The Korean War, 70 Years Ago, The Gazette and Daily, York PA
Korean War Weekly Front Pages
14 October – 20 October 1951
The Gazette and Daily, York PA
Soviet help is sought while the combatants work on defining security zones.
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On Monday General Ridgway broadcast his “heartfelt grief” over the death of a 12-year-old boy and the wounding of the lad’s two-year-old brother in the strafing of neutral territory by Allied planes. The planes had hit the area near Panmunjom and a hill near Kaesong. There was no immediate announcement whether the liaison officers had made any progress in restarting the talks. The officers seemed to be nearing agreement when the strafing incident interrupted their negotiations. The next day, the Supreme Allied Commander said the UN was standing firm on its demand for a cease-fire along the Korean battle line. The Communists had insisted on a truce line at the Parallel. Despite efforts to resume peace talks once again, he promised that UN forces would continue their offensive in Korea, with the goal of taking as much ground as possible. “The purpose of the Eighth Army is still to repel aggression,” he said.
The Allies had offered the Communists a compromise on the dispute over the security which was blocking renewal of peace talks. The compromise came swiftly after an Allied warning that the Reds needed to quit stalling or endure a winter campaign against possibly stronger UN forces. Allied liaison officers suggested on Thursday that “non-attack” areas of three miles should surround Kaesong and Panmunjom. The Allies earlier had demanded a zone of 3,000 yards, about a mile and a half. The next day the Reds agreed to the Allied zone proposal, and proposed in turn a two-mile attack-free corridor to Panmunjom from Musan and Kaesong. The Allies countered with a compromise of 400 yards for the corridor. Should the enemy accept the Allied offer, the only remaining issue to be settled was whether Allied aircraft should fly over security zones. The Allies believed they should.
Midweek the State Department disclosed that it had appealed to Soviet Russia to help bring about a “realistic armistice agreement” in Korea. The response from Russia was a long statement by the Soviet Foreign Minister blaming the US for the failure to agree on terms and attacking as insincere the Secretary of State’s assurances that the US had “no aggressive designs” on Russia. But the Russians also stated that the Soviet Union “agrees to examine all important and unsettled questions” and measures to improve international relations.
Allied infantry on Monday smashed ahead another mile and a half, attacking along a 22-mile front below Kumsong, a Communist supply and staging depot some 30 miles north of the 38th Parallel. Kumsong is well protected by mountains. Three Allied divisions had captured two more hills in their central front offensive and were now within easy artillery range of Kumsong, the foe’s central front assembly area. By Friday, UN infantrymen had assaulted a ridgeline only two and one-half miles from the city.
Two York soldiers, previously listed as missing in action, were believed to be prisoners of war in a prison camp in Korea along with a third country soldier earlier reported as captured. One of the soldiers had been in a Chinese camp since he was reported missing in April. His mother had received several letters from him since 30 November, when he was reported missing. Another of the soldiers had been mentioned in a propaganda broadcast.
(Photo courtesy newspapers.com, York Gazette and Daily)