Ethiopia at the Korean War

BBC | September 19, 2012

In support of the principle of collective security, Emperor Haile Selassie sent Kagnew Battalion under the command of General Mulugeta Buli to join U.N. forces in the Korean War which began in 1950.

Ethiopia was the first African nation to provide troops. The Ethiopian Battalion was attached to the American 7th Infantry Division and fought hundreds of battles with the Chinese including the famous Battle of Pork Chop Hill in the summer of 1953.

Over 3,500 Ethiopian troops served during the war. 121 Ethiopian troops were killed and 536 wounded. This audio is a recent BBC interview of Captain Mammo Habtewold, a decorated Ethiopian soldier who became a Korean War hero.

Listen to the story by the BBC’s Alex Last: Ethiopian soliders during the Korean War.