This Military Service Page was created/owned by
PFC David Gettman (Tacoma Dave)
to remember
Gettman, Henry (Hank), SGM USA(Ret).
If you knew or served with this Soldier and have additional information or photos to support this Page, please leave a message for the Page Administrator(s) HERE.
Contact Info
Last Address Walla Walla
Date of Passing May 24, 1983
Location of Interment Mountain View Memorial Park - Lakewood, Washington
Wall/Plot Coordinates 11-261-P PRE [Garden of Prayer Precast]
Official Badges
Unofficial Badges
Additional Information
Last Known Activity:
Sitting at the dining room table, drinking a beer and working a crossword puzzle, when he had a massive heart attack. Dad, I'm so sorry I never got to know you better.
Henry Gettman was born in Walla Walla, Washington. He was the son of Conrad Gettman and Anna Maria Ditter. Henry married Dorothy Jean Wissen.
Henry was a retired U. S. Army Sergeant Major; he was a veteran of World War II, Korean War, and Vietnam War.
Other Comments:
Dad was awarded several of these during the 1930's among his scores of other shooting medals, but not knowing any better, several were destroyed or lost by my friends and I, wearing them while playing Army in the woods around my house when we were kids. For a time I had the most decorated unit in the Army!
Description The Battle of Taejon (14–21 July 1950) was an early battle of the Korean War, between American and North Korean forces. Forces of the United States Army attempted to defend the headquarters of the 24th Infantry Division. The 24th Infantry Division was overwhelmed by numerically superior forces of the Korean People's Army (KPA) at the major city and transportation hub of Taejon. The 24th Infantry Division's regiments were already exhausted from the previous two weeks of delaying actions to stem the advance of the KPA.
The entire 24th Division gathered to make a final stand around Taejon, holding a line along the Kum River to the east of the city. Hampered by a lack of communication and equipment, and a shortage of heavy weapons to match the KPA's firepower, the American forces, outnumbered, ill-equipped and untrained, were pushed back from the riverbank after several days before fighting an intense urban battle to defend the city. After a fierce three-day struggle, the Americans withdrew.
Although they could not hold the city, the 24th Infantry Division achieved a strategic advantage by delaying the North Koreans, providing time for other American divisions to establish a defensive perimeter around Pusan further south. The delay imposed at Taejon probably prevented an American rout during the subsequent Battle of Pusan Perimeter. During the action, the KPA captured Major General William F. Dean, the commander of the 24th Infantry Division, and highest ranking American prisoner during the Korean War.
