U.S. Ambassador Steel: “We will not forget the Battle of Chosin Reservoir 76 years ago” ... attends memorial with Commander Brunson

[Financial News] Michelle Steel, the U.S. ambassador to South Korea, said she would remember the U.S. and UN troops deployed to the Battle of Chosin Reservoir, fought in the winter of 1950 in the southern part of the Kaema Plateau in South Hamgyong Province, North Korea.
After attending the ceremony marking the 76th anniversary of the Battle of Chosin Reservoir, held on the 29th at the War Memorial of Korea in Yongsan District, Seoul, Ambassador Steel posted this promise on her social media platform X. General Xavier T. Brunson, commander of U.S. Forces Korea, also attended the ceremony.
Ambassador Steel wrote, “I joined veterans and their families in honoring the U.S. and UN service members who fought in the Battle of Chosin Reservoir 76 years ago.” Steel went on to write, “Their noble courage and sacrifice laid the foundation for countless Koreans, including my family, to enjoy freedom, and their spirit lives on in today’s strong alliance,” vowing not to forget. Ambassador Steel is a second-generation member of a displaced family; her parents settled in South Korea after fleeing pressure from the Communist Party.
In December 1950, about 12,000 UN troops, including the U.S. 1st Marine Division, fought against the 120,000-strong Chinese 9th Army Group, which had encircled them. Amid the extreme cold of the Kaema Plateau, where temperatures approached 30 to 40 degrees below zero Celsius, noncombat casualties from frostbite and other causes alone numbered in the thousands.
The U.S. Marine Corps’ successful breakout from the encirclement and retreat bought time, enabling the successful Hungnam evacuation, which brought some 105,000 South Korean and UN troops, as well as about 91,000 refugees, south.


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