Local History
Texas Korean War Historical Markers: The Forgotten War and the Texans Who Fought It
Three Medal of Honor Texans, two jet bases Korea brought back, and the First Team at Killeen. Six Korean War markers you can drive to across Texas.
Photo: Dan Dennis / Unsplash. Bluebonnet Hills Cemetery, Colleyville, Texas.
Texas has more than 16,000 historical markers. A few of them tell the story of a war most Americans stopped talking about the day it ended. RoadHistorical is a Texas historical preservation platform, and this guide covers six Korean War markers you can drive to. They run from a small town on the Rio Grande to an old jet base outside Victoria.
The Korean War started on June 25, 1950. The shooting stopped with an armistice on July 27, 1953. No peace treaty was ever signed. Nearly 37,000 Americans died there, and the men who came home found a country that had mostly moved on. That's how it got its nickname. The Forgotten War.
A Six-Hour Stand from Fort Hancock
Machinegunner, U.S. 25th Inf. Div., Cpl. Benito Martinez
Benito Martinez graduated from Fort Hancock High School in May 1951. Sixteen months later, he was dead in Korea. He was 20 years old.
On September 6, 1952, Martinez held his position near Satae-ri alone for six hours. The marker says he turned down offers of help. His stand let his unit take back key ground. He received the Medal of Honor for it.
The state put this marker up in 1967, in the Hudspeth County town where he grew up. It's short. You'll read it in under a minute. Stay a little longer than that.
460 Knox Ave., Fort Hancock, TX
Find it in RoadHistorical before your visit.
A Fighter Ace from Dublin and a Marine from Fort Worth
Davis, Lt. Col. George A., Jr.
George Davis Jr. was born in Dublin in 1920. He was one of six sons who served in the military. He signed up as an aviation cadet in Lubbock in March 1942 and flew hundreds of P-47 missions in World War II.
In Korea, he became a leading ace with the 334th Fighter Interceptor Squadron. On February 10, 1952, he led a patrol of F-86 Sabre jets near the Manchurian border. He shot down two attacking MiG-15s. Then his plane took a direct hit and crashed south of the Yalu River. He received the Medal of Honor after his death, along with a promotion to lieutenant colonel.
206 West Blackjack St., Dublin, TX
George Herman O'Brien, Jr.
George O'Brien was a Fort Worth grocer's son who grew up in Big Spring. He shipped out on a Merchant Marine gasoline tanker at 18. After that, he earned a geology degree from Texas Tech in 1950. The Marine Corps reserve called him to active duty in 1951.
On October 27, 1952, Chinese forces overran a hill position called the Hook, near the 38th parallel. O'Brien's Company H, Third Battalion, Seventh Marines, got the order to take it back. He led the charge. For nearly four hours, wounded several times, he kept pushing forward. Much of the fighting was hand to hand. When it was over, he set up a defensive line and treated his men's wounds.
The Marines retook the Hook, and O'Brien received the Medal of Honor. He came home and worked as a petroleum geologist. He died in Midland in 2005 and rests in the Texas State Cemetery.
4100 Camp Bowie Blvd., Fort Worth, TX
Find it in RoadHistorical before your visit.
The Air Bases Korea Brought Back
When World War II ended, Texas airfields shut down fast. Korea changed that. The Air Force needed jet pilots, and Texas towns had empty runways.
Bryan Air Force Base
Bryan Army Air Field opened in 1942. After the war, Texas A&M took over much of the site and housed freshmen there. The Korean War brought the military back in 1951. Bryan Air Force Base became a major jet training base. It was also racially integrated. Tuskegee Airmen and pilots from many countries trained here, taught by instructors who included future astronauts. The base closed in 1961 and became part of Texas A&M's Riverside Campus.
Foster Army Air Field
Foster Field trained aerial gunners in World War II and closed on October 31, 1945. It didn't stay closed long. In 1951, the Korean War created demand for more jet training, and Victoria lobbied hard to get its base back. The military reactivated Foster on April 1, 1952. The first jet cadets arrived in March 1953. The base closed for good in December 1958. Today, it's Victoria Regional Airport.
333 Bachelor Drive, Victoria, TX
Find them in RoadHistorical before your visit.
The First Team at Killeen
The 1st Cavalry Division
The Army formed the 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Bliss in 1921 to guard the border. Its oldest regiment dates to 1855 at Fort Belknap, Texas. This unit has deep Texas roots.
In Korea, the division covered more than 100 miles in 11 hours to reach Osan. It was the first force to enter the North Korean capital, Pyongyang. The marker's opening line sums it up: First in Manila, First in Tokyo, First in Pyongyang. The division has been based outside Killeen since 1971.
This marker has no street address. Open the map pin for the 1st Cavalry Division marker in Killeen, TX
Find it in RoadHistorical before your visit.
How RoadHistorical Finds These Markers
Discovery Mode alerts you when you drive near a marker, so you don't blow past a Medal of Honor plaque at 70 miles an hour. The AI Tour Guide answers the questions a short inscription can't, like what the Hook was or why a jet base landed in Victoria.
Offline mode keeps the markers and their text on your phone. That matters in far West Texas, where cell coverage around Fort Hancock can drop out. Every stop you make is a small act of preservation. Somebody reads the names again.
Start Discovering Texas History Today
RoadHistorical is free to download on iPhone and Android. Download it here and turn on Discovery Mode before your next drive. Android users can download RoadHistorical from Google Play.
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