1950 MAJ GEN W. F. DEAN POSTAL COVER TO WIFE - KOREA

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Very interesting U.S. 6c postal envelope postmarked U.S. Army Postal Service APO 500, Jul 11 1950, with return address (in his own hand) of MAJ GEN W. F. Dean, U.S. Army Post Office (A.P.O.) 24 (Taejon Korea), to his wife, c/o 8020th 20th Composite Service Company, APO 25-3 (Kokura, Japan); no letter content present. Major General William F. Dean (1899-1981) served in the U.S. Army during World War II and the Korean War. He was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions on Jun 20-21 1950 (just days after the cover we are offering was mailed) for his brave actions during the Battle of Taejon, Korea, after which he was taken as a prisoner of war (P.O.W.). During World War II MAJ GEN Dean was assigned as Assistant Division Commander, then Division Commander of the 44th Infantry Division in Europe. In 1944, while fighting in Germany and Austria, his troops captured 30,000 enemy prisoners and helped force the surrender of the German 19th Army. He received the Distinguished Service Cross for these actions. In Oct 1947 MAJ GEN Dean was appointed Military Governor of South Korea, then, in 1948, he assumed command of the Seventh Infantry Division, moving it from Korea to Japan. After serving as Eighth Army Chief of Staff, in Oct 1949, MAJ GEN Dean was assigned command of the 24th Infantry Division, headquartered in Japan. When the Korean War broke out in Jun 1950, the 24th Infantry Division was the first American ground combat unit to be dispatched to Korea, and that unit arrived on Jul 3 1950, and established headquarters at Taejon. MAJ GEN Dean had orders to fight a delaying action against the advancing North Korean People's Army. Although he planned to withdraw from Taejon, MAJ GEN Dean was ordered to hold the city until Jul 20 1950, to buy time to deploy additional American units from Japan. His regiments had been decimated in earlier fighting, but MAJ GEN Dean personally led tank-killer teams, armed with newly arrived 3.5 inch rocket launchers, to destroy advancing North Korean T-34 tanks. He became revered for such exploits as attacking and destroying an enemy tank armed with only a hand grenade. On Jul 20, his division fell back from Taejon and MAJ GEN Dean became separated from his men. Alone, he hid in woods during the day and traveled at night for over a month. On Aug 25 1950, after a hand-to-hand struggle with 15 North Korean soldiers, he was captured. He remained a P.O.W. of the North Koreans until Sep 4 1953. In 1951, Congress voted MAJ GEN Dean the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions in the defence of Taejon. The Medal was presented by then President Harry S Truman on Jan 9 1951 to his wife, Mildred Dean, to whom the cover we are selling is addressed, son William Dean Jr. and daughter Marjorie June Dean. MAJ GEN Dean, himself, was still reported as missing in Korea. He had no contact with the outside world, until he was interviewed in Dec 1951 by a correspondent for Le Soir, a French newspaper. This was the first news that he was still alive. Dean, the highest ranking prisoner during the conflict, later said hat at one point he tried to commit suicide, because he feared that he, "might squeal when they started to drive splinters under my fingernails." You see, he had knowledge of the proposed Allied landing at Inchon, and was worried that he might submit under harsh interrogation. Still he was not physically tortured, as he had feared, but was subjected to several interrogations, one of which dragged on for 72 hours.. Bravely, he only talked about inconsequential matters, later telling a Pentagon committee that, "I was trying to divert them from really starting those Oriental tortures." During this third questioning, he was prevented from committing suicide, and the interrogations ended. MAJ GEN Dean was given a hero's welcome upon his return the U.S. in 1953, and was showered with military and civilian honors. But MAJ GEN Dean insisted that he was no hero, but "just a dogface soldier." Three months after his return from Korea, MAJ GEN Dean was assigned as Deputy Commanding General of ... read more

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