August 3, 1950
The first air strike by Marine Corps aircraft was launched by VMF-214 from aboard the USS Sicily. Aircraft of the First Marine Aircraft Wing attacked targets in the southwest sector of Chinju.
August 4, 1950
Eighth Army established a defensive line along the Naktong River just 50 miles short of the sea. Journalists labeled this line as the Pusan Perimeter.
August 5, 1950
USAF Major Luis J. Sebille, commander of the 67th Fighter-Bomber Squadron, 18th Fighter-Bomber Group, 5th Air Force, earned the Medal of Honor. He became the third Korean War Medal of Honor recipient and the Air Force's first. During an attack on a concentration of enemy troops, artillery and armored vehicles, Sebille's F-51 Mustang was severely damaged by anti-aircraft fire. Fully aware of the short period of time he could remain airborne, he elected to stay with his aircraft and continue his attack. In his determination to inflict maximum damage on the enemy, he again exposed himself to the enemy guns and dived on the target to his death.
August 6, 1950
Private First Class William Thompson, M Company, 3rd Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division, earned the fourth Medal of Honor of the Korean War. While his platoon was reorganizing under cover of darkness, it was attacked by an overwhelming mass of enemy forces. Thompson set up his machine gun in the path of the onslaught and swept the enemy with withering fire, checking them long enough for his platoon to withdraw to a more tenable position. Hit repeatedly by grenade fragments and bullets, he refused to withdraw and continued to deliver deadly, accurate fire until killed by an enemy grenade. He was the first African-American to earn his country's highest award during the Korean War.
August 7, 1950
Lieutenant General Walton Walker launched Task Force Kean against the North Korean 6th Division to seize the Chinju Pass and establish a new line along the Nam River. Three regiments, the Army's 35th Infantry and 5th Regimental Combat Team and the 5th Marines, attacked abreast against an estimated 7,500 enemy troops. Unknown to the Eight Army planners was the presence of the North Korean 83rd Motorized Regiment of the 105th Armored Division supporting the 6th Division with T-34 tanks.
August 8, 1950
As part of Task Force Kean in the first American counterattack of the war, the leading 35th Infantry Regiment of the 25th Infantry Division had advanced to its initial objective, the high ground just north of Munchon-ni. The regiment was then ordered to hold until the 5th Regimental Combat Team could come up on the left.
August 9, 1950
The 1st Marine Air Wing was awarded the Army Distinguished Unit Citation for outstanding performance of duty and extraordinary heroism during the period from Nov. 22 to Dec. 14, 1950 in support of X Corps in the Chosin/Changjin Reservoir campaign and the evacuation from northeast Korea.