October 06, 2022

OUR KOREAN WAR STORY: The adventures of USS Colonial

By The American Legion
Honor & Remembrance
OUR KOREAN WAR STORY: The adventures of USS Colonial
Photos of 10,000 prisoners on the ship transported from Kogido Island to Wanju, having to make two trips carrying 5,000 each time. (Photo by Louis O. Webster)

Ship encountered POWs, mines and more.

Louis O. Webster, a member of American Legion Post 106 in Jackson, Miss., submitted to Legiontown a set of photos taken during his time in the U.S. Navy, from July 1951 to June 1959 (including four years of active reserves). 

He served aboard USS Colonial (LSD 18), which among other activities delivered troops and tanks of the 1st Marine Division to Inchon in September 1950. Webster also included photos of an unexploded Russian mine found in the waters of Wonsan, North Korea; he commented, “We loaded it on the ship to examine because we had never seen one before.” And he included a photo of a smaller South Korean ship loaded onto Colonial’s deck for repairs. 

Share your Korean War story, or that of a loved one, here

  • Honor & Remembrance