Korea

One man’s journey through the Korean War.

This heavily annotated map of Korea chronicles the action-packed 9-month deployment of Captain E.B. Sievwright, Jr. between late September 1950 and late May 1951. As a member of C Company, 73rd Engineer Battalion, Captain Sievwright traveled hundreds of miles across the peninsula and participated in over a dozen firefights.

My interpretation of his travels, as shown by the red lines, began with debarkation from Japan and arrival (under fire) at Inchon aboard the U.S.S. General William Weigle on September 25th, followed immediately by gunfights outside of Seoul. From there he moves south, through Chungdu to Pusan, where he arrives on October 11th, 1950. Another trip by sea follows, this time via LST on October 29th to the recently captured port at Wonsan (note the mines – clearing them took 5 days).

He then goes by rail and foot deep into North Korean territory, striking past the 41st parallel all the way to the Yalu River and the border with Manchuria. After it became evident the Chinese intervention was significant, a general withdrawal is shown. A fighting retreat from Konan takes place by AKA (amphibious cargo ship) on December 18th, with arrival in Pusan two days later – undoubtedly a grueling sail. More fighting was to follow, this time as part of a counter-offensive to push back the Chinese People’s Volunteer Army from their earlier gains. Several months were spent in combat before the PVA was forced back to the 38th parallel, with Capt. Sievwright’s final annotation was dated near the border on May 25, 1951.

This amazing firsthand account of the heaviest fighting of the Korean War is accompanied by three photographs. Presumably friends of E.B., each is inscribed on the back with first names. Two are dated, showing that the captain stayed in Korea into 1952.