Yusuf Artuc
Bio
Yusuf Artuc served in the Turkish Infantry as a Fortification Sergeant during the Korean War. He was born to parents who farmed for a living and went to school until the sixth grade, which is very common. The military drafted him into the military in 1952. This made him part of the third wave of Turkish soldiers that went to Korea. He participated in the notable Sandbag Castle or Kumkale. He has revisited Korea and the Korean people are so thankful for his service. Korea is like a brother to Yusuf Artuc.
Video Clips
Reality of a Soldier
Yusuf Artuc describes how when he arrived in Korea he went directly to the front. Cars transported soldiers to the front. He also describes fighting at Sandbag Castle (Kumkale). In addition, Yusuf Artuc describes one particular instance at Mirrored Village. Further, at Mirrored Village many soldiers were injured. Injured soldiers were evacuated to Tokyo to heal. Then they would return to the battlefield. Out of the injured soldiers, two of three returned to battle.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ldHYNQUxJA&start=230&end=420
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https://koreanwarlegacy.org/interviews/yusuf-artuc#clip-1
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Contrast of Two Different Koreas
Yusuf Artuc describes the two Koreas he saw. The war-torn Korean, many people were suffering. Further, Yusuf Artuc would pack barrels with food and roll down a hill for Koreans suffering. Koreans would be missing limbs or looking through scraps for a single grain of rice. However, he then compares this with what he saw upon revisiting in 2011. Consequently, he now describes Koreans as Kings.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ldHYNQUxJA&start=585&end=757
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https://koreanwarlegacy.org/interviews/yusuf-artuc#clip-2
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Supplies on the Front
Yusuf Artuc describes how the US military would re-supply Turkish soldiers. The US military would use helicopters to bring food to the soldiers. Also, the same helicopters would also bring weapons that needed to be assembled. Soldiers did not suffer from a lack of supplies.
Share YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ldHYNQUxJA&start=434&end=501
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https://koreanwarlegacy.org/interviews/yusuf-artuc#clip-3
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