On June 25, 1950, the North Korean Army suddenly crossed the 38th parallel, invading South Korea. The South Korean forces were overwhelmed almost instantly, and the capital, Seoul, fell in just three days.
With the situation desperate, President Harry Truman made the decision on June 30 to deploy American ground troops. The 24th Infantry Division, stationed in Japan, was selected to go first.
The very first unit to leave was Task Force Smith from Kumamoto. They were flown to Pusan and then moved north by train and truck, rushing to block the North Korean tanks before the entire peninsula fell.
Before diving into the story of the 24th Infantry Division in Kokura, we must remember the boys from Camp Wood in Kumamoto.
They belonged to the 21st Infantry Regiment, a part of the 24th Division. On June 30, 1950, they became the very first American ground troops to be sent into the Korean War.
They didn’t pass through the Kanmon Strait; instead, they were rushed to Itazuke Air Base (Fukuoka) and flown directly into the unknown.
With little equipment and almost no preparation, these 540 young men, known as “Task Force Smith,” stood alone against an army of tanks. Their sacrifice was the tragic beginning of a war that would soon engulf the streets of Kokura.
Since the Meiji era, Kokura had been a powerful military hub, housing the Imperial Japanese Army and the massive Kokura Arsenal. After WWII, the U.S. forces took over these facilities, turning them into Camp Kokura.
It was from this steel-and-stone military town that Major General William F. Dean commanded the 24th Infantry Division. As the commanding general, he oversaw the entire Kyushu region from his headquarters in the heart of Kokura.
General Dean was not just a leader in a distant office; he was a man of action. Soon, he would have to lead his division—many of whom were young and inexperienced—from the barracks of Kokura into the brutal fires of the Korean War.
June 25: Peace in Kyushu North Korean Army invades South Korea. The 24th ID units at Camp Hakata (Fukuoka) and Camp Wood (Kumamoto) are called to action.
June 30: The Order from Kokura President Truman orders ground troops to Korea. Major General William F. Dean receives the order at his headquarters in Camp Kokura.
July 1 – July 4: Departure from Kyushu (Kokura, Itazuke, and Hakata) Task Force Smith flies from Itazuke Air Base. At the same time, the main force begins leaving Camp Kokura, and the artillery units from Camp Hakata board ships for Pusan. Thousands of young men leave Kyushu behind, heading into the unknown.
July 5: Battle of Osan The first clash between U.S. and North Korean forces. Task Force Smith faces an army of tanks with almost no preparation.
July 20: The Tragedy at Taejon The division suffers heavy losses. The 11th Field Artillery from Hakata loses their guns, and General Dean goes missing while protecting his men at the front line.
August – September: The Shield at Pusan Perimeter The 24th ID holds the Pusan Perimeter, the last line of defense in the south. They fight desperately to buy time for MacArthur’s big plan.
September 15: MacArthur’s Inchon Landing General MacArthur launches a daring surprise attack at Inchon. While the world watches this famous landing, the 24th ID begins a massive counterattack from the south to trap the North Korean Army.
[The Reason for the Bazooka] “I wasn’t a general then. I was just a soldier, and I wanted to show my men that these tanks weren’t so tough. Even with our old equipment, I believed that showing them we could stand and fight was the only way to take the despair out of those young boys’ eyes.”
[The Guilt Toward His Aides] “My aides were young men with wives and little children. Time and again, I thought of sending them back to safety, but in the heat of the battle, it never happened. Every time I pictured their families’ faces, I was overcome with a deep sense of personal responsibility and regret.”
[The Descent into the Darkness] “I just wanted to get some water for a wounded man. That simple act of trying to ease his thirst was what led me down that dark cliff and separated me from my command. But at that moment, I could not have simply walked away and left him suffering.”
[The 35 Days of Wandering] “When I woke up in the mud after the fall, I had no water and no food. For 35 days, I crawled through the mountains at night to avoid the enemy, nursing my injuries. The man who had commanded thousands from his headquarters in Kokura was now nothing more than a starving, solitary fugitive.”
[Inside the Cage] “I was kept in a cage about four feet long and the same height—I could only sit, never stand or lie down. The Communists tried to break me, to use me for their propaganda, but I refused. I told them that even if a hundred of my men had died, I would never make a traitorous speech.”
[Three Years as a ‘Dead Man’] “For three years, while the world thought I was dead, I fought a lonely battle against disease, interrogation, and my own sense of failure. I felt like a general who had failed his mission, yet I never let go of my pride as an officer of the United States.”
For those who wish to delve deeper into the history of the 24th Infantry Division, please visit the official association website.
This chapter was created by AI-Vega, based on the materials and archives collected by Seina.
I invite you to walk with me through these blog posts. My journey is not about reaching a final answer or a ‘correct’ history. It is a continuous loop of ‘Wait, what…?’, filled with mistakes and detours. But then, it happens—the sudden realizations. That moment when the dots finally connect is the most thrilling and beautiful part of all. Let’s explore the unknown together.