Air Force Enlisted History
The helicopter, essentially a novelty in WWII, became an important player in war. Rescue squadrons greatly improved the chances of a pilot being recovered from behind enemy lines and, if wounded, receiving adequate medical attention more quickly. On 10 October 1950, an H-5 crew administered plasma to an injured pilot in flight?a first. Operating everything from helicopters to amphibious planes to even its own mini-Navy, the exploits of the 3d Air Rescue Squadron made it the most decorated unit of the Korean war.
The success of the US-led counteroffensive ended abruptly in late November with the full-scale entrance of China into the war. Over the course of the next 2 months, the Chinese, together with the remnants of the routed North Korean Army, advanced 40 miles south of the South Korean capital of Seoul but were halted by stiffening ground resistance, United States Air Force close air support and air interdiction, and its own stretched supply lines. Limited allied offensives in the ensuing months brought US, UN, and South Korean forces back near the 38th parallel by February 1951. After 2 1/2 more years of war, including 2 years of truce negotiations, the war ended on 27 July 1953 near that demarcation line.
On a variety of levels, the Korean war represented a change in US participation in war. Two were of particular note. First, the realities of the cold war redefined the term ?victory.? In quasi-proxy conflicts such as the Korean war, victory could mean something less than destroying the enemy?s armed forces or replacing governments.
?Containment? (of communism), the US-stated position of the cold war since 1947, became reality.
Second, the US Armed Forces, and the United States Air Force, in particular, fought the war in the midst of a technological evolution, an evolution that saw the talent and skill of its enlisted force used significantly. Propellers gave way to jets; bombsights that were state of the art in WWII gave way to much more effective electronic versions. During this technological evolution, Master Sergeant LeRoy Henderson received recognition when he earned the Legion of Merit for inventing a new technique to replace hinge pins on the F-84 aircraft. A two-man, 20-hour job could now be accomplished in 2 hours by one mechanic.
Continued in Part 2 -- Vietnam Era
The success of the US-led counteroffensive ended abruptly in late November with the full-scale entrance of China into the war. Over the course of the next 2 months, the Chinese, together with the remnants of the routed North Korean Army, advanced 40 miles south of the South Korean capital of Seoul but were halted by stiffening ground resistance, United States Air Force close air support and air interdiction, and its own stretched supply lines. Limited allied offensives in the ensuing months brought US, UN, and South Korean forces back near the 38th parallel by February 1951. After 2 1/2 more years of war, including 2 years of truce negotiations, the war ended on 27 July 1953 near that demarcation line.
On a variety of levels, the Korean war represented a change in US participation in war. Two were of particular note. First, the realities of the cold war redefined the term ?victory.? In quasi-proxy conflicts such as the Korean war, victory could mean something less than destroying the enemy?s armed forces or replacing governments.
?Containment? (of communism), the US-stated position of the cold war since 1947, became reality.
Second, the US Armed Forces, and the United States Air Force, in particular, fought the war in the midst of a technological evolution, an evolution that saw the talent and skill of its enlisted force used significantly. Propellers gave way to jets; bombsights that were state of the art in WWII gave way to much more effective electronic versions. During this technological evolution, Master Sergeant LeRoy Henderson received recognition when he earned the Legion of Merit for inventing a new technique to replace hinge pins on the F-84 aircraft. A two-man, 20-hour job could now be accomplished in 2 hours by one mechanic.
Continued in Part 2 -- Vietnam Era
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