The Forgotten War

[STEED]

Oops I think we missed it so lets make up for it right now..

Yesterday marked The 60th anniversary of the end of the Korean War.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-23254493

:salute:

[Jimbuna]

http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01518/wreath_1518772c.jpg (http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=uk%2Bkorean%2Bwar%2Bremembrance&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=dfr_h_VZ82uNTM&tbnid=RdVqV8Wwg1ZoZM:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.telegraph.co.uk%2Fnews%2Fworl dnews%2Fasia%2Fafghanistan%2F6524898%2FRemembrance-Sunday-British-servicemen-and-women-honoured-at-Cenotaph-ceremony.html&ei=uhLgUeD4FcnJ0QWbq4DgBQ&bvm=bv.48705608,d.d2k&psig=AFQjCNGPcClUWclhBIvK_RqT4MWrtMLi9w&ust=1373725723162968)

~SALUTE~

[TarJak]

A bloody and mostly pointless campaign. Salute to all who served.:salute:
http://monumentaustralia.org.au/content/directory/full/Korean_War_Memorial-12390-95773.jpg

[soopaman2]

Oops I think we missed it so lets make up for it right now..

Yesterday marked The 60th anniversary of the end of the Korean War.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-23254493

:salute:

Korean war is not over yet.

It is under a constant state of ceasefire, no treaty or truce has ever been signed.

Technically the US and N Korea are in a state of war, we are trying to catch the Brits with thier 100 year war.

Americans are go getters.

But :salute:

To all those on all sides, who died for rich men with agendas.

[STEED]

Korean war is not over yet.

It is under a constant state of ceasefire, no treaty or truce has ever been signed.

True, but the fighting did stop but as you say not the way we would rather had it end, over Shadowed by WW2 & Vietnam.

[soopaman2]

True, but the fighting did stop but as you say not the way we would rather had it end, over Shadowed by WW2 & Vietnam.

An old fella I work with, he is like 20 years older than me, and his father served in Korea, he had such great stories, He also hated he was forced to stop, and not "cross the river" as he put it. (egage the chinese, rather than let them build up and counter attack.)

This gentleman passed 4 years ago at a crispy old age. Member of the 1st Marines.:salute::salute::salute:

I agree exactly with your reason it is forgotten, I kinda missed it.:D

But It is not forgotten to me or you, or even any random guest who reads this, or may even be lucky enough to hear firsthand accounts over a fine steak dinner.

[Wolferz]

One of my maternal uncles served in Korea.
He's still kicking.:up:

[Red October1984]

Korean war is not over yet.

It is under a constant state of ceasefire, no treaty or truce has ever been signed.

Technically the US and N Korea are in a state of war, we are trying to catch the Brits with thier 100 year war.

Americans are go getters.

I wish we had just finished it and moved on...but there's no telling how that would've changed history.

But :salute:

To all those on all sides, who died for rich men with agendas.

:salute: :salute: :salute: :salute:

All I can do is agree... These men are worthy of respect.

---

There's a really really great movie I watched about the Korean perspective on the War. I'll see if I can find it.

EDIT: Movie Trailer- The Front Line (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGBAAKZiUk8)

Wiki The Front Line (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Front_Line_(2011_film))

[Betonov]

Some of you will know what I mean

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MUJ2NpD-dns/USVVbk9O79I/AAAAAAAAP6M/XqxvSlRbykE/s320/Mash-Goodbye_l.jpg


When it comes to useless wars, this one is on top of the list. Ended where it started with millions of casualties and 2 nations destroyed.

[Ducimus]

While Mash was a funny TV series, I find it discraceful that the only remembrance of one of the most horrific wars we have ever fought in, is by a sitcom that has very little to do with reality.

[Red October1984]

I've never actually watched M*A*S*H

It is a bit sad and disgraceful that the only thing most people remember is the show. My friend's great uncle served in Korea. He told all kinds of stories.

There was one that sounded particularly bad.

The NKoreans would put wire across roads at just the right height so that when people drive by in an open jeep they get decapitated.

We should remember and honor the veterans before we remember the show.

[soopaman2]

While Mash was a funny TV series, I find it discraceful that the only remembrance of one of the most horrific wars we have ever fought in, is by a sitcom that has very little to do with reality.


In all seriousness, MASH potrayed brilliantly alot of the "gallows humor" that many servicemen employed to keep themselves sane.

No malice, but you missed the point of MASH.

Sadly the show used a "laugh track" as was customary in tv shows at the time, when the jokes would have stood up without it.

I got family who's letters I can show you, chock full of jokes about crappy experiences they had in Afghanistan, and Iraq.

Gallows humor. You know the situation is bad, but you use humor to cope, that is what MASH was about.

Those men knew they had an endless tide of death coming to them, and they kept their sanity through humor.


It seems you think MASH made a mockery of the war, I see it as a tribute to the men who faced endless death, to cope with what they saw everyday.

We all love soldiers, but who ever remembers the doctors?

[STEED]

We should remember and honor the veterans before we remember the show.

I agree 100%

[Ducimus]

I see it as a tribute to the men who faced endless death, to cope with what they saw everyday.


Try reading a book instead. Like this one. (http://www.amazon.com/The-Coldest-War-Memoir-Korea/dp/0312265115/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1373649116&sr=8-2)
I've read it twice. First time I picked it up, was when I was leaving the ROK when my annual tour was up. Just sayin'.

[Red October1984]

I got family who's letters I can show you, chock full of jokes about crappy experiences they had in Afghanistan, and Iraq. We all love soldiers, but who ever remembers the doctors?

One of my uncle's was a doctor in Iraq with the Army...he has PTSD now. The humor is there in his stories...and sometimes other times. It's sad.

He didn't have the best of times in Iraq. That's for sure. There was even a young kid who was from my area who was shot in the neck on guard duty...and they couldn't save him...

Now there's a stretch of highway on I-55 named after him... I heard the story firsthand by one of the men who worked on him. :wah:

My uncle went out with the troops and stuff...but he was also a doctor.

Doctors deserve just as much respect as the soldiers.

[Oberon]

History is alas littered with Forgotten wars, Malaya for one, which was not even dignified with the name 'war' because of insurance concerns, it is a terrible shame that the Korean war is one of them, particularly since the consequences of the war are still hot and rife today.
It was a war between propped up dictators, the first proxy war of the Cold War, a war that could have been avoided had cooler heads prevailed during the post-WWII division of Korea, however you cannot criticise the fighting spirit of the South Koreans, and the sacrifices made by the US forces, particularly those who were on duty in Korea when the war started and the first forces taken from the occupation force in Japan. Undermanned, underarmed and with no real way to counter the Nork forces they managed to conduct a fighting retreat which took a grave toll on the North Korean forces.

RO, here's another ROK film about the war, Taegukgi, I haven't seen all of it, but I've seen clips and it seems very good.
Ah, here we are: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTg5W1Lgyzo

[soopaman2]

History is alas littered with Forgotten wars, Malaya for one, which was not even dignified with the name 'war' because of insurance concerns, it is a terrible shame that the Korean war is one of them, particularly since the consequences of the war are still hot and rife today.
It was a war between propped up dictators, the first proxy war of the Cold War, a war that could have been avoided had cooler heads prevailed during the post-WWII division of Korea, however you cannot criticise the fighting spirit of the South Koreans, and the sacrifices made by the US forces, particularly those who were on duty in Korea when the war started and the first forces taken from the occupation force in Japan. Undermanned, underarmed and with no real way to counter the Nork forces they managed to conduct a fighting retreat which took a grave toll on the North Korean forces.

RO, here's another ROK film about the war, Taegukgi, I haven't seen all of it, but I've seen clips and it seems very good.
Ah, here we are: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTg5W1Lgyzo


If I was not a manly man, this would have made me shed a tear or two.

*sniffle*

S korea had balls, and to this day their defiance in the face of constant imminent war is awe inspiring.

Niether side truly wants it, I just wish little Kimmy wouldn't try to use China and Russia as a pawn for free food from us, for it 's starving population.

I always found it funny feeding a country we are at war with. All that money for non working nukes, none for food, need the USA for that.

Boy does China and the Ruskies love them, they always appreciate a good dictator!

[Red October1984]

RO, here's another ROK film about the war, Taegukgi, I haven't seen all of it, but I've seen clips and it seems very good.
Ah, here we are: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTg5W1Lgyzo

I'm thinking I've seen this one...Not sure...

I'll look at it though. Thanks! :yeah:

[Stealhead]

Actually both the feature film M.A.S.H(70) and the TV(72-83) series focused more on Vietnam than Korea.The plot may have been based during the Korean War but the subtext is about Vietnam it is actually pretty obvious in the film but less so in the TV series.

My great uncle was actually in charge of a MASH unit during the Korean War I would say that the film and TV show are nothing like what a MASH unit was really like.My uncle actually received a letter in the mail in 1950 just a few weeks after his first daughter was born and a few months after having started a private practice he had to close down his practice which cost him some money.On top of all this he had been bared from enlistment during WWII because he had some sort of kidney illness as a baby and he did get insulted for being a clearly able man but not in the military.Now that he was an M.D. the Army demanded his aid.

He went anyway without protest and it turned out to be one of the best experiences in his professional life while he was there he helped save many lives and greatly expanded his medical experience.

He lived to be 80 years old from bladder cancer but he was very active he played tennis just about everyday even just a few days before he passed.I guess he would be a good example for people that believe a person was person was placed here for some specific reason.

Here is the other thing I would like to say about what the military is really like......people are just the same as they are anywhere else they just work and live under slightly different rules and sometimes in great danger people deal with stress the same way some people joke some people cry some people drink and other just sort of observe everyone else.The other difference is that you develop bonds that are very rare in the civilian world not with every single person per se but with some and you might not see that person very often but you still feel that bond when you are around them you could call that person when you needed help and they would come and help you.I think this is why a lot of vets especially after Vietnam formed car and bike racing and riding clubs it is/was a way to feel that bond and that intensity again some of those vets they can not adapt to normal life again and they formed the really hard core groups.It is like a curse of sorts for combat vets they form the type of bond that you can not form anywhere else but at the same time what they have been though is not even describable to a person untouched.That is why the vets that go to PTSD courses part of these are group sessions with other combat vets.

[Ducimus]

If one has an hour and a half to kill:

Korean War- Documentary Film 1950-1953 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzMGZX9eJ1U)


Korean War in Color documents war-torn Korea the way the soldiers saw it-in full, shocking color. This digitally mastered DVD presents a true picture of war-full of terror, chaos, blood and courage. Many of the images included here have never been seen by the general public before, having been kept top secret for decades by military officials for fear of a public backlash.

Here are just a few of the color highlights: M.A.S.H. units in action-no Hawkeye, B.J., radar or Klinger here-these are the real men and women who saved thousands of lives. Also, the daring Inchon invasion, the battle of Seol, the Naktong River campaign, winter along the Chosin Reservoir, War in the Skies, and legendary director John Ford s rare footage of the 1st Marine Division in Action.


In April 1950 Kim Il-sung travelled to Moscow and secured Stalin's support for a policy to unify Korea under his authority. Although agreeing with the invasion of South Korea in principle, Stalin refused to become directly involved in Kim's plans, and advised Kim to enlist Chinese support instead. In May 1950 Kim visited Beijing, and succeeded in gaining Mao's endorsement. At the time, Mao's support for Kim was largely political (he was contemplating the invasions of Taiwan and Tibet), and was unaware of Kim's precise intentions or the timing of Kim's attack. When the Korean war broke out, the Chinese were in the process of demobilizing half of the PLA's 5.6 million soldiers Stalin created "detailed [war] plans" that were communicated to the North Koreans.

On 7 June 1950, Kim Il-sung called for an election in whole Korea on 5--8 August 1950 and a consultative conference in Haeju on 15--17 June 1950. On 11 June, the North sent three diplomats to the South, who were later arrested by the South. Fourteen days later on 25 June 1950, the North Korean People's Army (KPA) crossed the 38th parallel border and invaded South Korea.

[Sailor Steve]

My great uncle was actually in charge of a MASH unit during the Korean War I would say that the film and TV show are nothing like what a MASH unit was really like.
On the other hand Richard Hooker, who wrote the book both were based on, said that what he wrote was based on his own experiences as a MASH surgeon. Go figure. :sunny:

[Jimbuna]

If one has an hour and a half to kill:

Korean War- Documentary Film 1950-1953 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzMGZX9eJ1U)

Appreciated Ducimus :up:

[Platapus]

While Mash was a funny TV series, I find it discraceful that the only remembrance of one of the most horrific wars we have ever fought in, is by a sitcom that has very little to do with reality.


The ONLY remembrance? What makes you think that the TV show is the "only remembrance of one of the most horrific wars we have ever fought in..."

Not seeing where you got that from. :nope:

[soopaman2]

The ONLY remembrance? What makes you think that the TV show is the "only remembrance of one of the most horrific wars we have ever fought in..."

Not seeing where you got that from. :nope:

I don't think he meant it like that.

It is the most prominent in American media/pop culture though, I think that is what was intended.

[Platapus]

I don't think he meant it like that.

It is the most prominent in American media/pop culture though, I think that is what was intended.

Then perhaps he can edit it to remove "only remembrance" and substitute something more accurate like popular remembrance. When I read "only remembrance" that is pretty finite. Having worked a few Korean War remembrance events, I stubbed my eye on this.

[Catfish]

Oops, i just read Michener's "The bridges of Toko-Ri". Full of propaganda and boasting with the US military and way of life versus the baad communists (and i really liked it :) )