Assefa Demissie

Sergeant Assefa Demissie IDNo: 0010
Assefa Demissie Belete is an 86-year-old resident of Addis Ababa, Arada Sub-City, Kebele 11/12, and House Number 556. He was a student before he moved to Korea. He was then recruited by the Imperial Guard and assigned to the communications department. In 1944, at the age of 17, he traveled to Korea for the 2nd battalion at the time, he was Major General Radio Operator. In that time his Major General was Asfaw Andarge, his Captain was Werkneh Gebeyehu, and his lieutenant was Seyfe Welde. He does not have a team leader. He remembers by name the places he fought in the Korean War like Camel Mountain and Aldbald Mountain. On the battlefield, he remembers with Lieutenant Yilma Hailemariam they went to Patrol and captivated a Chinese soldier and took him to the General Camp. With Captain Hailemariam Lencho he went patrol to Mount Camel to pick up their Lieutenant’s dead body but they did not find the body, so they returned with two M1 and with One Carbine gun. For the combat duty he made, he was awarded medals from the Ethiopian Government His Majesty’s Haile Selassie Korean War Memorial Gold and silver medals, he received the Korean War Medal from the Korean government the Union War Adventure Unit Center, and the United Nations Korean War Memorial Medal. After returning from Korea, he resigned from the army due to family problems and worked in various positions in Dire Dawa, Ethiopia textile factory. He retired in 1983, serving 5 years in the army and 36 years in Civil Service served a total of 41 years.

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September 30, 2021 11:33 am
Mary Huffman
I love your profile and I was just reading Berhane Seraw's profile. It made me think that you two should connect because you both shared such powerful memories!
May 16, 2021 11:02 pm
Barry Hayes
Wow really excellent profile, exciting to read about the Ethiopian military experience.
May 01, 2021 02:38 pm
Mary Huffman
Thank you so much for all the rich detail in your profile for Sergeant Assefa Demissie. I love the memory about Camel Mountain and Aldbald Mountain. Do you have any additional information about the similarities and differences between those 2 battle locations during the Korean War? Thank you again for teaching us about Demissie.

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Korean War - Key Events

June 25, 1950

A massive artillery barrage from the North signals the beginning of the Korean War. Roughly 100,000 North Korean troops pour across the 38th parallel, and, although South Korean forces are driven back, they retire in good order.

These events are taken from the Encyclopedia Britannica

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