Indeed they did, and they fought extremely well according to this story on the BBC News site. In particular, this man, Capt. Mamo Habtewold, showed courage and leadership of the very highest order although his sense of timing (not really his fault) was slightly off.
He was placed in command of a patrol sent out into no-man's-land just as the Chinese launched a major offensive. Cut off, wounded, and with many of his men killed or wounded, Capt. Mamo Habtewold realised that all of his radios by which he might call in assistance were destroyed or lost. He maintained command and control of his men who beat off several Chinese attempts to overrun them. Eventually, he found a functioning radio and called in artillery which allowed the patrol to get back to their own lines.
And there is a happy end to this story of courage. Capt. Mamo Habtewold is alive and well at the age now of 81 and given his record of fighting in Korea plus the dangerous upheavals inside his own country that is some achievement. Also, the South Korean government has agreed to pay pensions to any surviving Ethiopian(*) veterans of the Korean war.
See, it's not all bad news here at D&N!
(*) Thank you, JK, for the correction but I was under pressure from the Memsahib this morning and she is more terrifying than a Chinese division!
Well I never!
Posted by: dearieme | Tuesday, 25 September 2012 at 09:02
I bet Mamo never eithers.
David in his title tells us it was Ethiopians who fought.
David's concluding sentence tells us the South Koreans will be pensioning Ethipians!
Posted by: JK | Tuesday, 25 September 2012 at 10:57
Here's one for you David:
http://www.baxterbulletin.com/article/99999999/NEWS01/399990039/Pineville-man-recalls-wartime-Indochina?odyssey
Posted by: JK | Tuesday, 25 September 2012 at 11:03
There were all sorts of oddities in Vietnam: there was an early stage when British troops were supervising surrendered Japanese troops who were re-armed to fight the Vietminh.
It was Kennedy who turned it from a US "training personnel" deployment into a pukkah American war (for American party political reasons, I understand), and LBJ who expanded it. His reason, I have lately read, was to dish RFK's ambition to run for the Democratic nomination in '64.
Posted by: dearieme | Tuesday, 25 September 2012 at 11:52
Yes, well DM that's not 'zactly why I chanct to link that. Pineville is a town where besides my Daddy being borned there, I have other sorts of kin. And, for me, it's less than a half hour's car ride.
But I would agree - there were all sorts of oddities where Vietnam is concerned.
Posted by: JK | Tuesday, 25 September 2012 at 12:44