This earned them the respect of their American colleagues, while fostering the belief among their opponents, who had often never even seen black people before, that they were superhuman. One of the feats S.L.A. Marshall thought worth noting was an Ethiopian patrol at the Battle of Pork Chop Hill in 1953 when ""...under full observation from enemy country, eight Ethiopians walked 800 yards across no-man's land and up the slope of T-Bone Hill right into the enemy trenches. When next we looked, the eight had become ten. The patrol was dragging back two Chinese prisoners, having snatched them from the embrace of the Communist battalion..."" The British military historian John Keegan notes that the Ethiopian units drawn from the Imperial Guard ("an over-privileged and somewhat pampered force") fought with some distinction in Korea between 1951 and 1954, although performing less competently in the Congo (1960–64). At least nine Silver Star Medals and dozens of Bronze Star Medals were also awarded to the Ethiopians by the United States. Two members, Lieutenant Colonel Irgetu and 2nd Lt. Haptewold Mamo, were awarded the highest Ethiopian gallantry award, and became "Knights of the Order of Emperor Menelik II". When the US established a military base in the newly-federated Eritrea in 1953, they renamed the base Kagnew Station in honor of the officers and men who served so admirably in Korea. Kagnew's exploits have been covered in detail in "Pork Chop Hill" by S.L.A. Marshall. Commenting on the fighting dogma of the Ethiopians Marshall states, "Like Horatius at the bridge or the screaming eagles at Bastogne, it was a classic fight, ending in clean triumph over seemingly impossible odds". Pointing out that War correspondents who were drawn to the headline values of such operations as Little Switch the 163 war correspondents overlooked the equally interesting and unrivaled Ethiopian feats.[...] When the Communist Junta of Mengistu Hailemariam came to power in 1974, it did everything to erase the "embarrassing" record of the Kagnew's service against the communists. The Imperial Bodyguard Association has existed quietly since the division was dissolved by the Derg military junta and continues to celebrate the accomplishments of the officers and men not only of the Kagnew Battalion but of the Guard at large. It is currently under the leadership of Brigadier General Desta Gemeda (Ret.). The Korean War Veterans Association is under the leadership of Colonel Melesse Tessema (Ret.).