Philippines Contingent (PEFTOK)

[brigadepiron]

Again, I am not an expert on this contingent so feel free to add or contradict the facts in this article, especially to the uniforms section.



First, a bit of history from Wikipedia:

The Philippines joined the Korean War in August 1950. The Philippines sent an expeditionary force of around 7,500 combat troops. This was known as the Philippine Expeditionary Forces To Korea, or PEFTOK. It was the 4th largest force under the United Nations Command then under the command of US General Douglas MacArthur that were sent to defend South Korea from a communist invasion by North Korea which was then supported by Mao Zedong's China and the Soviet Union. The PEFTOK took part in decisive battles such as the Battle of Yultong Bridge and the Battle of Hill Eerie. This expeditionary force operated with the United States 1st Cavalry Division, 3rd Infantry Division, 25th Infantry Division, and 45th Infantry Division.

Few links:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippine_Expeditionary_Forces_to_Korea
www.philembassy-seoul.com/dafa.asp

Veteren's stories:
opinion.inquirer.net/inquireropinion/columns/view/20101002-295658/Peftok-stories

Particularly recommended:
theunknowngazette.blogspot.com/2010/09/philippines-in-korean-war-60th.html

Unusually for Korea, they've even got their own film "The Forgotten War"!
Trailer:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vS43w7kL8c&feature=player_embedded#!

Uniforms:

It seems that the Philippinos wore US-supplied uniforms, helmets and webbing in Korea but there are simply just not enough photo or information for me to make a useful judgement.

Note:
If looking for info or pictures, it is best to search the anagram PEFTOK in Google since it is the only search that brings up results on the subject