Category: Korean War

This left Cafferata and a small unit of Marines alone like an island surrounded by a sea of advancing Chinese soldiers. But the next wave of enemy soldiers found a squad of Marines firing into their right flank. Giving all he had and more Cafferata Emptied his M1 he used his e-tool like a baseball bat knocking a thrown grenade back to the enemy.

A grenade landed near the fox hole and as Cafferata went to throw it the grenade exploded while leaving his hand. His left hand was left bloody and gashed, the fingers shredded to pieces. His reaction was quick, fast, and steady was simply to reload and continue firing. His buddy, blinded by a grenade thrown by the enemy, took to reloading Hector Cafferata’s M1, handing him a fresh weapon after every emptied clip. Cafferata’s foxhole was the only thing that prevented the enemy from splitting the defensive line of the hill, with Cafferata being credited with killing almost 40 enemy soldiers during that first night of nonstop fighting. Nominated for the Medal of Honor immediately after the conflict his commanding officer stated that Cafferata had probably killed more than 100 enemy soldiers that night, but the number being so outstanding he didn’t think anyone would believe him, so he quoted the official number at 36. Hector Cafferata would receive the Medal of Honor at the cost of his right hand which was hit by a sniper’s bullet. He would never be able to use that hand again but luckily learned how to shoot with his left hand.

The conflict at Fox Hill lasted seven days followed by a grueling march of wounded back to base, a temporary safe spot that would also be taken by the Chinese soon after. In Major General Oliver Smith’s infamously quoted their retreat was an “attack in a different direction!” was escorted by the Ridge runners of 1st Battalion’s Alpha, Bravo, and Charlie companies who came down from the Chosen Reservoir and had to fight through the enemies forces that surrounded Fox Hill. By the time the Ridge runners arrived couldn’t tell who was rescuing whom. In the end, Fox Company had 26 dead, 89 wounded, and three missings. There were at least 1,000 Chinese bodies around the hill. It was estimated later that 4,000 Chinese had attacked the hill, and as many as 2,000 had died in the attacks or from artillery and air attacks.

Conflicts can be classified into two large groups, international and non-international armed conflicts. The UNHCR defines armed conflict as a violent confrontation between two human groups of massive size that will generally result in deaths and material destruction. International law is responsible for ensuring the safety of civilians during conflicts, seeking to limit the suffering of people and regulate combat methods such as nuclear or chemical wars. “on which rest the norms of international law for the protection of victims during armed conflicts” [footnoteRef:1]Geneva convention, 1864, was the starting point of international humanitarian law.[footnoteRef:2] [1: The Geneva Convention was signed in 1864, it was initially signed by 12 countries and is considered the starting point of International Humanitarian Law (IHL)] [2: What is an armed conflict according to International Humanitarian Law? UNHCR, 2018.]

As we named it previously, conflicts can be international or not. An international conflict is one in which two or more states are involved, even if the states do not recognize the government of another of the parties involved or if they “deny the existence of a state of war”. Modern wars are often asymmetric in character, with government armies facing insurgencies of various kinds without state status. With the above, we can establish that the Korean War is considered an international conflict.

Pre-conflict situation

The panorama left by the Second World War shows a ‘free world’ that was on the defensive against the endless Soviet strategies for world territorial conquest. The world was polarized by the constant violation and breach of treaties like Potsman, Yalta, and Cairo. Events such as the blockade of Berlin by Stalin after the approval of the economic front of Western Europe through the Marshall Plan brought about the emergence of NATO and the Rio de Janeiro Treaty. The Cold War was led by the United States and the Soviets, it was a very important event for the development of the war on the Korean peninsula. In 1949 North Korea led a cooperation initiative that requested the UN to withdraw the American and Soviet troops as a manifest demonstration of goodwill on the part of the parties to solve the conflict and for the reorganization of the defense of the Atlantic countries. It was possible to immobilize the North American ground forces in Korea, the reason why they were withdrawn from the area.

Korean war

The Claw of Korea begins with the telephone call of June 25, 1950, to Douglas MacArthur, commander of the North American forces of the Pacific who was at the North American embassy in Tokyo, the statement expressed in the said call was the following: ‘Sir: we have just Receive news from Seoul. At 4:00 am strong North Korean contingents have crossed the 38th parallel”

South Korea, below the 38th parallel, had four divisions, made up of men faithful to their homeland, without training, only with light weapons, without aviation or warships, very few tanks, and other means of combat. On the other hand, the North Korean army was trained by the Soviets and had modern weapons for the time. The Soviets managed to camouflage their intentions. Along the 38th parallel, the North Koreans deployed several units with a few battle tanks, a force similar to that of South Korea, but with the difference that in the back line, they had concentrated powerful units with heavy weapons, including the most recent models. of Soviet battle tanks. First, the light troops crossed the dividing line and deployed to the right and left. Then, through the center, the majority of the forces advanced with heavy weapons.

After some early back-and-forth across the 38th[footnoteRef:5] parallel, the fighting stalled, and casualties mounted with nothing to show for them. Meanwhile, American officials worked anxiously to fashion some sort of armistice with the North Koreans. The alternative, they feared, would be a wider war with Russia and China–or even, as some warned, World War III. Finally, in July 1953, the Korean War came to an end. In all, some 5 million soldiers and civilians lost their lives in what many in the U.S. refer to as “The Forgotten War” for the lack of attention it received compared to more well-known conflicts like World War I and II and the Vietnam War.[footnoteRef:6] [5: 38th parallel was the provisional demarcation agreed in 1945 by Washington and Moscow to separate the troops from both countries that were fighting the Japanese and avoid incidents. Thereafter, the Soviets fortified the border and collaborated in establishing a communist regime in their area; while the US promoted a parliamentary system in the South and instructed its army.] [6: Korean War. Hystory.com]

“The withdrawal of the Han River. I boarded a jeep and under continuous air strikes headed towards the Han River to the north, encountering a defeated army in my path. There we ran into South Korean rear guard forces trying to defend bridges. The panorama was shocking. On the other side of the Han, which also runs through Seoul, the capital, we saw that it, already occupied by the enemy, was a steaming sea of ​​flames. Next to the bridges, the enemy’s grenades rained down. Retreating soldiers were seen everywhere, the red crosses of the ambulances stood out, full of wounded men. Projectiles hissed in the air, announcing death, and desolation had taken over the battlefield. As if this were not enough, a real wave of refugees clogged the roads. Without uttering the slightest complaint, they marched south, carrying their few belongings on their shoulders and holding hands with the children, their eyes wide with fear; They were the representatives of a proud and tough people, used for centuries to live close to disaster.”[footnoteRef:7] [7: MacArthur’s Memoirs]

Important details of the Korean War

South Korea was supported by the US military and North Korea was supported by the Soviet Union and the People’s Republic of China.

The Korean War was characterized by violence and chaos, which made it one of the bloodiest in history, with more than 3 million deaths and a strong social division due to political ideologies which continue to this day. The point that most stressed the war was the territorial ambition and the strong political ideology of the superpowers that supported the sides.

The Korean War did not have a winner, since an agreement between the two sides managed to end the 3-year conflict. Faced with the imminent threat of the use of nuclear weapons by the United States and the Republic of China, the North Korean army surrendered. After several negotiations for territorial interests, an armistice was signed in July 1953, indicating the end of the armed conflicts. In this way, it was agreed between both parties to avoid military conflicts, and a 4-kilometer-wide border was drawn between them.

Current situation

The 1953 armistice also involves the creation of the Joint Security Area in Panmunjom, in the DMZ, a space of dialogue mediated by the UN for Korean reunification. In this area, various approaches have been made and various political agreements have been agreed during all this time. However, states have not found a solution to the conflict for decades, years of tension and spikes of violence between the two. Currently, politicians seem to be open to new changes, and 2018 was marked as a year of inflection against North Korean denuclearization policies, which will give way to new advances.

Moon Jae-in, the current South Korean president, and Kim Jong-un, the current North Korean leader, met in April 2018 and crossed the border after so many years in search of a path of dialogue. At that time, they discussed inter-Korean policies and a prosperous future for both countries. Also, in 2018 and February 2019, Kim Jong-un and the President of the United States, Donald Trump, met to talk about the denuclearization of the country.[footnoteRef:8] [8: A new vision for Korean peace. Daniel Martin-Villamuelas. 2019]

Reference

1. https://eacnur.org/blog/que-es-un-conflicto-armado-segun-el-derecho-internacional-humanitario-tc_alt45664n_o_pstn_o_pst/
2. https://www.history.com/topics/korea/korean-war
3. https://revistamarina.cl/revistas/1987/1/marchant.pdf
4. https://www.elmundo.es/la-aventura-de-la-historia/2015/08/21/55d7191746163f902e8b4586.html
5. https://enciclopediadehistoria.com/guerra-de-corea/
6. https://elpais.com/elpais/2019/04/18/3500_millones/1555590608_877973.html
7. https://journals.openedition.org/amnis/2477

Unremembered Victory is written by Dennis H. Klein with the intention of drawing people’s attention to the Second Korean War story so that it becomes American history. Surprisingly, I have come across three books dedicated to this theme. Has the country really forgotten it? Perhaps the story has not been in the news as much as the Vietnam War, but it is certainly better known than many other wars around the world.

The book begins with testimonials of Korean and Vietnam War veterans who are happy to see it published. It includes an interesting narrative of the experience of two GIs guarding the Anti-Infiltration Fence (AIF) that runs across the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). This zone separates North Korea and South Korea. The author describes how the North Korean commandos infiltrate into the South, in batches, as the two GIs watch from their hiding place with a mobile phone that is not working. Surprise and tension raised my adrenaline level, and the event was impressed on my mind. I wondered whether mobile-phone technology existed during the war. This is the part of the book that I liked most because of the suspense.

In the beginning, I was quite confused and was reading the book from the perspective of the First Korean War (1950-53). I was also unsure about which countries were supporting North Korea and South Korea. Then I read the DMZ War summary in Appendix A, which helped me understand that it was the Second Korean War (1966-69). The GI, in general, had low morale due to several years of inactivity after the First Korean War. The Vietnam War led to the defeat of the US Military. Klein describes the sad events in the life of America during that period and states that the courage displayed by American GIs (stationed in South Korea) was the “singular good-news.” He sees the events as a story of “grace, honor, and triumph” despite the extremely harsh climate. The author believes that America needs to acknowledge the DMZ War veterans, but this has not been forthcoming. He often compares it with the recognition received by Vietnam War veterans.

I appreciate the author’s concern to make the story known. However, he seems to exaggerate America’s indifference to their contribution. Klein’s anger is apparent from his sarcastic tone. He sounds subjective, forgetting that the book has an international audience whose world does not revolve around this topic, although he himself is convinced that the contribution of the 4,000 US GI war heroes saved the world from a nuclear World War III in 1968.

Regarding the presentation, I was annoyed with words breaking into a new line when the text could easily have been justified. The font makes the text very dense and impacts clarity. The meaning of “GI” is not mentioned anywhere and initially left me confused. From what I understand, it refers to “ordinary soldiers.” The use of curse words in their conversations could have been avoided. On a positive note, the author inserts lyrics of songs after every chapter, which some readers may like to sing. Overall, what I most disliked is that the book seems difficult to understand and needs to be edited. I found many grammatical errors that were distracting and forced me to read sentences two or three times to grasp what the author was trying to convey.

For all the reasons stated above, I rate this book 2 out of 4 stars. Information about the Korean DMZ War is available online. It is easy to read and understand, although it may not be in as much detail as you will find in Unremembered Victory. I may not recommend it to anyone, but perhaps people in the armed forces would like to read this book.

Korean Conflict Soviet Unin prclaimed miliary action on Japan, Koreas colonial ruler, in between the atomic attack on Nagasaki and Hiroshima in August 1945, and senttroops rushing into the peninsula. Moscow andWashington made an agreement to divide it into two zones along the 38th parallel, with te Cold War opponents unabl to agre on a Koran independence, the split wa incorporated in 1948 wit the emergence of two rival states. Both the Communit North now with Ki Yong Un as their representative leer and te capitalist South with their leader by th name f Moon Jae-in, claimed to be the sole government of the entir peninsula. On June 25th, 1950, th North invaded the South as im il Sung attempted to reunify it by strength. The orth grabbed ahold of Seoul in thre days. Multinational UN forces, mainly American, appeared in theouth to help, but were forced back to the Pusan Perimeter, pocket in the southeast. A daring counter-offensve atack initiated by UN forces commander General Douglas MacArthur reacquire Seoul via the Incheon Lading, plitting the North’s forces and trning the tide. UN units traveled north, nearing the Chinese border in October before Beijing altered the war’s ourse once again by sending hundreds of thousands of armed forces to aid its faltering cmmunist ally. Seul drpped to them in January 1951 and was taken back once more twomonths later, the fourth time the city had transferred ownership. Another two years of attrition folloed as the fighting wor its way to a deadlock. After an additional tw years of truce talks invlving 158 gatherings, an armistice was signed in July 1953 by China, North Krea and the United Nations Command. But South Korea’s the-presdent Synga Rhee, who still wanted to secure full reunification under Seoul’s rule, refused to sign. Up to three million Koreans died as a result of the conflict, along with 37 000 Americans andmore than 180 000 Chinese soldiers died. Yet the Demilitarized Zone that divided the two countries afterthe fighting, was just a little different to the38th parallel. Periodic incidents and skirmishes have continued between the pennsula for decades. Together, the leaders agreed to seek a treaty ensuing their summit in April, but the question of the North’s nucler weapns still hangs over the issue, which has multiple complications. Both cities of Pyongyang nd Seoul ontinue to claim supremacy over the whole Korean peninsula. A formal treaty could imply mutual ecognition of each other, something neither side has been prone o accept. As a signatory to the armistice, Beijin has notifid that any endof-war declaration without is attendance would be invalid. The obscurity of he original conflict is anther copication. As neither the South nor the North recognized the other’s existence, no ormal declarations ofwar were made by either side. The US referred to is intrference as a ‘police action’, withthe UN deeming North Korea’s invasion ‘a breach of the peace’. My opinion on tis conflict is that both North and Souh Korea should hopefully become a single county, so North orea wouldn’t suffer ith lack of proper education or jobs due to it’s isolation from the foreign wrld. It was pretty bad looking bu because of president Trumps recent talkwith North Korean leader it seems the war hasended but not completely. It’s consequences has mstly alreaybeen noticed by news articles as an underdeveloped country for citizens. To this day, te Korean peninsula is stilldivided the way it was in 1953. It’s been almost 70 years, but the Korean Z is still patrolled by troops and guarded with mines and artillery. The war has yet to truly end.

Before the Vietnam War, the United States had to prevent the spread of communism, especially during the Cold War. After the USSR declared victory over Nazi Germany, Korea divided into the communist North with the Soviets, and the South with the United States. The Truman Doctrine was enacted, which called for the U.S financial and military aid to Greece and Turkey to help protect countries from being corrupted by communism. U.S troops engaged in the Korean War after the communist North Korea invaded South Korea in an attempt to create one large communistic state. The war ended in the 1950s, with an armistice agreement. America feared the idea that communist would spread all over south-east Asia, causing the Vietnam War. During the period of the Vietnam War, the United States presence led to the rise of advocacy for social justice, division over presidential power, and economic prioritization, which led to tensions within the United States.

During the Vietnam War, social advocacy rose due to the treatment of specific groups. Document B describes how the already crippled black population was being targeted and sent to their deaths in the Vietnam War. Document C talks about how the younger uneducated working class citizens were unable to avoid the draft, being sent to their doom in the war, while the educated upper-class were being deferred from the draft. This shows that both groups of people were looked at as dispensable to the United States, especially because the issue remained throughout the draft. The black population argued that it was unfair that they were being sent to another country to fight for social liberties that they weren’t even granted in the United States. The educated “harvard” men were avoiding the draft deliberately while the uneducated working class were being sent off to the war. As an African-American social advocate, MLK believed that all groups of people should be treated equally. Rights should be granted to everyone despite their class or color. He believed in these things, because he experienced them first-hand. He was even incarcerated due to his beliefs. He was a minister, so he was already an advocate for social justice. While incarcerated, MLK wrote, “The Letter from Birmingham Jail,” which defends the strategy of nonviolent resistance to racism. He argued that people have a moral responsibility to take action and break unjust laws rather than waiting forever for justice from courts. It was a definite response to men who criticized MLK, thinking his campaigns would cause violence. The black population was told to be patient and wait for their social justice. As a Harvard man, James Fallows witnessed the draft experience of others and one himself. Him and other men purposely failed tests eliminating them from the draft so they didn’t have to go to war, while others were unaware of this, being sent to war to die. He felt sympathy for these people because it never occurred to him that these people didn’t know their way around the draft like him and other men did. He was aware of the issue but never made an effort to help people like the Chelsea boys.

More presidential power caused tensions to rise within the United States. Document A is about the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, which talks about how congress approved the president to take necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the United States and prevent any further aggression. Document G is about the War Powers Act, which intended to check the U.S president’s power when committing to an armed conflict without the consent of congress. Document E from Nixon talks about how we need to be more unified at times like this, and the only people that can bring us down is ourselves. These documents show how the country is divided on war efforts. In Doc A, part of the American population thinks that we should exclude ourselves from affairs in other countries and leave those people to work out their problems on their own. Doc G, argues that the Congress should monitor the president’s power more strictly, instead of letting him use it so freely. Doc E addresses the divisions in America on issues like the presidential power, and describes that we are the most powerful nation and can conquer but only if we are united. As a political, Nixon was very influential and knew the efforts and struggles of both the moderates and the conservatives. He always tries to make sure he appealed to both sides. He showed this when becoming president of the United States. His term coincided with the Vietnam War, and he made sure to focus on his program to discern the U.S from Vietnam, but while also trying to help them out.

The United States had to prioritize their funding, at the demands of the United States citizens. Document D talks about how Foreign Policy was dragging the Great Society down. Document F talks about the proposition to conserve limited resources in the U.S, and only spend what is absolutely prudent for national security. This shows that there was only a limited amount of money the U.S could spend on the demands. In Doc D, there was the Great Society, which focuses on funding welfare, education, and the impoverished while foreign policy advocated for funding to help the war. There is obviously a division between the people who want to help fund internal affairs and those who want to help fund the war. In Doc F, it explains that we need to spend less money on the war because it will drag us down. It argues against foreign policy and creates feud with those who want to help fund the war.

Conclusion

The heightened tensions in the United States during the Vietnam War can relate to the tensions during the Korean War. In both wars, the U.S was fighting against communistic rule. The social tension that it created was whether or not people thought it was right to fight in a war that didn’t pertain to them. The political tension was if the containment policy should be upheld, considering this was a war that had no effect on the United States. Economically, this could easily put the United States in debt, because of their funding towards war efforts. It would cost them drastically for weapons, transportation, training and artillery. Ultimately, the Korean and Vietnam War had a vast amount in common regarding the tensions it created in the United States.

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea or most commonly known as North Korea was instituted in the year 1948 after World War II when the United States of America together with the Soviet Union divided the control. Wherein, The United States of America controlled the southern region and on the other hand the Soviet Union controlled the northern region. Two years later with the help of the Soviet Union, North Korean leader at that time Kim Il-Sung attempted to seize the southern region of Korea leading to the Korean war that lasted for 3 years. A war wherein the willingness to lend a hand by the Philippines to a friend who is in need of help was proven when they sent 7,420 troops after the UN asked for reinforcement. In this war it showcased the bravery of Filipino soldiers that even though they were outnumbered by their enemies, they were able to defeat 10,000 Chinese soldiers with only 1,000 of them. And one of these soldiers even became the 12th President of the Philippines, Fidel V. Ramos. Not only did the Filipino soldiers extend help in the war but also they helped in rebuilding the country from the aftermath of the war. And in the year 1953, after 3 years of bloody war, The Republic of China, North Korea, The United States of America and South Korea had agreed to an armistice, but South Korea did not sign, in an intent of reunification. Thus the peace conference resulted in no peace treaty between the two nations. More than 60 years have passed but still the war hasn’t ended, there haven’t been any shots fired but it doesn’t mean it was officially over because without the peace treaty between the 2 nations, the war still continues till to this day.And in this case we would like to point out and give a careful analysis on the Deadly Combination Theory regarding the North Korean government. Before, with minimal information out in the public regarding the country, it entices curious minds around the world on how it is inside the one-party state. But over the years, some “Defector” or North Koreans who were able to escape and seek refuge in other countries have shared their experience and their knowledge of the country. In an article published by the BBC in July 2019, some North Korean defectors have come forward to give insight on what it is like to live in North Korea, one of which said “There was very little food [in North Korea] and I felt hopeless”. But with this level of poverty, the country still was able to fund its experiments on developing nuclear weapons and was able to manufacture and supply missiles to other countries. Furthermore, in the article published by the UN News in 2019, Michelle Bachelet, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights stated that, the right to food, health, shelter, work, freedom of movement and liberty are universal and inalienable, but in North Korea they depend primarily on the ability of individuals to bribe state officials. Abuse of power by higher officials is widespread in the country, they deprive North Koreans of their rights and drain them up until the last drop. Moreover, on the 2019 Corruption Index by the Transparency International, North Korea scored 17 points out of 100, 0 being very corrupt and 100 meaning very clean. Certainly, the conflict between South and North Korea had tremendously brought catastrophic events and casualties to the people that resulted in the continuous separation of their country. Eventually, this war never ended, as these two countries have fought so fiercely for so long, in the end, they never see who clearly holds the victory between them. As we have done some readings and research regarding this Korean War, we realized many sacrificed their lives to fight and defend themselves. For instance, there were 217,000 militaries and 1,000,000 South Korean civilians missing and were killed. Moreover, there are 406,000 militaries and 600,000 North Korean civilians who also went missing and were killed. Definitely, this war had caused a big impact on the economy of Korea and its people. Therefore, as we try to deepen our knowledge regarding the conflict between these two countries, it eventually led us to some observations. Thus, we had contemplated that there are many factors why this conflict existed. Those factors are the political differences of both countries, the division and invasion of territory, and their engagement in proxy wars. To start, our first observation on the conflict of both sides was their political differences. These two countries had cultural similarities and share the same language but then they differ from their political ideologies. North Korea was a communist country while South Korea was a non-communist party. Their political structure was different from each other. For this reason, their opposing ideologies have grown so deep which is one factor why their division is still there. This all started as an accident division as the United States and the Soviet Union had an agreement to divide Korea at the 38th parallel in the year 1945. Therefore, the United States had taken the southern part while the Soviet Union had taken the north. Their roots of political ideologies were rooted in those who had invaded them. As the Soviet Union was a communist state that is why the North has adopted their political structure. The same goes for South Korea, as the United States wants the south to be democratic and capitalist.

Furthermore, the division and invasion of the territory of both sides. As North Korea was a communist country, they have planned to reunite Korea as a whole under communist rule. Thus, North Korea decided to invade the South. Eventually, South Korea fought back. As a result, this started a war. Definitely, the South had to fight back as they were oppressed and were forced to live under communist rule and we know that both sides had different political ideologies. This invasion had caused a greater conflict between them. This conflict arises as the South felt threatened for their territory by North Korea.Moreover, we observed the engagement of proxy wars of both sides. Wherein both countries don’t fight each other directly but indirectly through other countries. When South Korea fought back with the North, they were supported by the United Nations through the use of the United States troop. However, North Korea was supported by the Peoples’ Republic of China and the Soviet Union. The war between the North and South but was played out by the other parties such as the United States, China, and the Soviet Union. Therefore, this war or conflict within these two countries has been caused by many factors, it’s quite saddening that they both have grown further apart not just ideologically and even economically. If we will be going to apply these observations to the theories of the case, we discern that there is conflict on political differences because both countries simply have different ideologist (democratic from the south while communist from the north) and they also ostracize each other, the northern koreans insist reunification under communist rule but the southern people refute and contend to be under democratic rule. On the other hand, the division and invasion of territory by the DPRK was possibly occurring for how many years because of resources. The North Korean government is inclined in building more weapons but they are lacking funds to support the basic needs of their constituents such as food, health, shelter etc. hence, they try to invade territories for them to access more resources and earn power on their side, but accordingly, this is also impossible for the ROK or South Korean Government are firm as to their political ideology, so war occurs between the two. Down to our last observation, there is engagement of proxy wars of both countries because each has already developed strong allies outside their territory and again, they both lack resources so they collude with strong and developed countries for them to access weapons and even soldiers to be deployed in war. Hence, because of these political and economic issues, conflict arises between two different countries or political ideologies for primary and secondary resources are either being deprived to the people, or it is improperly managed by their government. This is simply telling us the concept of “no man is an island” because no country can survive without the help of another country (allies). Nonetheless, we have different political and economic ideologies/ beliefs but respect and honor should always be in place. War is not always the solution

Most Americans believe that our involvement in the war was a complete waste of time and men. The US joined the war effort due to the hundreds of years of cruelty the nation of Korea had been facing. The Soviet Union saw Korea’s history and thought that it would be easy to invade. They chose to fight against the spread of Communism and paid an enormous toll. The US began to plan to help Korea gain independence shortly after using atomic bombs on one of it’s long time enemies, Japan. Our involvement in th Korean War was almost as substantial as our involvement in WWI. It is the fourth biggest war effort the US has been involved in.

The Korean people were poor and rice fields were seen in every direction. Troops tried to avoid farmland as much as they could, possibly due to the moist nature of most rice paddies and the disturbing sight of evacuating refugees. The Korean terrain was mountainous and deathly cold in the winter time. The higher an elevation reached in Korea, the more difficult the land became to navigate. There was an overall lack of forestry and fields were thick with grass and shrubs. Troops had to worry more about navigation than actually fighting. Due to the cold temperatures, most of the war was fought without the luxuries of modern warfare. Planes and tanks were rarely seen. Grenades, bayonets, and landmines were used left, right, and center.

Prior to the Korean War, the US and the Soviet Union were on good terms. Leaders of both nations attended political conferences to discuss world affairs. Joseph Stalin, the leader of the Soviet Union at the time, had stated at one of these conferences that he would respect Korea as an independent country. The duties of the US troops about to be deployed were also discussed at these conferences. It was decided that the duties of the Korean and American soldiers would be decided geographically. The nation of Korea was divided in half horizontally. This small strip of land was named the 38th Parallel. Stalin used this information to form an excellent attack plan. On August 12, 1945, 100,000 Russian soldiers invaded Korea from the North. The closest US troops were in Okinawa, Japan. By the time they had made it to Korea, The 38th Parallel was a protected border and Soviet Soldiers were teaching Korean children how to use firearms.

The US soldier easily forced the Soviets out of Korea. All US troops were brought home while both Korean nations continued to fight each other. In a vicious attack beginning on June 25 of 1950, the North Korean forces were able to push all South Koreans to the bottom right corner of the country, just in the span of 4 days. The North Korean army continued to grow while South Korea struggled. US reinforcements began to arrive on June 29th. 15 more nations began to send supporting troops to South Korea at this time. A shortage of fuel for the tanks and trucks plagued the North Korean army throughout the beginning of the war. Both sides began to take prisoners, especially the North. The war was a stand still the entire Summer.

The US troops were led by General Douglas MacArthur. He made the controversial choice of splitting his duties with General Edward Almond due to the quality of the roads making communication difficult. Troops began to drive the North Koreans back on September 15. The Soviet Union began to use Chinese troops, but China denied this fact until the war had ended. Chinese soldiers arrived by posing as AWOL North Koreans and infiltrating ROK (Republic of Korea) battalions. By the end of November, North Korean forces had been pushed to the 38th parallel, but the arrival of Chinese Soldiers kept the southerners from entering. Thousands of lives were lost due to the freezing temperatures.

Chinese troops began to Attack the south on the first day of 1951. From this point on, North Korean troops would be exclusively Chinese. They easily captured the cities of Seoul and Suwon. The war had reached a stalemate that would reoccur quite often throughout the rest of the war. The South lacked troops and the North lacked vehicles. Schools across Korea were shut down to be occupied by soldiers. Many US soldiers were shocked by the poor conditions of the schools and failed to realize quite how poor the country was until that moment. Many soldiers felt guilty for their actions due to the site of Korean refugees. The cold took many of the refugees’ lives. Segregation in the US military ended in 1951.

The US Air Force played a great role in the Korean War, beginning in 1951. By March, the chinese troops were attacking at night time and the South Korean forces were struggling to adapt. General Mathew Ridgeway took over for General MacArthur in April. Chinese troops began to attack again on April 22 but the US scored a huge defensive victory. The Korean War was the first war to ever have violent Jet battles, but these were only really seen during 1951. The war raged on for 2 more years but military officials failed to take command. This made for large amounts of casualties with no effect on the war.

The famous battle of Heartbreak Ridge began on September 13 and lasted an entire month. The Chinese were experts with camouflage and could hide their command posts and gun positions. North Korean powers were located deep inside of hillsides to protect them from bombings. The US incessantly bombed the North and it is unbelievable that the Chinese were able to receive supplies throughout the end of the war. If General MacArthur was given full approval, he most likely would have been able to end the war victoriously.

Hundreds of thousands of dollars and lives were taken from the US during the Korean War, only to save a small amount of land from communism. 450,000 tons of bombs had been dropped by the US by the end. About 136,000 US soldiers were killed. Officials spent almost 2 years negotiating a truce to the war. On March 28, 1952, Operation Little Switch exchanged 684 prisoners from the allied nations for 6,670 ill or disabled prisoners taken by the communists. Operation Big Switch took place on July 27, 1953. All remaining prisoners were exchanged. Tens of thousands of North Korean prisoners went unaccounted for. They were most likely tortured and then killed. The Korean War ended 12 hours after the announcement of Operation Big Switch. The 38th Parallel is armed to this day and if North Korea ever invaded South Korea, it would be the US´s job to defend them.