November 5: The Battle of Pakchon, Ford Hood Shooting, and Other Events of the Date
A number of important events have taken place on November 5 in U.S. history. Here is our take on the most interesting and valuable of them.
1950 – Korean War: The Battle of Pakchon
The Korean War is often being referred to as “the forgotten war,” and indeed, from a media perspective, this conflict is far behind the far more “popularized” wars of the Cold War Era, such as the war in Vietnam. Yet, this conflict was the first major “shadow” clash between two new global superpowers, the US and the USSR (and China).
Thus, we have to at least mention its most important battles, and the Battle of Pakchon surely was one of them.
The battle took place just ten days after the start of the Chinese First Phase Offensive, following the entry of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army into the Korean War. The battle itself was fought between “the Allies” (British and Australian forces from the 27th British Commonwealth Brigade with significant American armor and artillery support) on one side and the Chinese 117th Division on the other near the village of Pakchon on the Taeryong River (which is North Korean territory today).
The clash was quite bloody and severe. “The Allies” (or—in the context of the Korean War—UN Forces) managed to eventually defeat the Chinese volunteers, with at least 14 soldiers killed and 84 wounded, while the Chinese side suffered at least 270 killed and 200 wounded, although the exact number of soldiers fallen is still unknown.
2009 – Ford Hood mass shooting
The deadliest mass shooting at an American military base in U.S. history occurred this day nine years ago in Texas, as Nidal Hassan, an army specialist and psychiatrist opened fire, killing 13 and injuring 30.
As a result of the skirmish, the murderer, Hasan, was shot and paralyzed from the waist down. He was arraigned by a military court two years later on July 20, 2011, being charged under the Uniform Code of Military Justice with 13 cases of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted murder. Another two years later on August 28, 2013, he was sentenced to death and is now awaiting execution.
The investigation found that Hasan had ties with Yemen-based Imam Anwar al-Awlaki, who, in turn, had been monitored by the NSA as a security threat. Thus, Hasan was radicalized through these ties.
Interestingly, though, the government declined numerous requests both from the survivors and family members of those murdered to categorize the Fort Hood shooting as an act of terrorism, or, at least, motivated by militant Islamic religious convictions.
2017 - Sutherland Springs church shooting
One year ago, another tragic massacre occurred in Texas, in the town of Sutherland Springs in northern Wilson County, during worship at the First Baptist Church.
The gunman, identified as 26-year-old Devin Patrick Kelley (who lived nearby, in New Braunfels), killed 26 and wounded 20 congregants before he was shot twice by an armed civilian as he was driving away from the church.
This attack is the deadliest mass shooting in Texas, exceeding even the Ford Hood disaster, and is the fifth-deadliest mass shooting in U.S history.
The Sutherland Springs church shooting was also the bloodiest shooting in an American place of worship in modern times, leaving behind both the Charleston church shooting of 2015 (9 dead) and the Waddell Buddhist temple shooting back in 1991 (also 9 dead).
These are the most notable events in U.S. history that occurred on November 5, at least in our view.