Mehmet Aksoy
Bio
Mehmet Aksoy served in the Turkish Army during the Korean War. His father was a builder and his mother was a housewife. Mehemt Aksoy only completed school to the fourth grade, which is fairly common. He volunteered for the army and went to Korea in 1952. He served along some fierce battle fronts as Wire Communication. Mehmet Aksoy was responsible for the wire that sent messages to the fronts from headquarters. He has revisited Korea and sees Koreans as brothers and sisters. Most importantly, Mehmet Aksoy is proud of what Koreans have accomplished. He is also very proud of his service and what Turkish forces were able to achieve.
Video Clips
Condition of Seoul
Mehmet Aksoy describes the condition of the people in Seoul. He describes the people as desperate. Moreover, people were constantly begging for food and supplies. For example, the people would constantly be saying "chab chab." The Turkish soldiers were well supplied and would give food to people. Most everything was destroyed. Consequently, the buildings left standing were pock marked by bullets. The situation was desperate.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGX0zcosYLw&start=271&end=378
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https://koreanwarlegacy.org/interviews/mehmet-aksoy#clip-1
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Service During the Korean War
Mehmet Aksoy describes his service during the Korean War. He identifies the various Fronts he served along. Further, Vegas Front and Cheorwon Front, which are along the 38th Parallel saw heavy fighting. Mehmet Aksoy did not see any fierce fighting. However, he played an important role of ensuring the phone line between headquarters and the men never broke. Breaking would occur due to enemy mortars. This was instrumental in the Turkish military holding off Chinese advancement.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGX0zcosYLw&start=387&end=499
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https://koreanwarlegacy.org/interviews/mehmet-aksoy#clip-2
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Pride for Service
Mehmet Aksoy describes his return to Korea. Above all, he is amazed how the people of Korea are thankful for the Turkish sacrifices during the Korean War. He wishes people in Turkey would be so grateful and considerate as the Korean people. Consequently, Ahmet Aksoy considers the people of Korea his brothers and sisters. He could never imagine the change of Korea. He is proud of his service during the War.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGX0zcosYLw&start=508&end=756
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https://koreanwarlegacy.org/interviews/mehmet-aksoy#clip-3
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