Why is the Korean war so forgotten?

[konradv]

A war not won is a war lost. Something of which all liberal Democrats are button-poppingly proud.

So the War of 1812, Korea and Vietnam were all losses! Hold the presses. Time to rewrite the history books.

 

[konradv]

Democrats in the White House were working for the ChiComs and Russians. Were they relaying troop deployment to their ChiCom master and getting Marines and soldiers killed? Probably

 

[HenryBHough]

Yup, Kon, all losses.

And all engineered by Democrats.

 

[Unkotare]

It ended in a draw. ......

No, it didn't.

You'll have to do better than that. .

Don't blame me for your ignorance, fool.

 

[zaangalewa]

It's not forgotten by me, I still watch reruns of MASH.

A wonderful story. I'm a German and for a moment I thought no one in the USA remembers any longer m*a*s*h 4077.

 

[zaangalewa]

A war not won is a war lost.

We Germans lost world war 2 - so what? Who cares? Indeed there are two dangers with wars. One danger is to lose a war - in worst case everyone will be dead afterwards. The other danger is to win a war. Why? If someone wins he starts more easy new wars if he likes to solve problems - until he will lose. War is not calculable.

 

[usmcstinger]

Technically that war is still going, there was never a peace treaty, there was just a cessation of hostilities.

Didn't that whack job in North Korea do away with the armistice?

North Korea declares 1953 armistice invalid - CNN.com

Bloody hell..what a question

Why is WWI forgotten?

in fact

why are all wars forgotten???

Obviously, you did not do any research about the Korean War.
They have a nation wide organization: Korean War Veterans Association.
Many are very active and attend Memorial and Veterans Day Ceremonies
as well as the date their War ended. There is a National Korean War Memorial in DC.
It seems you make erroneous instead of doing research on the War and those who fought in it.

 

[zeke]

There is a National Korean War Memorial in DC.

A beautiful memorial it is.

My Dad was in Japan as part of the occupation force there in 1949. He was in the 1st Armored Calvary Division.. He landed at Pusan in late July of 1950.
He used to tell about how touch and go it was defending the Pusan Perimeter.

And he was sitting in a tank on an armored recon patrol when the Chinese crossed the Yalu River.

He talked about men freezing to death in their foxholes during that extremely cold winter of 1950/51.

He talked about dog fights in MIG alley.

He spent 14 months in combat in Korea and it affected him for the rest of his life.

In my house, we didn't forget the Korean War.

 

[georgephillip]

It must be something wrong with it...The American casualties are similar to the Vietnam war. Not to mention this was Nato fighting North Korea and China as well as indirectly combating the soviets. It's often known as the "forgotten war". Why is that? Are we shy of our history?

Maybe those who are aware of US History are ashamed of how America treated Korea at the end of WWII.

How did American forces react to Korean independence in 1945?

Take this Quiz and find the answers.

"6. In August 1945 defeated Japanese forces formally turned over authority in Korea to the broad-based Committee for the Preparation of Korean Independence, led by Lyuh Woon-hyung, which in September proclaimed the Korean People’s Republic (KPR). When U.S. forces under Gen. Reed Hodge arrived in Inchon to accept the Japanese surrender, they

"a. ordered all Japanese officials to remain in their posts, refused to recognize Lyuh as national leader, and soon banned all public reference to the KPR

"b. recognized Lyuh as the legitimate head of state

"c. negotiated with Lyuh to facilitate swift attainment of independence of a united Korea"

A Pop Quiz on Korea CounterPunch Tells the Facts Names the Names

 

[usmcstinger]

It must be something wrong with it...The American casualties are similar to the Vietnam war. Not to mention this was Nato fighting North Korea and China as well as indirectly combating the soviets. It's often known as the "forgotten war". Why is that? Are we shy of our history?

Maybe those who are aware of US History are ashamed of how America treated Korea at the end of WWII.

How did American forces react to Korean independence in 1945?

Take this Quiz and find the answers.

"6. In August 1945 defeated Japanese forces formally turned over authority in Korea to the broad-based Committee for the Preparation of Korean Independence, led by Lyuh Woon-hyung, which in September proclaimed the Korean People’s Republic (KPR). When U.S. forces under Gen. Reed Hodge arrived in Inchon to accept the Japanese surrender, they

"a. ordered all Japanese officials to remain in their posts, refused to recognize Lyuh as national leader, and soon banned all public reference to the KPR

"b. recognized Lyuh as the legitimate head of state

"c. negotiated with Lyuh to facilitate swift attainment of independence of a united Korea"

A Pop Quiz on Korea CounterPunch Tells the Facts Names the Names

The way the US treated Korea after WWII has nothing to do with how Korean War Vets were treated when they came home. The Vet Organizations didn't go out of their way to recruit them The general public just did not care about them and the War they fought.

Thank God, they were not treated like those of us who fought in Vietnam.

Thank

 

[georgephillip]

The Vet Organizations didn't go out of their way to recruit them The general public just did not care about them and the War they fought.

I suppose those Vet Organizations were dominated by men who participated in WWI and WWII, and they tended to dismiss smaller conflicts like Korea and Vietnam.

The point I was trying to make is how few of us have any historical context when it comes to understanding how wars like Korea came about

"(Choose the best answer. 3 points each. Answers at the end.)

"1. In 1866 the U.S. merchant ship General Sherman defied the laws of Korea (then pursuing a policy of strict isolation) by entering Korean waters, and sailing up the Taedong River towards Pyongyang to demand trade. What happened to the ship?

"a. It was attacked by local people and soldiers, burned, and sunk, with the loss of its entire crew.

"b. Its crew was politely told that since Korea was a satrapy of China all negotiations concerning commerce had to take place via Beijing.

"c. It was welcomed, and Korean officials began discussing with the Americans a Treaty of Amity and Commerce.

A Pop Quiz on Korea CounterPunch Tells the Facts Names the Names

 

[quorthon]

 

[georgephillip]

"(BONUS QUESTION)

"Current (12/2002) South Korean public opinion polls indicate that the foreign country people most fear is

a. the U.S.

b. North Korea

c. China"

A Pop Quiz on Korea CounterPunch Tells the Facts Names the Names

 

[Delta4Embassy]

It must be something wrong with it...The American casualties are similar to the Vietnam war. Not to mention this was Nato fighting North Korea and China as well as indirectly combating the soviets. It's often known as the "forgotten war". Why is that? Are we shy of our history?

If I had to guess I'd say the only thing worse than losing a war as in Vietnam, is tying one.

 

[regent]

For many Americans it was just a continuance of the Great Depression, WWII and now Korea, and I think the American people were tired of wars, depression, and now Korea. For many I think many saw it just an add-on to WWII. It was fought with almost the same weapons, the same news reports. the same military, and worse, the same general, a general that was in his last chance to become an historical monument, and wanted to go our big.

 

[georgephillip]

For many Americans it was just a continuance of the Great Depression, WWII and now Korea, and I think the American people were tired of wars, depression, and now Korea. For many I think many saw it just an add-on to WWII. It was fought with almost the same weapons, the same news reports. the same military, and worse, the same general, a general that was in his last chance to become an historical monument, and wanted to go our big.

There is also an economic explanation since the US experienced its first recession since WWII ended in the early 1950s. The first political economic argument I remember hearing (I was born in 1947) dealt with the possibility of a return to the Great Depression without the stimulus of war time spending.

"1. How many people, military plus civilians, died in the Korean War?

a. 500,000-1 million

b. 1 million-2 million

c. about 4 million"

A Pop Quiz on Korea CounterPunch Tells the Facts Names the Names

 

[whitehall]

Constitutional scholars are still debating Truman's decision to send Troops to Korea under executive order and the consensus is that Truman was wrong to bypass congress. Truman was wrong in other ways too. Apparently the media created image of "give-em-hell Harry" is the exact opposite of the timid little bean counter former senator. Truman appointed MacArthur to run the war in Korea and apparently Truman was scared to death of him politically and personally. MacArthur intentionally insulted Truman by refusing to fly to D.C. to to talk about the war so the president had to fly to Wake Island where Mac met him in an intentionally sloppy uniform and refused to salute. Thanks to MacArthur's Inchon landing plan the N.K. invaders were caught in a box with supply lines severed. US and UN Troops re-captured the S.K. capital and crossed the 38th parallel to capture the N.K. capital of Pyongyang. The war was over in less than a year and mission accomplished, but wait. MacArthur decided to expand the mission without orders and Truman was too timid to stop him. The apparently delusional WW 1 Vet who never spent a single night in Korea ordered exhausted Troops into the biggest ambush in history. This is where the "forgot" in the "forgotten war" comes in. The media could not bring themselves to criticize either Truman or MacArthur even Truman finally fired the "old Soldier. Both received a tickertape parade while Korea went from victory in a year to a three year struggle with the loss of 50,000 American lives and an embarrassing truce dictated by the enemy. What could the media do but call Korea "the forgotten war" when they were stuck with promoting the fake legacy of Truman and MacArthur?

 

[Friends]

By preserving the existence of South Korea, the Korean War was successful. By not ending the existence of North Korea the Korean War was a disappointment.

Moreover, the Korean War did not have the polarizing effect on American society that the War in Vietnam had, although it did make the Cold War nastier.

 

[georgephillip]

Thanks to MacArthur's Inchon landing plan the N.K. invaders were caught in a box with supply lines severed. US and UN Troops re-captured the S.K. capital and crossed the 38th parallel to capture the N.K. capital of Pyongyang. The war was ov

You've just summed up the "official" US version of North Korean "invaders" and South Korean "defenders"; however, that account ignores how a majority of "South" Koreans regarded the US in 1950:
" In June 1950 North Korean forces attacked the South and by September controlled all but the southeastern region around Pusan. What was the reaction of South Koreans?

a. stiff resistance, in support of the popular U.S.-backed Syngman Rhee regime

b. little resistance, and initially much cooperation

c. general apathy

A Pop Quiz on Korea CounterPunch Tells the Facts Names the Names

Granted, this Quiz is the (educated) opinion of one scholar, but had this view been publicized in the US in 1950, both Truman and MacArthur would qualify as war criminals today for their actions in Korea 64 years ago.

 

[whitehall]

Thanks to MacArthur's Inchon landing plan the N.K. invaders were caught in a box with supply lines severed. US and UN Troops re-captured the S.K. capital and crossed the 38th parallel to capture the N.K. capital of Pyongyang. The war was ov

You've just summed up the "official" US version of North Korean "invaders" and South Korean "defenders"; however, that account ignores how a majority of "South" Koreans regarded the US in 1950:
" In June 1950 North Korean forces attacked the South and by September controlled all but the southeastern region around Pusan. What was the reaction of South Koreans?

a. stiff resistance, in support of the popular U.S.-backed Syngman Rhee regime

b. little resistance, and initially much cooperation

c. general apathy

A Pop Quiz on Korea CounterPunch Tells the Facts Names the Names

Granted, this Quiz is the (educated) opinion of one scholar, but had this view been publicized in the US in 1950, both Truman and MacArthur would qualify as war criminals today for their actions in Korea 64 years ago.

War criminals? Truman was a timid fool and MacArthur was an egomaniac who might have suffered from dementia but they were hardly war criminals. They were paper icons that the media created and supported. The media called it the "forgotten war" because they refused to cover the negligent leadership that turned victory in a year into little more than defeat in three years with the total loss of American Troops during the Korean War years of 50,000.