Turkish Brigade The Turkish Brigade ( code name " North Star " , or " Kutup Yıldızı " ) was a Turkish Army Infantry Brigade that served under United Nations command during the Korean War between 1950 to 1953 . Attached to the U . S . 25th Infantry Division the Turkish Brigade fought in several actions , and was awarded Unit Citations from Korea and the United States after fighting in the Kunuri Battle . Background . On 29 June 1950 the government of the Republic of Turkey replied to the United Nations Resolution 83 requesting military aid to South Korea , following the attack initiated by North Korea on 25 June . The cable stated : " Turkey is ready to meet his responsibilities . " On 25 July 1950 the Turkish government decided to send a brigade of 5 , 000 troops comprising three infantry battalions , an artillery battalion and auxiliary units , to fight under UN Command against North Korea and subsequently the People ' s Republic of China . Turkey was the second country to answer the UN call , after the United States . Service history . Three different Turkish Brigades served in the Korean War , each replacing the previous one each year . The core of the 1st Turkish Brigade was the 241st Infantry Regiment based at Ayaş which was supplemented with volunteers to raise it to brigade level . Brigadier General Tahsin Yazıcı , a veteran of World War I , who had volunteered to be demoted to lead this force , commanded the 1st Brigade . The advance party of the Turkish Brigade arrived in Pusan on 12 October 1950 . The main body arrived five days later , October 17 from the eastern Mediterranean port of Iskenderun , Turkey , and the brigade went into bivouac near Taegu where it underwent training and received U . S . equipment . The brigade was attached to the U . S . 25th Infantry Division . The bulk of the enlisted men were from small towns and villages in the mountains of eastern Turkey . For these volunteer officers and volunteer enlisted men who were just completing their compulsory two year service , it was not only the first time that they had left their native country — it was the first time they had been out of the villages of their birth . It was , at least for the enlisted men , the first time that they had encountered non - Muslims . Vast cultural and religious differences existed between the Turks and the Americans . The U . S . Army command was unaware of the difficulties in coordination , logistics and , above all , basic communication in a common language that would complicate orders and troop movements , especially in the crucial early months of their joint exercises . Unfamiliar food , clothing requirements and transportation would come to create more problems than the American high command had counted on . The dietary requirements of the Turks forbade pork products , and the American rations contained pork products forbidden to all Muslims . A Japanese cook was hired to provide rations that met the Turkish requirements . Bread and coffee presented other problems . The Turks favored a heavy , substantial bread containing non - bleached flour along with thick , strong , heavily sweetened coffee . Most of the enlisted men had fierce looks , flowing mustaches and carried a sidearm sword that , to Americans and the other U . N . troops , appeared to be a long knife , all of which attracted much media attention . Few American liaison officers were attached to the Turkish companies , thereby adding to the problems the Turks faced in their initial combat operations . Misinterpretation of orders resulted from the lack of communication between Allies . The problem , at first overlooked and judged to be only minor , became exacerbated in the heat of battle . Though it was initially placed as reserve for the U . S . 8th Army , the collapse of the front in the face of massive Chinese attacks on 26 November 1950 , meant that it soon found itself in the thick of battle . The Turkish brigade , between November 1950 and July 1953 , fought in the following battles : The brigade ' s most costly battle was Kunu - ri , which took place towards the end of 1950 . Actually a series of four encounters lasting from 26 November to 6 December 1950 ; Battle of Wawon on 28 November , Sinnim - ni , 28 – 29 November , Kunuri Gorge , 29 – 30 November , and Sunchon Gorge on 30 November 1950 . The brigade lost over 15 % of its personnel and 70 % of equipment at Kunuri , with 218 killed and 455 wounded , and close to 100 taken prisoner . After the battle of Kumyangjang - Ni , 25 – 26 January , in which the Turkish Brigade repulsed a Chinese force three times its size , President Harry Truman signed a Distinguished Unit Citation ( now the Presidential Unit Citation ) on 11 July 1951 . The brigade was also awarded the Presidential Unit Citation from the President of Korea . Composition . The Turkish Armed Forces Command ( TAFC ) was a regimental combat team with three infantry battalions , along with supporting artillery and engineers . The three battalions were commanded by Major Imadettin Kuranel , Major Mithat Ulunu , and Major Lütfü Bilgon . It was the only brigade - sized UN unit attached permanently to a U . S . division throughout the Korean War . The Turkish Brigade comprised : Losses . Overall losses for the Turkish Brigade in Korea was 721 killed in action , 2 , 111 wounded and 168 missing . A total of 14 , 936 men served in the brigade between 1950 - 1953 with about 5 , 455 soldiers in Korea at any one time . Service in Korea . The Brigade had a full turnover after a period of one years service . The Brigades that served for the 10 year period were numbered 1 through 10 . Of these , the first three saw action . During the service of the 3rd Brigade in 1953 , the Korean Armistice was signed . Thereafter , Turkey continued maintaining forces at full Brigade level for another seven years , in accordance with United Nations agreements . Kenan Evren , seventh President of Republic of Turkey , served in the Brigade from 1958 - 59 . Popular culture . In 1954 , a Turkish film bearing the operation code name of the Turkish Brigade ( " Şimal Yıldızı " ) , directed by Atıf Yılmaz and starring Ayhan Işık , which praised the deeds of the unit was released . The Turkish Brigade is featured in the Unification Church - funded 1982 film " Inchon " , which inaccurately depicts the Turkish Brigade as being involved in the Battle of Inchon ( in reality the Brigade did not arrive until the month after the battle ) . Gabriele Ferzetti plays the commander of the Brigade .