A Brief History
On July 27, 1995, veterans of the Korean War finally got to see their sacrifice acknowledged when the Korean War Veterans Memorial was dedicated in Washington, D.C.
Digging Deeper
Often referred to as a “forgotten war” or even as an “unknown war,” the Korean War was actually the first major international conflict of the Cold War between the Communists and the Democratic West, and it took place from 1950 to 1953 before a truce ended the fighting, but technically not the conflict.
Communist North Korea, an ally of the Soviet Union and Red China, had invaded Democratic South Korea which was allied with the United States who had troops stationed there.
The U.S. military carried the brunt of the United Nations military effort to repulse the invasion of the South, fighting against an army heavily supported by Chinese “volunteers” doing actual overt fighting and by Soviets secretly manning aircraft, aircraft control, and anti-aircraft positions as well as supplying their Communist allies with munitions.
The war ended in a stalemate, with neither side having an advantage, right back where things had started. Unfortunately, this wasted effort cost the U.S. 36,574 dead soldiers and almost 8,000 missing, while South Korea suffered 137,899 dead soldiers and 24,495 missing. The UK, the next biggest United Nations contributor to the Western effort, suffered 1,109 combat deaths. The North Korean military lost as many as 350,000 dead and China around 400,000 killed (U.S. estimate). The Soviets got off light, with only 282 combat dead. South Korea also suffered nearly a million civilian dead and wounded, while North Korea suffered over a million and half civilian casualties.
The United States had dropped 635,000 tons of conventional bombs and another 32,557 tons of Napalm on North Korea, a staggering total that eclipsed the entire tonnage (503,000 tons) dropped during the Pacific Campaign in World War II (but not more than on Germany, which is often incorrectly stated). Note: The United States dropped an astounding 7 million tons of bombs during the War in Viet Nam compared to 2 million tons in all of World War II!
United States citizens, still feeling the glow of being “The Most Powerful Country in The World” after winning World War II, were shocked and disappointed that its military had not quickly and decisively defeated the North Koreans. When U.S. forces did repulse the invasion and manage to overrun much of North Korea, an enormous Chinese intervention nearly re-conquered South Korea, shocking the American public even more.
The unsatisfying end of the Korean War led to it being ignored for many years until 1995 when Korean War veterans were finally allowed to take their rightful place in the pantheon of American heroes. ( Note: The author’s father and father-in-law both served in the Korean War.) Question for students (and subscribers): Was the Korean War worth the trouble and expense to the U.S. and the United Nations? Was the effort to take over South Korea worth the trouble and expense to the Communist Bloc? Let us know what you think in the comments section below this article.
The author’s father and father-in-law:
If you liked this article and would like to receive notification of new articles, please feel welcome to subscribe to History and Headlines by liking us on Facebook and becoming one of our patrons!
Your readership is much appreciated!
Historical Evidence
For more information, please see:
Pash, Melinda L. In the Shadow of the Greatest Generation: The Americans Who Fought the Korean War. NYU Press, 2012.
