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A QUARTER CENTURY ON THE "Z"
A FOLLOW-UP
Stuart Jamison
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The Imjin Scouts Patch (fig 1), featured in the 1Q03 edition
of "The Trading Post," was first issued as a pocket patch in December,
1965, to graduates of the Second Infantry Division's Advanced Combat Training
Academy (ACTA) located at Camp Sitman north of the Imjin River.
As related in the earlier article, the primary purpose of the school,
founded at the direction of BG Roland M. Gleszer, was to prepare 2ID soldiers
to operate in Korea's Demilitarized Zone.
The patch illustrated in figure 2 was pictured in the earlier article and identified simply as Second Version, yet this is the patch worn and remembered by most Imjin Scouts veterans, having been authorized for wear by 2ID Regulation 672-3 from 1967 until February, 1991. Its story is one of a quest for recognition, and it deserves to be told.
On November 2, an American ambush, or "stakeout" patrol from the 2ID's 23rd Infantry, was attacked in its position south of the DMZ by a North Korean unit of undetermined size. Six GIs and one KATUSA (Korean Augmentation to The United States Army) were killed and their bodies mutilated. Only one American, severely wounded, survived, playing dead. From this "kickoff" until 1971, when 7ID went home and 2ID pulled back from the Zone, more than 700 incidents occurred, costing America 90 dead and 110 wounded. Our ROK allies lost 326 KIA and 600 WIA during the same period. But America, obsessed with Viet Nam, didn't want to hear about it.
Some years later, the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal was authorized for wear by anyone who had served on the Peninsula between October 4, 1966 and June 30, 1974. This was scant recognition for those who fought the fights along the Z. The commanders along the line struggled to get their men the hostile fire pay and Combat Infantryman Badges they deserved, initially meeting with bureaucratic inertia and indifference. Pay ($65 per month) was finally authorized in April, 1968, and the CIB awarded (under such strict requirements that GIs joked it came with a Purple Heart) after January 4, 1969. But what could be done for the men under fire in '67 and early '68? Or those who ran the risks and shared the dangers but failed to meet the stringent CIB criteria in later years? 2ID took the matter into their own hands. The answer: award the Imjin Scouts Patch.
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Maj. Roger H. C. Donlon & Driver wear the "School Patch" (1968)
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Medal of Honor recipient Maj. Roger Donlon commanded ACTA in 1967-68. One morning in late '67, he was looking over a new batch of students and noticed one wearing an Imjin Scouts patch with the letters "DMZ" embroidered in gold along the bottom edge. When he asked the student where it came from, he was told it represented 20 patrols. Soon, 2ID Reg 672-3 officially documented the criteria. It should be noted that, during this time ('67 and '68), there was a period of overlap when both patches were authorized, the ACTA patch (without DMZ) and the "Poor Man's CIB" with DMZ. The comparison of the two versions to the EIB and CIB were a source of controversy among Imjin Scouts veterans as recently as this year. |
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Patches can be found in both colored and subdued versions.
After mid-1968, all bore the DMZ legend. Camouflage patches were
developed with the adoption of the BDU uniform, and pocket-hangers
were common in the final years of authorized wear.
Although there were no American combat units permanently stationed north of the Imjin River after 1971, GIs still pulled occasional patrols in the "Z" and manned Guard Posts. The patch was authorized for wear in 2ID until February, 1991. An ongoing, ever growing, and highly informative (not to mention entertaining) account of all things Imjin Scout can be found on the Internet at Don Lopez's superb www.imjinscout.com. This site offers a cyber-museum of Scout memorabilia contributed by veterans. Those interested in a first-hand account of ACTA during its entire period of operation can visit Doug Pierce's HiWays In The Sky. And the fight for recognition continues: see the Korea Defense Veterans of America (KDVA) site for information on the new Korea Defense Service Medal (KDSM). |
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Courtesy of WWW.IMJINSCOUT.COM |
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Fig 3 |
Fig 4 |
Fig 5 |
