Ronald H. Van Buren Korean War Collection

Image to left: Ronald H. Van Buren in military uniform, 5th Armored Division, Fort Chaffee, Arkansas, 1948.
Location in collection: Box 1, File 8, Item 18

Born: May 21, 1930, in Louisville, Kentucky
Korean War Service: 99th Field Artillery Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division, U.S. Army, 1950

Ronald H. Van Buren was born in Louisville, Kentucky in 1930 and enlisted in the Army in 1948 at the age of eighteen. He was stationed with the 5th Armored Division at Fort Chaffee near Fort Smith, Arkansas before being transferred to Japan with the 24th Infantry Division. Van Buren served in the Korean War for eleven months beginning in September of 1950. He currently lives in Clarksville, Arkansas.

Nine soldiers, including one South Korean, dressed in winter gear posed in front of 105mm Howitzer, Korea, ca. November 1950.
Location in collection: Box 1, File 10, Item 53.

Four soldiers trying to stay warm around stove while on retreat from North Korea, ca. December 1950.
Location in collection: Box 1, File 10, Item 57.

Snow-covered Korean landscape with military personnel visible, ca. November 1950.
Location in collection: Box 1, File 10, Item 52
The Ronald H. Van Buren Collection consists of one box containing documents and photographs relating to his Korean War military service. Van Buren was interviewed on August 25, 2008; audio and video copies of the interview are included in the collection.

Click here to access the complete finding aid. Selected photographs can be found here. Audio and video versions of the oral history interview are available.


Contributed by Stephanie Bayless, Manuscripts Department.