1953 Bare-handed Tycoon - Chapter 414



Only Krnovel

414 – Painful History

“What happened?”

Chairman Park tilted his head slightly and remained silent for a while before opening his mouth.

“I feel like the Vietnam issue is getting closer to us these days… … .”

Chairman Park lit a new cigarette with a stern face.

Although Kijo had something on his mind, he finished talking about the airline he was going to set up in Vietnam.

“I have a contract for special air transport in Vietnam. It is a contract that could earn me over a million dollars a year.”

When I told him that I had won an aviation contract in Vietnam, Chairman Park tilted his head slightly.

It seemed a bit strange that a new Korean airline that had never flown to Vietnam had won a business deal there.

“Did you sign a contract with the South Vietnamese government?”

“no.”

The keynote speaker was vague because of a clause requiring him to remain silent about the CIA contract.

“I signed a contract with an American company. But… … .”

“however?”

“I was asked to keep the details of the contract confidential for 20 years.”

At those words, Chairman Park’s expression became even more serious.

“How far do you think the plane will go?”

“I’m afraid we might end up leaving Vietnamese airspace.”

“hmm…….”

Chairman Park sniffled and took a deep breath of cigarette smoke.

“That would be quite dangerous… … .”

“I think so.”

“Can you be more specific?”

“The pilot’s death benefit is $50,000. The basic salary is $1,000, plus a separate mission allowance.”

Chairman Park nodded.

“We were also able to secure two helicopters. They said they would take care of introducing the helicopters and training the pilots. They will take the pilots to the U.S. and train them directly.”

“Even a helicopter… … .”

Chairman Park seemed to have the general idea.

Chairman Park, who had been lying on the sofa in silence, looked up at the ceiling, sighed, and said.

“I know you’re in a position where you have to be careful with your words, but I have those things too.”

“What happened?”

Chairman Park looked elsewhere for a while before opening his mouth.

“Kennedy told me not to send troops to Vietnam… but the US military had a different position. The commander of the 8th Army came to me personally and asked me for a favor… … .”

“I would like to hear at least what you have to say.”

Chairman Park seemed to hesitate for a moment, then began to speak.

“I will keep your secret, so will you keep my word in return?”

“I will protect you.”

Chairman Park said after shaking the cigarette ash into an ashtray.

“They asked for about 100 special forces to be sent to Vietnam. This is something that should not be reported in the press.”

“Don’t worry.”

The keynote speaker found a clear connection between what he knew and what Chairman Park said.

The official date in Korean history when the ROK Army was dispatched to Vietnam was September 22, 1964.

In the beginning, the only non-combat units were the medical corps and Taekwondo instructors.

However, claims were made that combat troops had been sent to Vietnam as early as May 1963.

The dispatch theory in May 1963 was proposed by Lee Jeong-nam, a missionary living in Canada.

Mr. Lee Jeong-nam said that he enlisted in the Marine Corps right after graduating from high school in early 1963, when he was 16 years old.

He claimed that after three months of training, he was selected as the youngest member of a 113-man special forces unit and deployed to Vietnam.

The place he was assigned was the US Marine Corps stationed in Quinon, where Gijo was doing construction.

They said that under the operational command of the US military, they infiltrated deep into enemy territory on behalf of the US military, conducted terrain reconnaissance and enemy force exploration during the day, and flew in on US military helicopters at night to carry out ambush missions.

But the mission was too dangerous and difficult.

The South Korean special forces were given the mission by the US military to capture Viet Cong if they were discovered, rather than kill them.

Killing the enemy was difficult, but capturing him was even more difficult and required sacrifice.

Missionary Lee Jeong-nam argued this:

“The US military only gave the Korean military dangerous and difficult missions. We were sent to the deadly places as cannon fodder under the US military.”

His testimony was horrifying.

Of the 113 special forces, only six, including the unit commander, survived, and four of the survivors were seriously injured, including losing limbs or eyes.

He said that because the Korean troops were hastily deployed and lacked training, casualties occurred within a few days of deployment.

When they went out on a reconnaissance mission, two or three of them would die, and when the Vietnamese people passed by, they would pretend to welcome the Korean Marines by saying, “Thai Han, Thai Han,” but when they turned around, they would shoot them in the back or rush at them with sickles, and many of their comrades lost their lives.

The enraged South Korean special forces confessed that they killed indiscriminately both Viet Cong and civilians in every village they passed through.

The idea was that if something as horrible as that was going on, he wanted to stop it.

“The US military made a very specific request. They asked for Marines to be sent… … .”

The keynote was convinced that what he had thought was correct.

The South Korean special forces were deployed to the US Marine Corps Angryco unit stationed in Qui Nhon.

Since the US Marine Corps wanted to command it, they probably preferred the same Marines.

The keynote speech was opened.

“Mr. Chairman, if the Korean military is unofficially dispatched to Vietnam, it will be very difficult.”

I wish I could tell them that they’re all going to die.

“I also have some uneasy feelings.”

Chairman Park let out a heavy breath.

“There is a clear difference between official and unofficial deployment.”

“It’ll be different… … .”

Chairman Park agreed.

“If we deploy unofficially, the US military will become insensitive to the loss of Korean soldiers. Since these soldiers will not be made public anyway, they may not care whether they die or not.”

“hmm…….”

Chairman Park’s gaze became fierce.

The keynote speech was that Chairman Park would also not be happy with the pressure from the United States to secretly deploy Korean troops to Vietnam.

He was a former military commander, and there was much testimony that he cared for his subordinates.

No commander wanted to send his men to their deaths, especially in a foreign war.

“You have a point. The situation in Vietnam is worsening, and Kennedy has refused to send more American troops, so the local situation is very difficult. That’s why they are reaching out to us.”

Chairman Park’s perception was correct.

The keynote was considered fortunate.

“Can I tell you what I heard in Vietnam?”

“Try it.”

“It is said that there are many problems with the South Vietnamese army that is conducting joint operations with the US army. The US army has left reconnaissance and ambushes to the South Vietnamese army, but there are some among the South Vietnamese army that are in collusion with the Viet Cong, and when they go out to reconnaissance, they intentionally make noise so that the Viet Cong will run away on their own. This is to avoid combat.”

Chairman Park nodded.

“And they say that the US military doesn’t care much about South Vietnamese casualties. So they say that the relationship between the South Vietnamese and US military isn’t very good either.”

Chairman Park asked, biting his lips tightly.

“Who told you that?”

“I was able to hear the story from Shinheung Trading Company’s CEO, Taeseong Kim, and a local person hired by Cheongsan.”

The keynote was like that. Since it was the truth anyway, it wasn’t like he was lying to Chairman Park.

“I don’t know the details, but I think that if the US military has command over the Korean military, it could cause big problems.”

The keynote addresses the point.

If the Korean military had independent command in Vietnam, it would be rare for soldiers to be sent to their deaths.

The keynote speech was not to forget the order that Chairman Park gave to Commander Chae Myung-shin of the Korean Forces in Vietnam when he became president and dispatched combat troops in 1965.

When negotiating with the US military over the Powell issue, Chairman Park instructed them never to hand over operational control of the Korean military to the US military.

He also said that when conducting joint operations with the US military, they should not overdo it and that they should prioritize protecting Korean soldiers.

The keynote speech was that such an order was natural and that it was not unrelated to the annihilation of the Marine special forces deployed in May 1963.

Chairman Park must have been shocked and heartbroken that only 6 out of 113 special forces that handed over operational control to the US military returned alive.

The keynote speech was based on the conscience of the leaders of the Republic of Korea.

I was sure that no one would have taken lightly the fact that Korean soldiers were annihilated overseas.

The keynote speaker watched Chairman Park.

Chairman Park spoke as if he was talking to himself while deep in thought.

“Who is in command is the most important. That is the most important… … .”

Chairman Park seemed to have decided on something and gripped the sofa handle tightly.

But he changed the subject without saying what that resolution was.

“Let’s forget what we just talked about. Did you say you needed an Air Force pilot?”

“Yes.”

As the topic changed, the keynote speaker shed his heavy expression.

“How many people do you need?”

“I think a group of 5 to 10 people would be good.”

“Hey, do you think it’s easy to raise an Air Force pilot? How much money, time, and effort does it take to raise one? Why are you asking for so much?”

“If it’s difficult, it’s okay even if there are less than 5 people. It’s a very dangerous job and we can’t afford to damage the Republic of Korea Air Force.”

Chairman Park thought carefully and then proposed an alternative.

“You said you were going to train helicopter pilots there?”

“Yes, and I will definitely bring the helicopters we used in Vietnam back to Korea.”

“good.”

Chairman Park nodded.

“It would be great if we could train helicopter pilots. Couldn’t we one day have as many helicopters as the US military?”

“you’re right.”

“Anyway, we have to assume that there are no helicopter pilots to send to Vietnam. We should ask the Army to draft about five and send them to the United States.”

“thank you.”

“And the transport pilots have to be sent from the Air Force… … . Four people, including one veteran and a trainee below the rank of first officer, should be fine.”

“Would it be okay to transfer five transport pilots from the Air Force?”

“Well, we don’t have enough money to put the few air force transport planes in the air anyway. So how can we train properly? The airborne unit’s parachute training is also done on borrowed US transport planes. It’s like doing actual training for transport plane pilots in Vietnam.”

The keynote speaker expressed his gratitude to Chairman Park for filling the 10-person capacity.

“Mr. Chairman, we will bring back the transport planes used in Vietnam to Korea and donate them to the Air Force. And we will use half of the revenue from Vietnam to help cover defense spending.”

The keynote was that he wanted to repay the favor by utilizing Korea’s national defense capabilities.

“Half or so?”

Chairman Park was delighted.

“Yes, I own half of the shares of Air Korea Vietnam. I am donating half of my share to defense expenses, so it is like donating a quarter of Air Korea’s profits to defense expenses.”

“Thank you. We already have to spend money on economic reconstruction, so our defense budget is very short… … .”

Chairman Park’s heart seemed to have lightened considerably, and his expression became softer than before.

Kijo and Chairman Park, who had been revealing their secrets and seeking solutions, began to talk about light topics.

Then, Chairman Park sighed lightly and poured out his heart again.

“While you were away from Korea, many things happened. Politics is really difficult… … .”

The keynote speech was that Chairman Park wanted to reveal his true feelings that he had kept hidden from others.

“What happened?”

In response to the keynote speech, Chairman Park lightly tapped the sofa handle with his palm a few times and then said:

“Everyone is making a fuss about opening the National Assembly quickly. Shouldn’t the ruling and opposition parties reach an agreement on the agenda before opening it? If we open it without an agreement, there will be chaos in the National Assembly again. I can’t stand to see that. I staged a revolution because I didn’t want to see that, so do you think the people should see that again?”

I thought I knew what you meant.

“Is there no agreement on the date of the presidential election?”

“that’s right.”

Chairman Park touched his eyes and made an expression that said he was tired just thinking about politics.