Forever etched in stone

Korean War Veteran’s image is preserved in history

 

By Paula L. Ratliff

JOBE Contributing author

 

His image is etched in stone among the nameless faces of over 2,400 service members who served in the Korean War. Just an image of a young man with no identifiers of name or rank. The picture depicts life before the evils of war that have remained with him for over 70 years. His strength, resiliency, and faith were tested, pushing him beyond the unimaginable as he survived 90 days as a prisoner of war, captured together with 15 members of his unit. He was the only one to survive.

Glasgow resident and U.S. Army Korean War Veteran Rondell DeVore (age 91) will be honored by the South Central Kentucky Cultural Center on Saturday, April 27, 2024, at 1:00 as they remember the honor the Korean War veterans from Allen, Barren, Hart, Metcalfe, and Monroe counties.

The Korean War (1950-1953) is often referred to as the “Forgotten War,” overshadowed by WWII and Vietnam. Yet, to those who served, the images of war are never forgotten, perhaps only eased by the passing of time and the healing of the soul.

DeVore joined the KY National Guard at the age of 18, while a senior at Edmonton High School, arriving in Korea just a few days before Christmas in 1951. He was a member of the 623rd Field Artillery Headquarters Battery, 18^th Airborne, 8240^th Army, and the Army Special Forces Unit. The 623^rd was the only guard unit from Kentucky to experience combat in Korea. He served 9 months of combat, earning $15 a month, a salary which was delayed by ten years due to the bureaucracy of government.

DeVore was initially trained as a radio operator starting in the Iron Triangle in Mundung-ni Valley and was later trained in SERE (Survive, Evade, Resistance, and Escape). He made a Landing Ship Tank (LST) Landing on the east coast of Korea in Pusan, now known as Busan, and crossed the Taebak Mountain Range located along the east coast of the Sea of Japan and he participated in the battles of Heartbreak Ridge which is north of the 18^th Parallel, Bloody Ridge, Nae-Dong and Smoke Valley, which was in the eastern mountains of an area known as the Punchbowl.

 

He served as a Forward Operating Post with a special operations unit called “Operation Dark Moon” whose job was to rescue prisoners of war from behind enemy lines. By moonlight, the special forces soldiers crept stealth-like into enemy camps, but rescues did not always go as planned. He remembers holding the hands of soldiers as they were dying. He said they would often be calling for their mothers or other loved ones. He said, “I held their hands as they passed from this life. At least I was there.”

In August 1952, his 15-member squad was ambushed and captured by hostile North Korean soldiers when they were 45-50 miles behind enemy lines. They endured brutal treatment and starvation, provided a cup of muddy water a day. After a “trial” and being charged as a “Capitalist Running Dog”, he was found guilty and sentenced to 4 days and nights in a 4×4 cage where he could not stand or lay down. At one point, he was buried alive. He suffered injuries to his head, right and left arms, and left leg.

He escaped when the US forces bombed the area during a surprise attack. At that time, only five of his comrades were still alive; however, four were killed at the hands of North Korean soldiers or by friendly fire, leaving him as the only survivor.

Highly Decorated

DeVore served from 1951-1953 and earned the following military decorations:

National Guard and Reserve Medal, Bronze Star Medal for Valor, Two Purple Hearts, Army Commendation Medal, Prisoner of War Medal, Good Conduct Medal with 1 Bronze Bar, National Defense Service Medal, Cold War Victory Medal, Combat Service Medal, Combat Service Commemorative Medal, American Defense Commemorative Medal, Overseas Service Commemorative Medal, U.S. Army Commemorative Medal, Airborne and Air Assault Commemorative Medal and the Line Crossers Badge

He has also received a letter of appreciation from Kim Dae-Jung, President of the Republic of Korea and the “Freedom is Not Free Commemorative Medallion” presented by Major General Seun Woo Choi, Supreme Commander of all South Korean Armed Forces. General Coo and DeVore served at Bloody Ridge and the Punchbowl.

In 2001, he received the American Presidential Unit Citation for meritorious service during the war. He also received the Republic of Korea service medal and his unit, the 623^rd, received the Korean Presidential Unit Citation for its part in repelling the North Korean and Chinese attack while at the Punchbowl. DeVore obtained the rank of Tech Sergeant, was a paratrooper, and earned his Night Jump Wings.

Etched in Stone

He was a young soldier at the age of 19 when the picture was taken in 1952. In 1995, he received a call that his face was on the memorial, having been etched into history on the black granite wall along with the faces of 2,400 others representing the land, sea, and air troops.

The memorial has a 164-foot long “Wall of Faces” which mirrors 19 statues standing in a “Field of Service” providing a double reflection and the allusion of 38 statues, representing the 38th Parallel, the line that delineates North and South Korea and the 38 months of war. The reflections of the statues are intermingled with the images of the faces, which from a distance, the etchings create the appearance of the rugged mountain ranges.

“Imagine my surprise,” he said, as he reminisced about the day he learned his image was on the wall. “It is an amazing monument.”

It would be seven years before he could visit the monument for the first time. He is the only known Kentuckian on the monument.

In an interview with the Washington Times on August 4, 2002, he talked of his discharge, “We didn’t come home to parades. I was discharged, and nobody met me. There were no bands, there was no fanfare.”

In 2019, Devore traveled to Washington, DC on the Bluegrass Honor Flight where he was honored for his service. He said he posed for a lot of pictures that day. He continues to stay active, and he enjoys spending time with his son and daughter, grandson, and two great-grandchildren. He mourns the loss of one grandson and is twice widowed.

DeVore reflected on his time in the military. “I am proud of my service and I would do it all again.”

His story is forever etched in the history of the world.

“Our nation honors her sons and daughters who answered the call to defend a country they never knew and a people they never met.”  Korean War Memorial