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The axe murder incident Korean. , ; literally, Panmunjom axe murder incident was the killing of two United States Army. Officers, Arthur Bonifas and Mark Barrett, by North Korean soldiers on August 18, 1976, in the Joint Security Area. (JSA) located in the Korean Demilitarized Zone. Army officers had been part of a work party cutting down a poplar. Tree in the JSA that partially blocked the view of United Nations U. Observers when they were assaulted and killed by the North Koreans, who claimed that the tree was planted by Kim Il-Sung. Three days later, American and South Korean. Forces launched Operation Paul Bunyan, an operation that cut down the tree with a show of force. To intimidate North Korea into backing down, which it did. North Korea then accepted responsibility for the earlier killings. The incident is also known alternatively as the hatchet incident, the poplar tree incident, and the tree trimming incident. In response to the “axe murder incident”, the UNC determined that instead of trimming the branches that obscured visibility, they would cut down the tree with the aid of overwhelming force. The parameters of the operation were decided in the White House, where President. Had held crisis talks. Ford and his advisers were concerned about making a show of strength to chasten North Korea, but without causing further escalation. The operation, named after mythical lumberjack. Was conceived as a U. But was also carefully managed to prevent further escalation. It was planned over two days by. And his staff at the UNC headquarters in Seoul. Operation Paul Bunyan was carried out on August 21 at 07:00, three days after the killings. A convoy of 23 American and South Korean vehicles “Task Force Vierra”, named after Lieutenant Colonel. Vierra, commander of the United States Army Support Group drove into the JSA without any warning to the North Koreans, who had one observation post manned at that hour. In the vehicles were two eight-man teams of military engineers from the 2nd Engineer Battalion. 2nd Infantry Division equipped with chain-saws. To cut down the tree. These teams were accompanied by two 30-man security platoons from the Joint Security Force, who were armed with pistols and axe handles. The 2nd Platoon secured the northern entrance to the JSA via the Bridge of No Return, while the 3rd Platoon secured the southern edge of the area. Concurrently, a team from B Company, commanded by Captain Walter Seifried, had activated the detonation systems for the charges on Freedom Bridge and had the 165mm main gun of the M728 combat engineer vehicle. Aimed mid-span to ensure that the bridge would fall should the order be given for its destruction. Also, B Company, supporting E Company (bridge), were building M4T6 rafts on the Imjin River. Should the situation require emergency evacuation by that route. In addition, a 64-man South Korean Special Forces. Company accompanied them, armed with clubs and trained in Tae Kwon Do. However, once they parked their trucks near the Bridge of No Return, they started throwing out the sandbags that lined the truck bottoms, and handing out M16 rifles. And M79 grenade launchers. That had been concealed below. Several of the special forces men also had M18 Claymore mines. Strapped to their chests with the firing mechanism in their hands, and were shouting at the North Koreans to cross the bridge. Infantry company in 20 utility helicopters and seven Cobra attack helicopters. Behind these helicopters, B-52 Stratofortresses. Described as “nuclear ready” came from Guam escorted by U. From Kunsan Air Base. And South Korean F-5. Fighters were visible flying across the sky at high altitude. At Taegu Air Base. Bombers of the 366th Tactical Fighter Wing. Out of Mountain Home Air Force Base. Were stationed, and F-4 Phantoms C and D from the 18th TFW Kadena Air Base. And Clark Air Base. The aircraft carrier USS Midway. Task force had also been moved to a station just offshore. Near the edges of the DMZ, many more heavily armed U. And South Korean infantry. Including the Second Battalion, 71st Air Defense Regiment. Armed with Improved Hawk missiles. Were waiting to back up the special operations team. Bases near the DMZ were prepared for demolition in the case of a military response. The defense condition DEFCON. Was elevated on order of General Stilwell, as recounted in Colonel De LaTeur’s research paper later. In addition, 12,000 additional troops were ordered to Korea, including 1,800 Marines from Okinawa. During the operation, nuclear-capable strategic bombers circled over the JSA. According to an intelligence analyst monitoring the North Korea tactical radio net, the accumulation of force blew their… Altogether, Task Force Vierra consisted of 813 men: almost all of the men of the United States Army Support Group, of which the Joint Security Force was a part; a South Korean reconnaissance company; a South Korean Special Forces company which had infiltrated the river area by the bridge the night before; and members of a reinforced composite rifle company from the 9th Infantry Regiment. In addition to this force, every UNC force in the rest of South Korea was on battle alert. The 19th TASS flying OV-10s provided the TASS support for the Air Force fighter aircraft. The item “Authentic Air Force USAF 19th Tactical Air Support Squadron, Paul Bunyan Group” is in sale since Friday, June 09, 2017. This item is in the category “Collectibles\Militaria\1976-89\Original Period Items”. The seller is “zeustinker” and is located in Marietta, Georgia. This item can be shipped worldwide.