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SSG Trey Franklin
to remember
Barrett, Mark Thomas, 1LT.
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Casualty Info
Home Town Columbia, SC
Last Address Columbia, SC
Casualty Date Aug 18, 1976
Cause KIA-Killed in Action
Reason Other Cause
Location Korea, South
Conflict Cold War Incident - Hatchet Incident (Korea)
Location of Interment Greenlawn Memorial Park - Columbia, South Carolina
Description On 18 August 1976 a Korean work force was escorted by CPT Bonifas and 1LT Barrett to trim the large poplar tree. The UNC force on 18 August 1976 consisted of the two US officers, an Republic of Korea officer and eight UNC guards escorting the workforce. The Korean People's Army from the North told them to cease activity. When the commanding officer, Captain Bonifas, ordered work to resume, thirty North Korean soldiers who silently watched were ordered "mikunulchi ki cha" ["kill the US soldiers"].
The North Koreans, armed with the work detail's axes and metal picks, outnumbered the soldiers. CPT Bonifas was the first killed, attacked from behind by five. A Corporal saw the attack from a nearby three-story pagoda and recorded the murders with a movie camera. The attack ended as soon as it began, with the two US officers were killed and the nine guards UNC guards injured.
