. >> 20 september, 1950, marines had fought five days and 30 miles from inchon. on the other side, the capital city of seoul where 20,000 communist north koreans were dug in. >> we were on the han river overlooking seoul. >> when you get to the han river, tell me what you see. >> devastation because there had been one bridge across the han, a high metal bridge. when they evacuated seoul, they had blown the bridge. >> to take seoul, the strategy was gutsy, send the fifth marines north, through the senter and 32nd infantry to the south. >> 21st of september, we crossed

higgins again. >> my organization went across. i thought i was going to die. it was the first time i had been in an amtrak. they buttoned the thing up. fumes made everybody sick. we were glad to get to the other side to get out. >> larry knew the feeling all too well. his infantry crossed the han. >> it always stalled in the middle of the water. we could hear them firing on us. seemed like 20 minutes but probably was 20 seconds. you could hear a pin drop inside that thing. nobod wanted totalk. >> we crossed n, moved down on the north. the goal of course was to liberate the city of seoul. turns out to be more difficult than people imagine. >> yes, it does because the forces that were in root

consolidated in seoul or were diverted to seoul. house to house or city fighting is difficult no matter where you are. you either defeat them in place or surround them and they surrender. those are about the only two options. >> the enemy situation was terrible. they came through seoul like water through cheese. they were all around. the situation was bad. when we went into seoul, yes, there was opposition. yes, they were sending reinforcement down to pyongyang and in the north. they had air lot of these like railroads that were elevated. underneath they had underpasses like. they had sandbags made out of rice. >> barricades. they would fill the whole thing up. you couldn't get through. they brought tanks in and blew those rice bags out. then you'd go underneath. >> frank, tell me what it was

like when your squad entered seoul. >> it was a lot of smoke and fire going on. we were getting fire from above and fire from door way, windows and what more. it was pretty hard to see. we followed persian tanks firing a 90 millimeter. justike this one with small arms fire. >> were they in buildings fire down on you? >> firing down on us. >> how heavy was the fire? >> very heavy. small arms, rifle fire. >> behind every barricade and door, a fierce and formidable flow blocked the liberators. >> north koreans you're up against good soldiers? >> i think they were very r well disciplined. the best weapon they had was bird shot. they were short range. after 100 yards they weren't

worth a [ bleep ]. for street fighting, they were. they gave us a headache. >> it was house to house, building to building. they had a lot of snipers. we had a lot of guys that got hit that way. >> tell me how you got wounded. >> a shell came in. i felt myself on the ground. i don't remember landing. when i woke up, there was a poncho over my head. i don't know how long i was out. >> did you have fighting inside seoul? >> we had street to street fighting. u.s. marine underground with a gun, duffle bag. he got shot inis leg and was bleeding. we took emergency and tied his leg and called medic from my company. >> were they reinforcing north,

south, or both? >> north. it was the 32nd regimen of the infantry division. they came in from the south to act as an attacking blocking force so bad guys from the south couldn't come back up. >> we took sand mountain. highest ground in the city. we got there 3:00 in the oor afternoon. you could see a the whole city and hear the marines. >> were these guys firmly committed to trying to hang onto seoul? >> oh yes. we had to blast them out of there. no question about it. we did blast them out of there. >> battles are still raging on the streets of seoul. mcarthur declares the city liberated. >> they're not stupid people. they were hiding somewhere during the day. they overran us. >> those still fighting door to door don't exactly have time to

celebrate the victory. that's coming up on "war stories."

it was a tough fight. we finally captured the city. >> 25 september, 1950, after a bitter and difficult fight and just three months to the day 25 june invasion, mcarthur declared the city of seoul liberated. >> what can did seoul look like by the time mcarthur declares the city to be liberated? >> there's nothing. it's a city full of people every one of which is desperate. all they can do is hunker down and try to survive. this is not a happy place to be

in seoul at this particular time. >> one of the biggest struggles we had was the refugee problem. the estimates on refugees go from 380 to approaching 500,000 refugees. >> every day they were coming down by the thousands. you couldn't see the end of it. there was little kids, old ladies and old men. >> women and children, what shape were they in? >> very poor, very poor shape. >> a lot were carrying blankets and sacks and what more. they were trying to get away from the north koreans. they were glad to see us. very glad to see us. they knew the americans were going to help them. >> they knew we had sea rations. >> mcarthur prepared the victory lap. for some of his men, thele fight was far from over. larry and his fellow soldiers in the 32nd were about to be

overrun. >> they're not stupid people. they were hiding somewhere during the day. at 3:00 the 26th, they came. they overran us alst off the hill. we didn't leave the hill. they get so close, you can't stop them. you shoot one, there's one in the back of him. they don't care how many people they lose. they had to fight. they'd get shot by their own officer. they were crazy. there was noise when they were coming after you, screaming and yelling. it wasn't quiet when they came by. >> 29 september, mcarthur entered the capital with the president who wasn't popular among his own people let alone those in washington.

>> did you get to see mcarthur? >> yes, i did. he was in his khakis. they came up in a jeep, got out and walked up to the capitol building. of course that thing had holes all in it. >> i recall escorting mcarthur to the huge amphitheater where the ceremony was held. had instructions from the jcf he would not reinstall sigmund reed as the leader of south korea, and he did that at that meeting. >> stationed just outside the capital, south korean marnes heard the good news. >> how did you hear abo the liberation of seoul? >> translator: i was in and realized seoul was liberated by looking at the people. they were extremely happy. >> translator: i knew the fact that seoul was liberated, but i didn't know the war was over.

>> did the south korean people think when seoul was liberated the war would be over? >> translator: yes, they did. people in seoul were extremely happy and shouting. everyone thought the war was over. >> the morale was boosted among the fighting forces because of what we were able to achieve. there was great optimism. we can take it to the enemy and win this war. >> as the north korean's people army flees north, the communist chinese army mobilized with thousands like this to change the course of the war. that's next on "war stories."

just two months after the bold landings at inchon, the north korean people's army was liberating. forces has crossed the border deep into the north. north korean dictator was powerless and on the run. >> was there expectation this would be over by christmas? >> there was certainly that rumor. that rumor was certainly supported. it was a tr morale boost. >> mcarthur says the war is over. you'll all be home by christmas. well, we believed that. we believed we had won. >> such success, the leader offered to take them up to the border with china. the soldiers were stretched

thin, winter temperatures fell to minus 30 degrees. >> this was a great mistake i had with my partner made in pushing us up there at that time of the year. >> the architect of the inchon master stroke had made a decision that spelled disaster. >> general mcarthur believed the chine had lst their opportunity to comein. >> while joseph stallion watched from moscow, chinese leader unleashed endless supply of soldiers on americans. >> you've got how many? >> i've heard ten. >> ten divisions. >> consensus is ten divisions. >> they came over top of the that ridge, down into the

valley. chinese had entered the war. >> with a million chinese in the war, veterans of inchon and seoul found themselves in the fight of their lives. this led to two more years of heavy fighting resulting in 450,000 u.n. casualties. 36,000 americans and over 100,000 south koreans would be killed in action. in 27 july, 1953 there was a signing in the village in on inchon. the villages still divided separated by the 150 mile long dmz. this is the north korean people's army behind me. this is as close as most will get to a sworn enemy. since this war ended this has been the site for hundreds of

face to face meetings regarding this. >> on the left hand side communist north korea and right hand side republic south korea. >> ever been to north korea? >> only in this building sir. >> come on. i feel safe because i'm with you. >> threat is real. north is a huge army, mostly conventional. it is this huge army to the north that threatens very important in the south almost immediately, specifically seoul. >> well aware of dangers just to the north, the armed forces of republic of korea maintained constant vigilance. >> the koreans are part of us. we have a mutual defense treaty. they use the same tactics, techniques and procedures we do. they're a truly great powerful,

strong, and tremendous ally. >> special list report gillin agrees. >> i'm sure the army is capable of defending themselves. it's good to back up allies. >> soldiers here treated me not as soldier only but as their brother. >> specialist scott. >> "war stories" joined u.s. and north korean soldiers on a night patrol in the dmz. >> young people that put on cloth of military today are phenomenal. >> i've been in the military now 34 years, and they are better than any other time i've been in the service. period, dot. >> all right roger. let me know what you're headed back so we can identify the

mission over. >> my tour over here has opened my eyes to korea in general. >> do they understand the sacrifice made by the allies during the korean war? >> the older generation appreciates the fact we've been here more than 50 years. >> the generation that was here during the war, they revere general mcarthur with tremendous respect as they should. his leadership, his plan, his idea, his concept, his vision carried that day. >> yesterday at the mcarthur memorial, you and fellow marines saluted him. do people still regard him to be a hero here in korea? >> translator: not all of them, but people who live through korean war, people over the age of 50 or 60, think that with survived because of general

mcarthur. >> number one. thank you. >> 50 years from now, some youngster is going to learn something about inchon about the battle for seoul. what would you want that youngster to know about that experience? >> i did what my country asked me to do. i did it to the best of my ability. i think that i saved a lot of people's lives in doing it. >> i want them to know we love freedom. that we think of individuals, and we care about individuals. that's what i want them to understand. country first. that's what i believe in. >> there's more "war stories" from

i go back to korea three or four times a year. the comparison with what we saw in 1950 to what i see now is difference between day and night. >> it is booming. it has taken advantage of all opportunities that it has been given. it has by hard work and common sense and smart tactics made a booming democratic country. >> korea is not your father's korea. it's one of the top countries in the world in terms of economy. the testament to the people and how hard they've worked. >> there's a great picture. basically it's a composition satellite photo of night activity. in the south you have all kinds of light energy where they are producing things, where they are

living and working. in the north, you have absolutely nothing. it's a dark hole. >> do you think korea will ever be one country? >> translator: as long as korea is standing and as long as communism doesn't change, union cannot happen. >> they're not going to let anything hold them do you think. they're saying we're going to get through this and make it no matter what. >> today it is a democracy with a thriving economy. with the regime on the other side of the military zone, it's still a threat to this neon lit caital. those a that live here are among the freest and most prosperous on earth. this is a testament to courage and sacrifice of koreans that battled the enemy through the bloody barricades and streets of seoul. there's is a war story that

deserves to be told. i'm oliver north. good night. >> lou: good evening, everybody. president trump taking the lead on tax reform and proposing a massive overhaul to slash rates for all american and stimulate economic growth treasury director and director of the economic council taking the lead in the white house briefing today. they introduced it to the new'sa media and it would reduce it from seven to throw. it would double the standard deduct