KATUSA in US Army
By Kim Yun-sik
There is no other program like the KATUSA (Korean Augmentation to the United States Army) at U.S. Army units stationed overseas. It is a unique system for the U.S. Army that allows South Korean soldiers to serve under the U.S. chain of command.
The program began after retreating South Korean soldiers were driven down to the Nakdong River front during the 1950-53 Korean War, South Korean stragglers joined in with American units for rations and shelter.
U.S. General Douglas MacArthur struggled with manpower shortages. In order to meet manpower requirements, the KATUSA program was proposed. This followed an informal agreement between the President of the Republic of Korea (ROK) and Gen. MacArthur.
In early August, the U.S. Army made it official, and planned to take 30,000 to 40,000 Korean army recruits and integrate them with U.S. combat units. The original conception of the program was to augment U.S. fighting forces with a ``buddy." The buddy would teach the KATUSA basic English and combat skills.
The ROK Army would pay and administer the KATUSA while the U.S. Army would provide rations, U.S. combat uniforms with a Korean army rank and special service items.
The first KATUSA class was made up of schoolboys and young men swept up from the streets and refugee camps of Busan and Daegu. My unit was assigned to activate KSC (Korean Service Corps) first and then to organize the first KATUSA soldier unit.
To support this program I was ordered to serve as a liaison officer between the 8th U.S. Army and the Civil Affair Office in Daegu.
In late August, Gen. MacArthur ordered General Walker to ship 8,000 Koreans to Japan as KATUSA forces for training. These unfortunate civilians were poured ashore at Yokohama, Japan, they were bewildered and scared. Many of them were sick and wore only sandals and shorts.
They were herded to U.S. camps where they were unenthusiastically welcomed by U.S. commanders. These trainees were classified into two groups, those middle school educated and those not.
However, they were trained in the use of small arms. After being poorly trained, those recruited were assigned to units earmarked for the Incheon amphibious landing operation on Sept 15. They supported the deployment of U.S. 5th Marine and ROK Marine 17th Regiment to secure the bridgehead at the Green-Beach Wolmi Island.
It would be a long time before the majority of KATUSA troops could be considered effective combat troops. Lacking understanding of their U.S. allies and training behavior, their performance was spotty at best. Some of them seemed to not even have a clear understanding of which end of a rifle the bullets came out.
By early November, when Chinese troops intervened in the Korean campaign, a new dimension was added to the war. 700 KATUSA soldiers were assigned to the 7th U.S Infantry Division which deployed to the Chosin Reservoir campaign where many U.S. service members were lost.
The sad truth was the U.S. Army was aware that their South Korean allies were extremely unprepared and could not be relied on for combat support
The 7th Division commander complained that the KATUSA could not be considered combat effective and the division was composed of ineffective augmentation troops. The commander described them as being stunned, confused and exhausted.
He, however, added it must be remembered that these were civilians who had been shanghaied out of the rice paddies and valleys of South Korea and simply dispatched to the 7th Division without warning. They were unpaid, cut off from their families, poorly equipped, poorly trained, and indifferently supplied.
However, soon after stabilization of the frontline, the picture drastically changed as the KATUSA could be better trained. Their duties expanded to scouting, intelligence, guarding POWs and assisting refugees where their interpreter's skills proved to be invaluable.
The U.S. troops came to acknowledge their KATUSA buddies were equal on the battlefield. By 1952, the frontline of U.S. troops was gradually being replaced with KATUSA. At the time the armistice was signed at the Panmunjeom, the number of KATUSA serving in the U.S. Army was about 24,000. After the ceasefire the program remained to enhance their mission capability with the U.S. units.
The KATUSA program offered greater prestige and more tangible benefits than those of the regular ROK Army, and so the government limits the number of new recruits.
Today KATUSA soldiers comprise approximately 10 percent of the total 8th Army manpower in Korea.
It is a prestigious service for young Korean men to serve as KATUSA soldiers, strict competitive examinations are held in a screening process in order to be recruited as KATUSA members.
The KATUSA program established an enviable reputation as they gallantly fought side by side with the U.S. and other U.N. forces in defending the ROK and preserving democracy and freedom.
It has been 57 years since the KATUSA program began, and more than 250,000 South Koreans have served their country. The KATUSA program continues to increase combat readiness for the U.S.-ROK alliance.
The writer is a professor at the Asian division, the University of Maryland in Yongsan, Seoul. He can be reached rokmankim@hotmail.com.