USS Wantuck (APD-125) - Korean War

Korean War

While Wantuck was at Hong Kong, war erupted in Korea when communist North Korean troops invaded South Korea on 25 June 1950, beginning the Korean War. Whether or not this event prompted Wantuck's unusually long stay — three months — in a liberty port for a warship is not clear, but she did not leave Hong Kong until 6 September 1950. From there, the ship moved to Sasebo, Japan, where she arrived on 8 September 1950.

On 10 September 1950, Wantuck was in the Korean combat zone at the port of Pusan preparing for the amphibious assault at Inchon. She departed Pusan on 13 September 1950 with elements of the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, embarked. Early on the morning of 15 September 1950, Wantuck was off Wolmi-do, an island just off Inchon. Her troops stormed ashore on the island and quickly consolidated their position in preparation for the second phase of the operation, the invasion of Inchon itself scheduled for that afternoon. Wantuck remained at Inchon supporting the consolidation and expansion of the beachhead until 26 September 1950, at which time she returned to Yokosuka, Japan.

Wantuck returned to Korea early in October 1950 with Royal Marine Commandos embarked. In cooperation with high-speed transport USS Horace A. Bass (APD-124) and supported by destroyer USS De Haven (DD-727), she executed a series of raids near Wonsan to disrupt North Korean transportation facilities — primarily rail lines — to support a scheduled amphibious attack on Wonsan. Wantuck returned to Japan on 10 October 1950 and the Wonsan amphibious assault operation was obviated by the fact that Republic of Korea (ROK) troops entered Wonsan from landward on 11 October 1950.

Wantuck did not arrive back in Korean waters again until 20 October 1950, once again at Wonsan. By that time, however, United Nations efforts to reopen the port of Wonsan were well advanced, and Wantuck saw no further combat duty during that deployment. She returned to Yokosuka on 25 November 1950 and, on 28 November 1950, headed back to the United States. After stops at Midway Atoll and Pearl Harbor, she arrived in San Diego on 15 December 1950.

Wantuck spent almost eight months conducting normal operations along the United States West Coast out of San Diego. Then on 23 July 1951, she headed westward once again for the Far East. Following calls at Pearl Harbor and at Midway Atoll, she arrived in Yokosuka on 22 August 1951. By the time of Wantuck's return to Korea, the war had degenerated into a stalemate on land with the principals locked in armistice negotiations and jockeying for military advantage at the bargaining table. At sea, the naval war had become almost purely one of aircraft carrier operations with planes interdicting communist supply routes and hitting strategic targets in North Korea. Wantuck resumed duty with Task Force 90, the Amphibious Force, and consequently took little active part in the conflict from that point. In fact, during her 1951-1952 deployment, she did not even qualify for the Korean Service Medal, though she did visit Korean ports on occasion, particularly Inchon and Pusan. She departed Yokosuka late in March 1952 and, after a stop at Oahu along the way, reentered San Diego on 19 April 1952.

Wantuck remained on the U.S. West Coast for almost a year. A paucity of movements on her part — limited to one move to San Francisco in September 1952 for a three-month stay before returning to San Diego in December 1952 — suggests a period of extensive repairs probably including an overhaul. In any event, she departed San Diego again on 7 March 1953 and steamed via Pearl Harbor to the Far East. She arrived in Yokosuka on 30 March 1953 and, though she patrolled extensively in Korean waters, her operations were essentially as peaceful as they had been during the previous deployment. In July 1953, the signing of the armistice made those peaceful conditions permanent.