Wonju: The Gettysburg of the Korean War

by J.D. Coleman

By December 1950, the dramatic entrance of Communist China into the war had forced the retreat of U.S., South Korean, and other United Nations troops from the Yalu River back into South Korea. In February, 1951, near a central South Korean town named wonju, UN forces finally quit running and started fighting--and stopped the Chinese juggernaut cold. Just as the Battleo of Gettysburg was the high water mark of the Confederacy's bid for secession, the Chinese offensive launched at Wonju was the high point from which China's hopes for victory soon faded. This is the first book to show that after fifteen days of combat at Wonju, Chinese leaders realized that they could not win the war andcould possibly lose it. On this not particularly well-known battlefield, UN forces led by brave U.S. and South Korean fighting men ensured South Korean independence. These battles reinvigorated the UN war effort, thanks in no small part to the leadership of the U.S. Eighth Army's new commander, Lt. Gen. Matthew Ridgway. J.D. Coleman's comparison bewteen the pivotal battles of Wonju and Gettysburg is original and thought-provoking.

303 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 2000

About the author

Abandoned by his father as a child Coleman was raised by his mother in Kalispell, Montana.

After graduating from Flathead High School, J.D. joined the Montana Army National Guard in 1948 and in April of that year went on active duty with the U.S. Army. After basic training, J.D. was assigned to the 11th Airborne Division in Sendai, Japan, and proudly became a "rice paddy jumper."

With the start of hostilities in Korea, J.D. served as an Airborne infantryman in the 187th Regimental Combat Team (Airborne) and during the conflict, made two combat jumps behind enemy lines. J.D. was honorably discharged in 1952 after four years of service, returned to Kalispell, where he met his future wife, Madeline Young.

J.D. and Madeline were married Sept. 14, 1952, and the couple moved to Missoula where J.D. pursued a degree in journalism at the University of Montana and graduated in 1956.


While attending the university full time, J.D. worked at a local radio station where he covered local news and sports. After graduation, J.D. worked for a newspaper in Pasco, Wash., and then returned to Missoula and became the assistant sports information director at the University of Montana. He later took the position of news director and editorial writer for Missoula radio station KBTK.

J.D. remained affiliated with the U.S. Army Reserve and received a direct commission as a second lieutenant in 1958. In 1963, J.D. returned to active duty with the U.S. Army and was assigned to Fort Benning, Ga., where he was an infantry company commander with the 11th Air Assault Division (test), which was later re-designated the 1st Air Cavalry Division (airmobile). As a captain in August 1965, he deployed to Vietnam with the 1st Cav, initially as assistant public information officer. During this time J.D. wrote the official After Action Report of the Pleiku campaign that was extensively studied by senior leaders in the military; this report later became the basis for his first published book, "Pleiku, The Dawn of Helicopter Warfare."

Later, during his first tour, he was selected for command of a paratrooper infantry rifle company with the First Cavalry Division (B Co. 2/8). There, J.D. served with distinction and was awarded a Silver Star and a Bronze Star with "V" for valor for actions during a pivotal battle in the Central Highlands of Vietnam, during which he and his company of soldiers successfully led the defense of a special forces camp as several battalions of North Vietnamese army regulars furiously assaulted it. The 18 hours of intense combat won his unit the first Valorous Unit Citation ever awarded to a rifle company in Vietnam.

He stayed on active duty until 1979 leaving the Army as a Lieutenant Colonel. In 1989, his first book on Vietnam was published, "Pleiku: The Dawn of Helicopter Warfare in Vietnam," covering events of his first tour with the First Cav in Vietnam. He followed up with his second book in 1991, "Incursion: From America's Chokehold on the NVA Lifelines to the Sacking of the Cambodian Sanctuaries." In 2002 his third and final book was published, "WONJU, The Gettysburg of the Korean War."

J.D. Coleman died from Cancer in 2005. He was survived by his wife, two daughters and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. In addition to the Silver Star, he was awarded three Legions of Merit, four Bronze Stars (with the "V" device for valor), two Combat Infantryman Badgess and a Meritorious Service Medal.

Reviews

[Chris Holliman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am grateful to the author for writing a book about a forgotten part of a forgotten war. “Wonju” is a narrative of the events in central Korea in January and February 1951 when the Eighth Army learned how to fight Chinese forces. Coleman’s provides a readable history for the general public that includes descriptions of troop displacements as well as first person combat accounts by troops on the ground. I wish that Coleman had access to more sources but, by the time of his writing, many of the participants had passed - a fact that he laments. I would recommend this book to anyone seeking to learn more about an important turning point in the Korean War.