Lt. General Matthew B. Ridgway
was our most able Army commander during the
Korean War. Taking a disorganized, demoralized
army, questionably supported by an inept staff,
Ridgway turned the entire situation around by
violently counter-attacking the previously
victorious CCF. Not impetuously, but
progressively, probing always for their strength
and intentions, and moving against them while
building the fighting efficiency and morale of
all our forces. The recapture of Seoul is a case
in point.
While deliberately seeking out
and destroying CCF and NK forces, Ridgway
outflanked the South Korean capitol. To avoid the
entrapment they themselves were so adept at, the
CCF abandoned Seoul when UN forces reached the
Hongchon River and captured Hongchon itself. Over
fifty years later, this is still the last time we
had to do the job.
