Richard S. Whitcomb, Brigadier General US Army: World War I, World War II and Korea ************************* TRIBUTE TO WHITCOMB by Choe Chong-dae The South Korea Times Nov. 25, 2019 Although it's been seven decades since the 1950-53, Korean War broke out, the United Nations Memorial Park in Busan still evokes a sense of pride and respect for the lofty spirits of the fallen U.N. warriors. There have been many unsung heroes who fought bravely and sacrificed their lives during the Korean War. One of them in particular is Brig. Gen. Richard S. Whitcomb (1894-1982) whose philanthropic efforts contributed greatly to helping the war victims. While serving as commander of the U.S. 2nd Logistics Support Base in Busan during and after the Korean War, Whitcomb warmly provided humanitarian aid and affection to a great number of Busan people who were enduring desolation and depression in the aftermath of the war. Several months after the ceasefire, while the scars of the war were still fresh, tragedy struck again in the form of a massive fire that broke out at a tent village in Yeongju-dong in the midst of the freezing winter of 1953. Rapidly spreading to Busan Station and Kukje Market, the fire claimed innumerable victims. It forced more than 30,000 people to evacuate from the ravaged villages and caused the victims to relapse into depression. Acutely aware of the urgent need to save the Korean people from one disaster after another, Whitcomb played a pioneering role in offering relief and reconstruction efforts in collaboration with the Armed Forces Assistance to Korea Program. He was a major advocate of rejuvenating parts of Busan devastated by war and fire. Furthermore, through his fundraising efforts, he actively sought to improve the well-being of the Korean people with the establishment of a many orphanages, as well as Busan National University and Maryknoll Hospital. He also persuaded his subordinates to donate one percent of their salaries to help the war and fire victims. The story of Whitcomb's fundraising efforts, titled "Gentleman of Korea," was featured in the October 1954 edition of "Life," a famous weekly American magazine. In it, he was portrayed as wearing traditional Korean garb and hat while standing in a landscape of chaos and destruction. Despite the good deeds benefiting the Korean people, the U.S. military legal authority asserted that Whitcomb had violated military regulations when he distributed military supplies and provided shelter without proper permission. Consequently, he was summoned to the U.S. for violating military law. One of the most inspiring remarks in military history came from Whitcomb. "War is done by weapons and it remains undone, unless it is done for the people in the country." The famous remarks left a deep impression on the world at large. Whitcomb can be said to have sown the seeds of hope in the land of despair. Judging from the magnitude of his actions, he displayed more love for Korea than Koreans did and and bestowed upon us the unique gift of rehabilitation of war-torn Korea. He was laid to rest in Busan's U.N. Memorial Park in 1982. On my last visit to Busan, I paid homage to Whitcomb at the U.N. Memorial Cemetery where he was buried with his Korean wife, Han Myo-suk, and other fallen Korean War veterans. On his tombstone is this simple inscription: "RICHARD S. WHITCOMB, BRIG. GEN. US ARMY, WORLD WAR I & II, KOREAN WAR, 1894-1982." As I stood there, what came to mind were the words inscribed on the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.: "Freedom is Not Free." Truly, Korea would have been communized were it not for the philanthropic sacrifice of U.S. and U.N. soldiers and other unsung military heroes.