Young Oak Kim was a Korean American United States Army officer, civic leader, and humanitarian. This collection comprises military documents and audiovisual materials relating to Kim's service in World War II and the Korean War, collected as well as created by author Woo Sung Han during the research and writing process of his 2011 biography entitled "Unsung Hero: The Col. Young O. Kim Story."

Young Oak Kim, born in Los Angeles in 1919, was a Korean American United States Army officer during World War II and the Korean War, as well as a civic leader and humanitarian. He was a member of the U.S. 100th Infantry Battalion and the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. He was also a combat leader in Italy and France during World War II. During the Korean War, Kim was assigned to the 31st Infantry of the 7th Infantry Division. The 31st Infantry played a significant role in stopping Chinese troops and pushing them back above the 38th parallel. Shortly after this, Kim was seriously wounded in combat. He served out the remainder of his participation in the Korean War as the commander of the 31st Infantry's 1st Battalion, the first minority officer in U.S. History to do so. After serving a year in this post, Kim left Korea in September of 1952.

5 Linear Feet 7 boxes

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