Thailand in the Korean War

Overview of Thailand's involvement in the Korean War

The Royal Thai Expeditionary Forces to Korea
21st Combined Regiment

Emblem of the Royal Thai Expeditionary Forces to Korea

Active| August 1950 – March 1955
Disbanded| 1955, after armistice
Country| Thailand
Allegiance| United Nations
Branch| Army
Type| Infantry Battalion
Size| 11,786 over the course of the war[1]
Part of| US 1st Cavalry Division
Nickname(s)| "Little Tigers"
Engagements|

* Korean War
* Third Battle of Seoul
* Battle of Pork Chop Hill
* Battle of Chatkol

Decorations| Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citations (3)
Presidential Unit Citation (United States) (Army)
Commanders
Notable
commanders| Major General Prince Pisit Dispongsa-Diskul
Lt. Colonel Kriengkrai Attanand
Major Kriangsak Chamanan

Military unit

The Kingdom of Thailand was one of the 21 countries who responded to the United Nations request to send troops to aid South Korea during the Korean War 1950–1953.

## Intervention

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In July 1950, Thailand was the first Asian nation to respond to the US call for allies in Korea. Prime Minister Plaek Phibunsongkhram told parliament that, "by sending just a small number of troops as a token of our friendship, we will get various things in return." A month after agreeing to commit troops, Thailand received US$10 million in US economic aid and a US$25 million loan from the World Bank.[2] Forty thousand tons of rice were sent to Korea immediately as food aid, followed by an infantry battalion from the 1st Infantry Battalion of the 21st Regimental Combat Team[3] (later renamed the 21st Infantry Regiment, Queen's Guard), formed on 22 September, and several warships.[4] Later in the conflict, several transport aircraft were sent by the Thai government.

## 21st Royal Thailand Regiment

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### Operations in Korea

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* Battle of Pork Chop Hill
* Third Battle of Seoul

### Battle of Pork Chop Hill

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Main article: Battle of Pork Chop Hill

The Battle of Pork Chop Hill (31 October to 11 November 1952) involved numerous battles struggling for control of key territory along the front line while truce talks at Panmunjom proceeded. Pork Chop Hill was held by soldiers of the US 7th Infantry Division, the Thai 21st Infantry Battalion, and other units. They together repulsed attacks by the People's Volunteer Army (PVA). The Chinese made an all-out effort to capture the hill. Eventually, the UN forces withdrew from its heights, ceding it to the Chinese.

After the engagement, the United States military awarded Major Kriangsak Chamanan the Legion of Merit of which he was later invited and received scholarship to study at Fort Leavenworth, where he left his name in the school hall of fame. In 1977 he became the 25th Prime Minister of Thailand, serving until 1980. Another 12 received Silver Stars and 26 were awarded Bronze Star medals. The Thai unit earned the nickname "Little Tigers" for their valour.[5]

Thai Soldiers arriving at Pusan, 1950.

In last spring of the war (March to June 1953), the Thai infantry spent most of their time training and as 9th US Corps reserve. They then relocated to Kyo-dong on 4 May 1953. A battle followed in the vicinity of the "Boomerang" from 14 to 27 July 1953 northwest of Kimhwa, after a Belgian victory in the Battle of Chatkol.[citation needed]

### Post-armistice

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Small Thai contingents remained in Korea until June 1972[4] and a symbolic presence remains there in 2020.

## Navy

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The USS Glendale and Gallup in Thailand, 1951 prior to being handed over to the Royal Thai Navy. The Gallup, which had already served in Korea with the US Navy, would also serve there with the Thai navy under the name HMTS Prasae II.

On 7 November 1950 two Thai warships, HTMS Prasae and HTMS Bangpakong, arrived in South Korea. They served under United Nations command, performing escort duty and shelling enemy targets on land. The Prasae ran aground on the coast near Yangyang during a snowstorm. Attempts to refloat her failed, and she was scuttled on 7 January 1951, her wreck being shelled to complete her destruction. The Bangpakong left Korea on 16 February 1952. On 29 December 1951 two more Thai warships, HTMS Prasae II and the HTMS Tachin, arrived in Korea. They sailed for home a year and a half after the armistice on 21 January 1955.[4]

The transport ship HTMS Sichang arrived in Korea on 7 November 1950, remaining there until 15 July 1951.

## Air Force

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Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) Douglas C-47 Skytrain aircraft took part in the Korean War. Three task force contingents of the Royal Thai Air Force would serve in South Korea:[citation needed]

1. The first of a total of twenty-two Air Liaison Officers Teams was dispatched to the United Nations Command in 1951.
2. The first of twenty-nine Air Nursing Teams began its mission on 26 December 1950, remaining there until 1974.
3. A total of twenty-nine RTAF airlift mission teams served in South Korea from 1951 to 1971.

## Heritage

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Thai Victory Medal for the Korean War.

Ribbon of the Thai Victory Medal for the Korean War.

During the course of the Korean War, Thailand dispatched a total of 11,786 soldiers to Korea.[5] It is recorded that 129 Thai soldiers were killed in the war, 1,139 were wounded, and five were missing in action (MIA).[4] In 1974, the Government of the Republic of Korea built a monument, and a Thai pavilion in Pocheon City, to honour the Thai soldiers who took part in the Korean War. On 4 November 2008, the Thai Embassy in Seoul, with the cooperation from the Office of Defense Attache, hosted the opening ceremony of the Thai memorial at the United Nations Memorial Cemetery in Korea (UNMCK) to commemorate the sacrifices made by Thai soldiers during the Korean War. Thailand still maintains, as of 2020, one liaison officer at the Armistice Committee site and six soldiers as members of the United Nations Command Honor Guard Company in Seoul.

HTMS Prasae II was decommissioned from the Royal Thai Navy in 2000, and was designated as a museum ship. She is visible at the mouth of the Prasae River, Rayong Province (Thailand) by the Prasae River Communities Committee where she serves as a memorial. There is also a monument to the 21st Infantry Regiment.

## See also

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* United Nations Forces in the Korean War
* Medical support in the Korean War

## References

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1. ^ "Bilateral relations : Bilateral relations - Royal Thai Embassy, Seoul". Archived from the original on 19 October 2013. Retrieved 17 May 2013.
2. ^ Baker, Chris; Phongpaichit, Pasuk (2009). A History of Thailand (2nd, paper ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 144\. ISBN 9780521759151.
3. ^ "Soldier Vocabulary" (PDF). Inspector General Department (in Thai). Royal Thai Army. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
4. ^ a b c d "UN Allies; The Kingdom of Thailand". The 60th Anniversary of the Korean War Commemoration Committee. Archived from the original on 14 March 2012. Retrieved 3 July 2012.
5. ^ a b Satjipanon, Chaiyong (22 June 2010). "Heroism of the Little Tigers". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 24 February 2020.

## Further reading

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* The History of the UN Forces in the Korean War-1 (Ethiopia, Philippines, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey) - ROK Ministry of National Defense Institute for Military History, 1972 (E-BOOK) Archived 9 July 2023 at the Wayback Machine
* The History of the UN Forces in the Korean War-1 (Ethiopia, Philippines, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey) - ROK Ministry of National Defense Institute for Military History, 1972 (PDF) Archived 28 June 2023 at the Wayback Machine
* The History of the UN Forces in the Korean War-6 (Summary) - ROK Ministry of National Defense Institute for Military History, 1977 (E-BOOK) Archived 9 July 2023 at the Wayback Machine
* The History of the UN Forces in the Korean War-6 (Summary) - ROK Ministry of National Defense Institute for Military History, 1977 (PDF) Archived 28 June 2023 at the Wayback Machine

* The Korean War and the UN Forces - ROK Ministry of National Defense Institute for Military History, 2015 (E-BOOK) Archived 9 July 2023 at the Wayback Machine (in Korean)
* The Korean War and the UN Forces - ROK Ministry of National Defense Institute for Military History, 2015 (PDF) Archived 9 July 2023 at the Wayback Machine (in Korean)
* The Statistics of the Korean War - ROK Ministry of National Defense Institute for Military History, 2014 (E-BOOK) Archived 9 July 2023 at the Wayback Machine (in Korean)
* The Statistics of the Korean War - ROK Ministry of National Defense Institute for Military History, 2014 (PDF) Archived 11 January 2021 at the Wayback Machine (in Korean)
* The History of the UN Forces in the Korean War - ROK Ministry of National Defense Institute for Military History, 1998 (E-BOOK) Archived 9 July 2023 at the Wayback Machine (in Korean)
* The History of the UN Forces in the Korean War - ROK Ministry of National Defense Institute for Military History, 1998 (PDF) Archived 9 July 2023 at the Wayback Machine (in Korean)
* The Summary of the Korean War - ROK Ministry of National Defense Institute for Military History, 1986 (PDF) Archived 9 July 2023 at the Wayback Machine (in Korean)
* The History of the Korean War-11: The UN Forces (New Zealand, Philippines, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, Denmark, India, Italy, Norway, Sweden) - ROK Ministry of National Defense Institute for Military History, 1980 (E-BOOK) Archived 7 July 2023 at the Wayback Machine (in Korean)
* The History of the Korean War-11: The UN Forces (New Zealand, Philippines, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, Denmark, India, Italy, Norway, Sweden) - ROK Ministry of National Defense Institute for Military History, 1980 (PDF) Archived 9 July 2023 at the Wayback Machine (in Korean)

## External links

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Thailand in the Korean War.

* Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs (2010), The Eternal Partnership: Thailand and Korea - A History of the Participation of the Thai Forces in the Korean War (PDF), Sejong City, South Korea: Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs, archived from the original (PDF) on 26 August 2014, retrieved 22 August 2014
* 60 Years of the "Little Tiger" – Thai Soldiers in the Korean War
* Thai Forces
* History of the Royal Thai Air Force

* v
* t
* e

Korean War

25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953

Background|

* Korea divided (1945–1949)
* Prelude to war (1950)

Belligerents|

| United Nations|

* Republic of Korea
* Australia
* Belgium and Luxembourg
* Canada
* Colombia
* Ethiopia
* France
* Greece
* Netherlands
* New Zealand
* Philippines
* Thailand
* Turkey
* South Africa
* United Kingdom
* United States
* Arkansas Army National Guard
* 65th Infantry Regiment (Puerto Rico)

|

Eastern Bloc|

* Democratic People's Republic of Korea
* China (PVA)
* Soviet Union

Medical (non-combat)
participants|

Medical support in the Korean War

* Czechoslovakia
* Denmark
* India
* Italy
* Norway
* Sweden
* Hungary
* West Germany

Political leaders|

* rok
* Syngman Rhee
* Shin Song-mo
* usa
* Harry S. Truman
* Dwight D. Eisenhower
* uk
* Clement Attlee
* Winston Churchill
* ca
* Louis St. Laurent
* dprk
* Kim Il Sung
* Pak Hon-yong
* Kim Chaek
* prc
* Mao Zedong
* Zhou Enlai
* ussr
* Joseph Stalin
* Georgy Malenkov
* Lavrentiy Beria
* Vyacheslav Molotov

Military commanders|

* rok
* Kim Hong-il
* Kim Jong-oh
* Chung Il-kwon
* Paik Sun-yup
* usa
* Douglas MacArthur
* Matthew Ridgway
* Mark Wayne Clark
* dprk
* Choi Yong-kun
* prc
* Peng Dehuai
* Chen Geng
* Deng Hua

Order of battle|

* Korean People's Army
* Republic of Korea Armed Forces
* Australia
* China
* United Nations contingents
* United States Eighth Army
* United States Seventh Fleet
* Korean People's Air Force

Military operations
• North Korean,
Chinese and
Soviet forces
• South Korean, U.S.,
Commonwealth
and United Nations
forces|

| North Korean offensive
(25 June – 15 September 1950)|

* Pokpoong
* Chuncheon
* 1st Seoul
* Gorangpo
* Kaesong–Munsan
* Korea Strait
* Ongjin
* Uijeongbu
* Suwon Airfield
* Air Campaign
* Andong
* Chumonchin Chan
* Osan
* Pyongtaek
* Chonan
* Chochiwon
* Kum River
* Taejon
* Sangju
* Yongdong
* Hwanggan
* Hadong
* Notch
* Pusan Perimeter
* Masan
* P'ohang-dong
* Taegu
* 1st Naktong Bulge
* Bowling Alley
* Battle Mountain
* Kyongju
* Haman
* Nam River
* Ka-san
* Tabu-dong
* Yongsan
* 2nd Naktong Bulge

|

United Nations Command
Counteroffensive
(15 September – 30 October 1950)|

* Haeju
* Inchon
* 2nd Seoul
* Hill 282
* Sariwon
* Pyongyang
* Yongyu
* Kujin
* Chongju

Chinese Intervention
(25 October 1950 – January 1951)|

* Onjong
* Unsan
* Pakchon
* Ch'ongch'on River
* Wawon
* Chosin Reservoir
* Task Force Faith
* 3rd Seoul
* Uijeongbu
* Chaegunghyon
* 1st and 2nd Wonju

Combat around the 38th parallel
(January – June 1951)|

* Thunderbolt
* Roundup
* Twin Tunnels
* Hoengsong
* Chipyong-ni
* 3rd Wonju
* Chuam-ni
* Wonsan
* Killer
* Ripper (4th Seoul)
* Maehwa-san
* Courageous
* Tomahawk
* Rugged
* Dauntless
* Spring offensive
* Imjin River
* Yultong
* Kapyong
* Soyang River
* UN May–June 1951 counteroffensive

Air operations
(1950–1953)|

* MiG Alley
* Sunchon
* Strangle
* Sui-ho Dam
* Bombing of North Korea 1950–1953

Naval operations
(1950–1953)|

* Korea Strait
* Chumonchin Chan
* Haeju
* Inchon
* Blockade of Wonsan
* Han River

Stalemate
(July 1951 – 27 July 1953)|

* Bloody Ridge
* Minden
* Punchbowl
* Heartbreak Ridge
* Han River
* Commando
* 1st Maryang-san
* Haktang-ni
* Polecharge
* 2nd Maryang-san
* Sunchon
* Hill Eerie
* Sui-ho Dam
* Old Baldy
* Blaze
* White Horse Hill
* Triangle Hill
* 1st Hook
* 2nd Hook
* Chatkol
* Outpost Vegas
* Pork Chop Hill
* 3rd Hook
* Outpost Harry
* Kumsong
* Samichon River
* Korean Armistice Agreement

Aftermath|

* Memorial Day
* Casualties
* War crimes
* Prisoners of war
* Armistice
* DMZ
* Korean DMZ Conflict
* Northern Limit Line
* Panmunjom Declaration

Popular culture|

* Documentary films
* Films
* Books
* Reenactment
* M*A*S*H
* Television series

Other|

* North Korea–South Korea relations
* Korean conflict
* Allegations of biological warfare
* American and British defectors
* Flying aces
* Impact on the economy of the United States
* MiG Alley
* Operation Blacklist Forty
* Operation Glory
* United Nations Memorial Cemetery
* Weapons

* See also:
* Korean War images
* Cold War

Portals:

* North Korea
* South Korea
* 1950s

* v
* t
* e

History of Thailand (1932–1973)

| Politics| Individuals and institutions| Key events

|
|

Monarchy of Thailand

* Prajadhipok (Rama VII)
* Ananda Mahidol (Rama VIII)
* Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX)

Regents of Thailand

* Rama VII
* The Prince of Nakhon Sawan
* The Prince Narisara Nuwattiwong
* Rama VIII
* The Prince Anuvatana
* Prince Aditya Dibabha
* Chao Phraya Yomarath (Pan Sukhum)
* Chao Phraya Bijayendra Yodhin (General Um Indrayodhin)
* Luang Praditmanutham (Dr. Pridi Banomyong)
* Rama IX
* Phra Suthamawinichay
* Phraya Nolarajasuwach (Thongdi Nolarajasuwach)
* Sa-nguan Chuthatemi
* The Prince of Chainat
* Phraya Manovaratsevi (Plod Vichear na Songkhla)
* The Prince Adireksorn Udomsakdi
* The Prince Bidyalabh Bridhyakon
* Luang Aduldejaraj (Bhat Phuengphrakhun)
* Queen Sirikit
* Princess Srisangwan

Prime Ministers of Thailand

* Phraya Manopakorn Nitithada
* General Phraya Phahon Phonphayuhasena
* Field Marshal Plaek Phibunsongkhram
* Major Khuang Aphaiwong
* Thawi Bunyaket
* Seni Pramoj
* Pridi Banomyong
* Rear Admiral Thawan Thamrongnawasawat
* Pote Sarasin
* Field Marshal Thanom Kittikachorn
* Field Marshal Sarit Thanarat

Military

* Field Marshal Phin Choonhavan
* General Phao Siyanon
* Lieutenant General Kat Katsongkhram
* Marshal of the Air Force Fuen Ritthakhanee

Others

* Direk Jayanama
* Luang Wichitwathakan

Institutions

* Khana Ratsadon
* Free Thai Movement
* National Military Council
* Communist Party
* Southeast Asia Treaty Organization
* Association of Southeast Asian Nations

Key events

* Siamese revolution of 1932
* Constitutions of Thailand
* April 1933 Siamese coup d'état
* June 1933 Siamese coup d'état
* Boworadet Rebellion
* Rebellion of the Sergeants
* Songsuradet rebellion
* Franco-Thai War
* Japanese invasion of Thailand
* World War II
* Thai cultural restoration
* 1947 Thai coup d'état
* 1948 Thai coup d'état
* Korean War
* Army General Staff plot
* Palace Rebellion
* Manhattan Rebellion
* Silent Coup (Thailand)
* 1957 Thai coup d'état
* 1958 Thai coup d'état
* Vietnam War
* Communist insurgency in Thailand
* 1971 Thai coup d'état
* 14 October 1973 Uprising

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