Arbor Day at USAG Humphreys

It was an uncommon opportunity for me to watch in person a U.S. Eighth Army Change of Command Ceremony, in 2024, in which Lt. Gen. (LTG) Willard M. Burleson, III, the longest-Korea-assigned (three-and-a-half years) outgoing 35th Commanding General relinquished command to Lt. Gen. Christopher C. LaNeve, incoming 36th Commander on Arbor Day, April 5 in the morning at Barker Field, USAG Humphreys in Pyeongtaek. I was honored to watch the parade there per proxy of the Korea-America Association (KAA), cordially invited by Gen. Paul J. LaCamera, multinational Commander of U.S. Forces Korea, Combined Forces Command and U.N. Command.

Since the disciplined Eighth Army has been well-known to average Koreans with respect to the Korean War (1950-53) and its armistice over seven decades ago, I still remember Lt. Gen. Walton H. Walker (1889-1950), the heroic 2nd Commanding General, who was devoted remarkably to brilliant military operations against the North Korean and Chinese invaders after the outbreak of the Korean War until he died in a jeep accident on Dec. 23, 1950. Alas, his son, Sam Sims Walker, then a company commander with the 19th Infantry Regiment was also killed in action in Korea. I utter that Koreans must send deep regrets as well as memorial tributes to such a monumental and graceful father and son pairing for their valuable joint sacrifices for the safeguarding of South Korea from the dangers of communist occupation.

Additionally, I recall Gen. Walker’s three successors, whose tactical field combat and airstrike plans of war campaigns were outstanding and terrific for the defense of my country. They were chronologically narrated as BTG Mathew B. Ridgway (1895-1993), third Commander, Gen. James Alward Van Fleet (1892-1992), fourth Commander and Gen. Maxwell W. Taylor (1901-85), fifth Commander.

It was my second visit to Camp Humphreys. My first visit to the U.S.' largest military base, outside the continental U.S., was conducted six years ago with a group of KAA members also on rainy Arbor Day in 2018 for tree-planting purposes (Ref. The Korea Times of April 16, 2018, entitled "Arbor Day diary").

I understand the Eighth Army, with its distinctive red-white octagonal insignia, served both as a field army and theater army during the Korean War. On Nov. 20, 1954, it was merged with U.S. Army Forces Far East as the major army command in the region.

In the wake of North Korea’s barrage of missile launches since 2022, many of the tests involved nuclear-capable missiles designated to attack South Korea and the mainland U.S. The Eighth Army and South Korean forces have responded by expanding their training drills and trilateral exercises, now including Japanese forces. There is no doubt that North Korea’s repeated launches pose a threat to its neighboring states and undermine regional security well into the Indo-Pacific region.

I would now like to extend my sense of gratitude to the Eighth Army, officially activated at Memphis, Tennessee on June 10, 1944, and making many Asian island-hopping assaults in the Philippines and Japan under the first command of Lt. General Robert L. Eichelberger (1886-1961). Based on the Korea-U.S. Mutual Defense Treaty of 1953, I know, it has served as a partner of the Combined Joint Forces securing my fatherland with its catchphrase, “forward-deployed and combat-ready” together with its mottos, “Pacific victors.” No doubt, Korea’s 74-year association with the Eighth Army is strong and growing ever stronger.

The writer (wkexim@naver.com) is a freelance columnist living in Seoul.