By Mark Peterson
Professor emeritus at Brigham Young University

As we approach the 71st anniversary of the Korean War this year, it has come to my attention that 2021 is also the 70th anniversary of a major event in Utah history. The state sent an artillery battalion to fight in the war — 600 members of the National Guard from small towns in southern Utah. The "event" in Utah history is that in the first year of the war, after the Chinese invaded with "human wave tactics" and pushed South Korean and American forces south to the 38th Parallel and beyond, a major battle erupted between the Utah soldiers and a Chinese brigade (4,000 men) in which the Utahns killed 350, captured 830 and did not lose a single soldier in the fight. We call it the "Miracle of Gapyeong."

The miracle extended beyond the Battle at Gapyeong that occurred in Gapyeong-gun County, Gyeonggi-do Province. On the night of May 26, 1951, the Chinese attacked and overran the infantry, American and South Korean, and came right up to the artillery. Artillery by definition is set up in the rear behind the infantry and the armor, but the Chinese broke through in the middle of the night, surprising the Utah artillery battalion. That night saw two batteries (the equivalent of two companies in other units) on line, or about 240 men. They lowered their big guns that usually shoot miles ahead in support of the infantry and armor, as many as 7 miles (14.4 km), and fired at point-blank range straight ahead to stop the charging Chinese. In the morning, when they could see clearly, a Chinese soldier got to within 10 meters of the Utahns. A machine gun was found 40 meters from their positions.

Once the Chinese started to retreat, the artillery fired long-range again ahead of their retreat, cutting it off. The Chinese had nowhere to go -- couldn't go forward or backward -- and 830 of them surrendered.

But the battle was only part of the miracle. That none of the 240 soldiers in the battle were killed is one thing, but the battalion of five batteries and 600 men all returned home alive. That was the greater miracle of the Utah artillery battalion.

As a fellow Utahn living in Provo, Utah, I have an affinity to this story and am surprised that it's not better known. Truly, in the annals of war and the history of combat, this has to be one of the most amazing stories. Soldiers mobilized for war often die in accidents. Moving equipment and men to a war zone is a dangerous business. A friend of mine who was a reporter imbedded with the U.S. Army rolling into Baghdad in the first Iraq war told me of three soldiers who were run over by a tank while asleep in their sleeping bags. Jeeps flip over. Things explode. To say nothing of actual combat. But not one of the 600 soldiers from southern Utah who fought in the Korean War died. Some had injuries and others won the Purple Heart, but no one died.

What was the secret of their success? There were several factors. First, they had incredible solidarity and trust in each other because through the National Guard, they all knew each other. They were brothers, first or second cousins, classmates or childhood playmates who fought side by side. The unit also had several sets of brothers. One interesting case was that of two brothers in the unit when it was sent to Korea. But a third brother, who was the youngest of the three at age 16, wanted to go. He was soon to turn 17 but told the recruiting officer that he was already 18. So the three brothers fought together in the unit.

What was the general motivation for Americans, and Utahns specifically, to fight in the Korean War? In many cases, young men who had seen older brothers and uncles fight in World War II saw their chance to do their part, "to make the world free for democracy." Five years after that war ended, these young men could do their part. Another story told of several young men who were not as successful about lying about their age to join the National Guard. They were "pulled off the train" in Seattle and sent home because their parents found out what they'd done and had them sent back. Incredible young bravery.

The second reason the unit was so successful was training. When the soldiers were mobilized, they were sent to Ft. Lewis near Seattle for more training before their departure. Originally, a backup unit was to be sent to Germany and a regular army unit there to Korea, but the Utah unit's soldiers were so proficient, accurate and diligent that the commanders decided to send them directly to Korea.

The third reason was leadership. The battalion commander, Lt. Colonel Frank Dalley, had experience in World War II and was greatly respected by his men. They said he was like their father. They were all from the same rural area, and he knew the parents of many of his soldiers. He added that he didn't know if he could ever tell a parent that their son, one of his soldiers, had been killed. And indeed, none of them were. They said he was a man of prayer, and he prayed every day for the safety of his men and the tactics he needed to use to fight and keep them alive.

This is the Miracle of Gapyeong, in which none of the unit's troops died in a battle where 350 Chinese died and 830 were captured. And all 600 Utahn men who left for Korea returned home alive.

Why is this story not better known? Utah and its National Guard have been too humble and quiet about it. Indeed, look up the Battle of Gapyeong online and what comes up is a battle between the Chinese and "two Commonwealth Regiments" with infantry units from Australia and Canada and an artillery unit from New Zealand. Their story predates the Utah story by exactly one month. And it's almost the same story. The Chinese attacked but the Aussies and Canucks held their ground and turned them back. New Zealand had artillery in the rear. The April battle with the Commonwealth nations saw a great victory, and the Chinese retreated. An estimated 1,000 Chinese were killed, and on the Commonwealth side, Australia lost 32, Canada 12, New Zealand two and America three for a total of 49 deaths. And the reports afterwards claimed that this battle helped turn the tide of the war, as the Chinese never mounted a serious attack again. But that's not quite right. The Gapyeong battle in April was between a Chinese division and two South Korean regiments. The battle of Gapyeong in May saw the Chinese attack again, this time with a regiment, and though they drove the infantry off the line, the artillery stood, with only two batteries against the regiment — 240 men against 4,000 Chinese. And miraculously in the May battle, the artillerymen held and not one fell.

There were several battles in the Gapyeong valley, an important approach to Seoul. Early on, the Chinese won battles in the valley as they marched toward Seoul. Before the May battle of Chinese against the Utah artillery and that in April against the Commonwealth nations, a battle occurred at Yongmunsan Mountain, just south of Gapyeong, where a division of the Republic of Korea 6th Army defeated three attacking Chinese divisions at great cost to the Chinese. The South Koreans lost 107 men, but the Chinese lost more than 6,000. All of these battles marked turning points for the invading Chinese army.

Why did the Chinese lose these battles when they scored big victories earlier in the war? Their tactic was the "human wave," which surprised the Americans and South Koreans early on. The Chinese had great numbers, and the Allies were not prepared for such a costly and inhumane tactic. Geography may also have played a role in the strategy's failure. Military historians say the area around the Chosin Reservoir, where the Chinese surrounded U.S. Marines and forced a hasty retreat in one of the worst defeats for the Marine Corps, was a relatively open area where great numbers could surround an opposing force. But in the Gapyeong valley, the Chinese were forced into narrow passageways between the mountains, making their human wave tactic ineffective. Thus the number of dead in these Gapyeong battles was so lopsided in favor of the Allies.

But of all the battles, that of the Utah artillery unit was the most lopsided. You can't get more lopsided in the score than zero. No fatalities.

Utah needs to tell its story better. The Australians have a documentary on their battle of Gapyeong, with the Canadians also appearing in the video. On Wikipedia, a search for "Battle of Gapyeong (Kapyong)" results in only one battle: theirs. But a month later, there was another such battle that needs to distinguish itself as the "miracle of Gapyeong." Because that's what it was, a battle of 4,000 against 240 in which none of the Utah soldiers were killed and all 600 men in the unit returned home alive.

Mark Peterson is professor emeritus at Brigham Young University, where he taught Korean studies for more than 30 years. Since retiring in 2018, he has run the YouTube channel "The Frog Outside the Well."