Asefa Mengesha
Bio
Asefa Mengesha was born in 1929. He joined the Ethiopian Imperial Guard at age 16 in 1945. He was a member of the 2nd Kagnew Battalion that fought in Korea from July 1952 through April of 1953. He fought from the moment he arrived in Korea in the mountains. He was wounded in the legs from mortar rounds, saw friends die, and took Chinese prisoners. He considers himself and his fellow soldiers to be heroes and spent a year in prison back home when communists took over in 1974 because of his support of South Korea. He has revisited Korea and cried when he saw what the nation had become.
Video Clips
Action in Korea
Asefa Mengesha recounts seeing his friends die and was proud that his unit never surrendered nor left a man or body behind. He reveals his wounds suffered from 16 mm mortar rounds. He describes how one shell failed to fire from his mortar and exploded in front of him.
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Chinese Prisoners
Asefa Mengesha shares how he captured two Chinese prisoners by himself. He says Ethiopians captured many Chinese but the Chinese never captured any Ethiopians. He remembers his unit would lie in wait at night for the enemy to pass in front and then they would attack from behind. He explains the Chinese were trying to find their bunker but they found the Chinese first.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3f7y8aAu6k&start=852&end=1012
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https://koreanwarlegacy.org/interviews/asefa-mengesha#clip-2
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Communist Ethiopia
Asefa Mengesha explains how his life changed when communists took over Ethiopia in 1974. He communicates how he was transferred from the Imperial Guard and eventually imprisoned for a year along with other Korean veterans. He believes the new government was afraid of these veterans.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3f7y8aAu6k&start=1374&end=1516
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https://koreanwarlegacy.org/interviews/asefa-mengesha#clip-3
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