The first major conflict of the Cold War era, fought between North Korea supported by the Soviet Union and China and South Korea aided by the US, in 1950 – 1953, also marked the first post-Independence Indian overseas military mission and India’s earliest diplomatic interventions on the world stage.
The contribution of Indian soldiers in the Korean War through the United Nations, though non-combatant in the form of a medical contingent that treated thousands of soldiers and civilians, has been immortalised on Korean soil with the construction of a new war memorial in Seoul.
It was jointly inaugurated by India’s Defence Minister, Rajnath Singh and South Korea’s Minister of Patriots and Veterans Affairs, Kwon Oh-eul on May 21, 2026. During the war, 26 Indian soldiers laid down their lives while rendering humanitarian assistance in the conflict zone under extremely challenging conditions and braving crossfire.
Treating the war wounded
On November 20, 1950, the Indian Army’s 60 Para Field Ambulance, an elite airborne medical unit, landed at Pusan in Korea to join the United Nations Multinational Force. Under the command of Lieutenant Colonel AG Rangaraj, it comprised 17 officers and 329 other ranks, including women doctors and nursing officers. It was the only airborne medical unit among the UN forces.
The Field Ambulance was divided into two components – one deployed with the 27th Commonwealth Brigade to tend to those wounded on the battlefield and the other tasked to render assistance to local hospitals in the rear. It reached Pyongyang on November 29, but following a China-North Korea offensive in early December, was ordered to withdraw to Seoul along with other forces.
With no transport but unwilling to leave their medical equipment and stores behind, the Field Ambulance came across an abandoned steam locomotive with a few bogies attached to it.
The troops formed a human chain with buckets to draw water from the nearby Han river to fill the locomotive’s boilers and collected firewood and coal from the yard. Two soldiers along with a Korean driver managed to get the train started and crossed the bridge over the Han just a few hours before it was destroyed, earning the moniker ‘Bucket Brigade’.
In another case of field improvisation on the frontlines, the unit used discarded parachutes to create shelters against the wind and snow while treating wounded soldiers. A surgical team under Lt Col Rangaraj parachuted along with 4,000 US troops behind enemy lines to disrupt communications. As the ground link up got delayed and there was no way to evacuate, surgeries and life-saving procedures were performed in the field.
Accolades for gallantry
Archival records reveal that Lt Gen Richard Gate, the MNF Commander later mentioned, “I was immensely struck by their efficiency. That small unit, adapted for an airborne role, carried out 103 operations which is quite outstanding. More than 50 of those operated owed their lives to these men.”
The Field Ambulance participated in several other frontline operations, treating hundreds of wounded soldiers on the battlefield. On August 11, 1951, it was cited by the US Army for the Meritorious Unit Commendation for its work. In 1951, Lt Col Rangaraj, was conferred the Maha Vir Chakra for his leadership and role in treating and managing casualties under fire, marking India’s first wartime gallantry award on foreign soil.
Later, Major Nirode Baran Banerjea of the same unit was also decorated with the Maha Vir Chakra for his actions in Korea. Besides, six Vir Chakra and 25 Mentions-in-Despatches were awarded for Korean operations.
“In the service of humanity, the contribution of 60 Para Field Ambulance was par excellence and deserves special mention,” Maj Gen PK Goswami (retd) who has served as a UN military observer in Angola, states in a paper published by the United Service Institution of India.
“Many of the jawans of this unit did longer tours of duty in Korea than most other personnel and never even took leave of absence. Their initiative, discipline, efficiency and commitment to duty in handling any situation that came their way was noteworthy,” he remarks.
By the time 60 Para Field Ambulance’s tour came to an end in February 1954, the small group comprising a force of 20,000 drawn from 16 countries had treated over 200,000 casualties and performed more than 2,300 field surgeries. It came to be known as the ‘Maroon Angels’ after the distinctive maroon beret worn by paratroopers. Upon return, it received the President’s Trophy in 1955 from D Rajendra Prasad.
In war and peace, at home and abroad
Now known as the 60 Parachute Field Hospital, was raised as a field unit in August 1942, at Secunderabad and initially served in the Burma Campaign during World War – II, as part of the 2nd Indian Airborne Division. Conversion to Para Unit: In 1945, it was converted into a Parachute Field Ambulance.
Post-Independence, it saw action during the 1947-48 Jammu and Kashmir operations and in 1950, it was made part of the Indian Army’s 50th (Independent) Parachute Brigade, a rapid action airborne formation of Special Forces based at Agra that always remains in a state of high operational preparedness to cater to any contingency.
Trained and equipped for para-drop, 60 Parachute Field Hospital’s role is to provide immediate medical care, surgery and evacuation support to parachute and special forces units during airborne assaults or high-intensity operations. It is capable of setting up fully functional field hospitals quickly with specialist medical teams and equipment.
Besides military operations, the unit is also involved in disaster management and humanitarian assistance in India and abroad. Under Operation Dost, in the aftermath of a major earthquake in Turkey-Syria in 2023, elements of the unit were airlifted to Hatay, where it set up a field hospital and treated thousands of victims. The unit also provided medical assistance to Sri Lanka after it was hit by a cyclone in 2025.
