Tag: Korean War

December 19, 1907: Colonel Ruby Bradley Born

Ruby Bradley was born near Spencer on December 19, 1907. As a member of the Army Nurse Corps, she would become one of the most decorated women in U.S. military history.

Bradley’s ordeal also is one of the most incredible stories of World War II. Just hours after attacking Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Japan bombed American defenses in the Philippines, where Bradley was stationed as an Army nurse.

About three weeks later, she was captured and imprisoned in an internment camp in Manila. Conditions in the camp were brutal and kept deteriorating as the war dragged on.

But Bradley and her fellow nurses cared for the sick and taught good hygiene to the prisoners. She also helped with 230 surgeries and delivered 13 babies. When the camp was liberated in February 1945, Bradley’s weight had dropped to only 86 pounds.

She went on to serve as chief nurse of the Eighth Army during the Korean War and retired as a full colonel in 1963. During her career, she received 34 medals and citations of bravery, including two Legion of Merit medals and two Bronze Stars.

July 5, 1950: Pvt. Kenneth Shadrick Killed in Action in Korea

On July 5, 1950, Army private Kenneth Shadrick of Wyoming County was killed in action, becoming one of the first U.S. servicemen killed in action during the Korean War.

He was brought down by North Korean machine-gun fire in the opening days of the conflict. Shortly thereafter, Time magazine ran a profile of Shadrick, claiming he was the first U.S. military casualty of the war. However, it’s now believed that other Americans died earlier on that same day.

Shadrick was one of more than 800 West Virginians to die during the Korean War, out of 112,000 West Virginia men and women who served. While some members of the West Virginia National Guard were assigned to Germany, which was rebuilding following World War II, other guardsmen served on the frontlines in Korea, including four companies of the 1092nd Engineer Combat Battalion from Parkersburg and Salem.

Four West Virginians received the Medal of Honor during the Korean War: Raleigh County native Cornelius Charlton, Darwin Kyle of Boone County, Ralph Pomeroy of Greenbrier County, and William Shuck Jr. of Mineral County. The war ended in 1953.

June 2, 1951: Sergeant Cornelius Charlton Killed in Battle

On June 2, 1951, Sergeant Cornelius Charlton was killed in battle. He was 21 years old. Charlton was a native of East Gulf in Raleigh County, the eighth of 17 children. His family moved to New York when he was a teenager, and he enlisted in the Army at age 17.  

When the Korean War broke out, he was transferred to Korea. Charlton volunteered for combat and was assigned to the 24th Infantry—the Army’s last all-black regiment.

On June 2, Charlton’s platoon was trying to capture a heavily defended hill. After his platoon leader was injured, Charlton took over and led three charges up the hill.

Badly wounded, he made one last dash into enemy fire, firing round after round at a Chinese bunker. Charlton died from his wounds and was awarded a posthumous Medal of Honor. In 1954, the Charlton Memorial Bridge on the West Virginia Turnpike was dedicated in his honor.

Sergeant Charlton was originally buried in a family cemetery in Mercer County. In 1990, his body was moved to an American Legion cemetery in Beckley and then reinterred in Arlington National Cemetery in 2008.

Korean War Veteran Honored at Concord University

Friday marks Korean War Veteran Recognition Day in West Virginia. Concord University held a ceremony to honor those who fought in the conflict. James Kahle, a local veteran, was the guest speaker.

Kahle  joined the military after just one year in college and at first was stationed in Montomery, Alabama. Later, he moved to the northeast, but he was ultimately deployed to Japan, and then on to Korea when the conflict broke out. While there he worked as a mail deliverer.

During his speech at the ceremony on Concord’s campus,  Kahle remembered how much he enjoyed the people there,  wishing he could return for a visit.

While Kahle spoke about the world of 50 years ago, he also addressed current conflicts. For him, the world has changed tremendously and he said he relies on his Christian beliefs to guide his view.

“We’re still in wars, and wars, well, if you’re a reader of scriptures, they’re always going to happen, there’s always going to be wars,” Kahle says. “And rumors of war…I can’t hardly imagine how it is.”

The ceremony wrapped with a video tribute to the Korean war.

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