The Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs said it has selected Army Brig. Gen. Yook Geun-soo and Philippine Army Capt. Conrado D. Yap as the Korean War heroes of July.
Born in Daejeon, Yook entered the Korea Constabulary Officer Candidate School, now the Korea Military Academy, as a member of its third class in 1947 and was commissioned as an army second lieutenant. He later served in the 8th Division, the Capital Division and the 2nd Corps, where he distinguished himself in various battles and received numerous decorations, including the Chungmu Order of Military Merit and the Hwarang Order of Military Merit.
In October 1952, then-Col. Yook was appointed commander of the Capital Division's armored regiment and deployed to the battlefield in the Geumseong area. As the armistice neared in July 1953, Chinese forces launched a major offensive to seize the "Geumseong salient," a strategic point on the central front.
At the time, Yook's unit served as a division reserve force tasked with supporting the 1st Regiment and the 26th Regiment, which were deployed on the front line.
When Chinese forces mobilized a large contingent and attacked the 1st Regiment on July 13, Yook personally led the 2nd Battalion on the night of July 14 to the 1st Regiment's defensive positions to rescue the unit, which faced annihilation. However, the 2nd Battalion fell into disarray under a surprise attack by enemy forces lying in ambush on a mountainside.
Yook personally reorganized his unit's ranks and waged a defensive battle against the enemy to the last, but he was killed in action on the spot under the enemy's assault. In recognition of his contributions, the government posthumously promoted him by one rank and awarded him the Eulji Order of Military Merit.
Capt. Conrado D. Yap, commander of the special company of the Philippine 10th Battalion Combat Team, fought in the Battle of Yuldong north of Yeoncheon, Gyeonggi Province, on April 22-23, 1951. In the battle, the 10th Battalion Combat Team held off the Chinese attack for two days despite being outnumbered, buying time for other units to withdraw.
The 10th Battalion Combat Team waged a defensive battle until the early morning of April 23, then began withdrawing under orders from the U.S. 3rd Division. At that point, the special company, which had not received the withdrawal order due to a communications breakdown, prepared a counterattack to recover positions seized by the Chinese forces.
After communications were restored, the battalion commander ordered the special company to withdraw immediately, but Yap reported that he would withdraw after rescuing survivors and recovering the bodies of his comrades, then pressed ahead with the counterattack.
Under Yap's command, the special company succeeded in retaking the hill, then began withdrawing after rescuing two wounded comrades and recovering the bodies of those killed in action. During this process, Yap was wounded in an enemy attack and was carried back to the main unit on a stretcher, but he died from severe bleeding.
In recognition of his contributions, the government posthumously awarded him the Taeguk Order of Military Merit in 2018.
