Just found this on FB, so posting it here. "With human waves of Chinese infantry attacking his isolated hill-top position and many of his small band of British defenders becoming casualties, Brigadier Tom Brodie, commander of the Gloucestershire Regiment, was asked for an update by his American superior. “Things are getting a bit sticky,” he reportedly told General Robert Soule, at the height of the Battle of Imjin River in April 1951, during the Korean war. Taking the phrase at face value, and misunderstanding that to a British soldier it indicated absolute crisis and imminent doom, the General sent neither reinforcements nor an order to withdraw. Having held out against an estimated 10,000 Chinese troops for three days, most of the unit of 600 men were killed or captured, with only 40 making it back to safety. But now relatives of men from The Glorious Glosters, as the unit became known, have been asked to help identify remains from the conflict in a new appeal by the Ministry of Defence. Families of the fallen servicemen have been asked to provide DNA samples after a deal struck in June between President Trump and North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un, saw the repatriation of a number of remains. So far the remains of 55 soldiers have been returned to the US for analysis, with more hoped to follow. But the nationalities have yet to be identified and with 33,000 coalition troops still unaccounted for from the war the MoD has appealed for help to trace fallen British servicemen. Nicola Nash, from the MoD’s Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre, said: “We are currently attempting to gather the contact information of the families of these brave men who were killed during the Korean War but have no known grave”. Any British personnel identified will be buried in the United Nations (UN) Memorial Cemetery in Pusan, South Korea. The MoD has said it will pay for relatives to attend the services." www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/08/15/give-glorious-glosters-burial-deserve-mod-asks-families-come/
I have never heard of the engagement or the regiment.......I know little about the conflicts details, especially non-U.S forces. I'm glad they are dedicated to finding graves for these good men, and willing to pay for relatives to attend the services, thanks for sharing Gordon......
What an awesome effort...pity, I knew ‘pretty sticky’ from a Pom means we are fu..ed. They should have too...
This reminds me of the saying that the British and Americans are two people separated by a common language. Unfortunately, the result was tragic in this case. Let's hope that the families get some resolution through the DNA testing.
