"May It Never Fail"

The ghastly battle of the South Koreans and Chinese Reds for the strategic ridges north of Kumhwa went into its seventh week. U.S. corps officers and liaison men who had seen it were sick and sad at heart. Said an A.P. dispatch: "Some [U.S. officers] have wept as pitiful remnants of full companies dragged their way back down the shell-blasted slopes of Triangle Hill and Sniper Ridge. Combat rifle companies are sprinkled heavily now with green replacements."

But in spite of their losses, the proud ROKs had proved their stomach for battle. Last week Eighth Army Commander James Van Fleet, the man mainly responsible for the ROK resurgence, reviewed elements of two new ROK divisions--the 12th and 15th--at the start of their training. With the copybook eloquence that becomes him, Soldier Van Fleet said: "The ROK army has come of age. It has proved to the world its great fighting heart. It will always be successful in battle. May it never fail."

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