 On 10 February 1951 LCDR EASLEY was relieved by LT. J. H. MEHUS, USN, who retained command of the ship throughout the Korean conflict. During 1951 the ship operated mainly in the Southern California area but made another tour of duty to Point Barrow, Alaska. After returning, LST- 1126 also spent two months in the yards. |
| 1952 LST-1126 operated in and out of San Diego for the entire year of 1952. During the summer it made another tour of duty to Point Barrow, Alaska and other ports in the area delivering materials and equipment for the continued build up. The ship sustained major damages to the hull just beneath the boiler room during the trip to Point Barrow, Alaska and had to gointo dry dock in Bremerton, Washington for repairs. This was during the late part of 1952, and while there the crew was purged of short timers. It was scheduled to go to Korea, but another LST which was to be used in the Marshall Islands was unable to make the trip and the LST 1126 was chosen to take it's place. |
| The Korean War, June 1950 - July 1953 --
On 25 June 1950, the young Cold War suddenly turned hot, bloody and expensive. Within a few days, North Korea's invasion of South Korea brought about a United Nations' "police action" against the aggressors. That immediately produced heavy military and naval involvement by the United States. While there were no illusions that the task would be easy, nobody expected that this violent conflict would continue for more than three years. Throughout the summer of 1950, the U.S. and the other involved United Nations' states scrambled to contain North Korea's fast-moving army, assemble the forces necessary to defeat it and simultaneously begin to respond to what was seen as a global military challenge from the Communist world. Though America's Armed Forces had suffered from several years' of punishing fiscal constraints, the end of World War II just five years earlier had left a vast potential for recovery. U.S. materiel reserves held large quantities of relatively modern ships, aircraft, military equipment and production capacity that could be reactivated in a fraction of the time necessary to build them anew. More importantly, the organized Reserve forces included tens of thousands of trained people, whose World War II experiences remained reasonably fresh and relevant. In mid-September 1950 a daring amphibous invasion at Inchon fractured the North Korean war machine. In the following two months UN armies pushed swiftly through North Korea. However, with victory seemingly in sight, China intervened openly, and the Soviet Union not-so-openly, on the side of their defeated fellow Communist neighbor. The UN was thrown back midway into South Korea. Early in the new year, the Chinese army was in turn contained and forced to retreat. By the middle of 1951, the front lines had stabilized near where the war started twelve months earlier. Negotiations began amid hopes that an early truce could be arranged. But this took two more frustrating years, during which the contending forces fought on, with the U.S. Navy providing extensive air and gunfire support, a constant amphibious threat, relentless minesweeping and a large logistics effort. Finally, on 27 July 1953, with a new regime in the USSR and the blunting of a final Communist offensive, negotiations concluded and fighting ended. However, the Cold War, considerably warmed up by the Korean experience, would maintain its costly existence for nearly four more decades. (DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY -- NAVAL HISTORICAL CENTER) |
| Inchon Invasion, September 1950
Four LSTs unload men and equipment while "high and dry" at low tide on Inchon's Red Beach, 16 September 1950, the day after the initial landings there. USS LST-715 is on the right end of this group, which also includes LST-611, LST-845 and one other. Another LST is beached on the tidal mud flats at the extreme right. Note bombardment damage to the building in center foreground, many trucks at work, Wolmi-Do island in the left background and the causeway connecting the island to Inchon. Ship in the far distance, just beyond the right end of Wolmi-Do, is USS Lyman K. Swenson (DD-729). |
 |
| Korean War Casualties
The United States Armed Forces suffered 33,665 Americans killed in action in Korea; 3,275 died there from non-hostile causes. *TOTAL: 36,940 Americans gave their lives in the Korean Theater. There were 92,134 Americans wounded in action in 103,284 incidents. A total of 1,789,000 Americans served in the Korean theater during the Korean War from June 25, 1950 to July 27, 1953. There are still 8,176 MIAs. South Korea sustained 1,312,836 military casualties, including 415,004 dead; casualties among other United Nations allies totaled 16,532, including 3,094 dead. Estimated Communist casualties were 2 million. The economic and social damage to the Korean nation was incalculable. With casualties like this how can it be called a FORGOTEN WAR ??? |
| SORRY-Page under construction .... New material - More History of LST 1126 |
 |
| While the Korean War was ongoing, the LST 1126 was operating in and around the Marshall Islands where nuclear test were held later in 1954. (Castle Operations) |