Solders Even Dying: Holding Guns in Arms

“The Late Cho Chun-hyong and Hwang Do-hyun were firing back till death did not allow them to.”

On June 30, 2002, Choi Young-soon (29, Lieutenant Junior) recalled in tears the June 29th battle, now named “Yellow Sea Engagement(YSE)” at a press conference. He was on one of the warships (No. 358), which, after the hellish gunfire exchange, returned to the 2nd Fleet Headquarters in Pyoung Taek, Kyunggi Province.

Lt. Jr. Choi, whose ship was patrolling with the surprise-attacked the 357 patrol ship, was closely watching the enemy ships, keeping constant radio communication with Ship 358. The ships were approaching their boats, aiming at the navigation room of 357.

“In a few seconds, the guns on the enemy boats, small and large, thundered out firing. The shells shot down their target. On the left of Ship 357, smoke was spewed out and shrapnel were shattered out. I could hear screams. It was literally an inferno.” Shortly thereafter, Choi began the rescue mission in the middle of sporadic enemy gunfire.

“In the 357, the wounded and killed were scattered all over. It was a hell. Someone was performing CPR on Lt. Jr. Yoon, who was lying in the pool of blood on the command room floor. Next to him, a Lt. Jr. Grade was lying, too, with his leg ripped open by a shrapnel.”

It was reported that the late Cho and Hwang (both Petty officers) died in the gun room 21 and 22, holding guns tightly in their arms with their fingers on the trigger.

Lt. Jr. Choi related, “No solder of Ship 357, who survived the attack, would leave their ship. By the moment it sank deep into the Sea, they tried to protect their ship.”

He said, “After we opened firing back, I guess, the enemy ship may have sustained 20-30 casualties.” Also on hand at the conference was Chief Petty officer, Han Chong-gil (26) of Ship 357.

The moment his ship was attacked, Officer Han was in the navigation room. Shortly thereafter, he ran up to the command room. But it was already engulfed in blaze and smoke.”

“The enemy’s first shot broke up the navigation system. Our ship was spinning clockwise, and the enemy ship kept firing on us. When I entered the command room, the Lt. Jr. shouted, ‘We should turn 180 degrees and sail south.’ On that order, I came back to my position.” Han continued, “The enemy aimed to the navigation room, to begin with. The enemy’s attack did not slow down our ship. But we could not operate the helm.” He added, “For the first 1-2 minutes following the first engagement, we fired up 1000 rounds of ammunition. It could have dealt a blow to the enemy ship, I guess. That’s why their firing thereafter was sporadic.”

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