Working Together

Some real understanding of the activities of our allies in the prolonged war in South Korea are just now coming to light.



While everyone should be aware that the Korean War was fought under the flag of the United Nations, in reality what that means is that twenty-seven nations worked together to put an army, a navy, marines, and air force personnel into the fight to maintain the sovereignty of South Korea.



That contribution ranged from small nations providing produce, to more involved nations sending large fighting units. The story pretty well remains untold in this country. To see some of the expanding information check out:



http://bubl.ac.uk/link/ for the United Kingdom;

www.answers.com.au/ for Australian information;

http://www.abondance.com/ for French involvement;

http://www.ijzer.nl/ for the Dutch; and

http://www.yehey.com/ for the Philippine sources.



Senior Fellow, Paul M. Edwards

C'mon, America!

Most will have noticed the news that the government, short of Purple Heart medals, has instructed a veteran that he should buy his own. This follows the announcement that the expenditure of bullets in Iraq has caused a shortage of ammo for US police departments. That, of course, followed the news of poor treatment for veterans in the hospitals designed for their care, and a shortage of artificial limbs noted. What does all this tell us?



I think it tells us that the American people, once again, are not taking their nation’s veterans seriously. Rather than raise the payrate to lure young men and women into the military, how about using some of that money, or the money paid for waste, to take care of those we have asked to serve the country in harm’s way.



What does it take to convince America that regardless of our beliefs about the value of the war in Iraq, we owe those we send there to fight. And, that the commitment never runs out, for we owe those still suffering the results of service in World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Gulf, etc.



Come on America, 100 million less for a new quarterback and a few bucks for the veterans.

http://senate2008guru.blogspot.com/; http://www.vawatchdog.org/



Senior Fellow, Paul M. Edwards

Its Living Ghost

Looking back a bit, I was impressed again with the natural human tendency to remember significant events in terms of beginnings and endings.

We have just recently passed the 57th anniversary of the beginning of the Korean War and the 54th of the cease fire. I wonder sometimes why it is that we do not seek to remember the “awesome days”, those days when nothing happened other than just another monotonous and frightening day in the middle of a year-or-more of such days.

James Hillman, no stranger to war, wrote in 2004 in his book A Terrible Love of War, “Peace for veterans is not an ‘absence of war’ but its living ghost in the bedroom, at the lunch counter, on the highway. The trauma is not ‘post’ but acutely present.”

The best connection to the U. S. military for service related information is http://www.searchmil.com/.

Senior Fellow, Paul M. Edwards

Garand Collectors Meeting in Kansas City

Recently I had the opportunity to address the Garand Collectors Association 20th Anniversary Convention that met in Kansas City, Missouri. I was impressed with the members interest, and knowledge of the M-1 Garand. Many were veterans but some were far too young to have used the weapons in combat.

In considering what I would say to them, I found myself remembering the rifle, my rifle, and the many days and nights we spent together. Sure it was a tool, a well designed and very efficient tool, but it was also more than that.

Waking one morning before my assigned talk I discovered that I was field-stripping the Garand in my sleep, slipping off the trigger housing and pulling away the stock. I even remember the number. What I finally talked about, and what several of those in attendance affirmed, was that other than being a mechanical object, a thing to be taken care of and used with caution, the M-1 for the Korean War soldier was a companion. Perhaps the word friend is too strong, but in many respects that is what it was.

The M-1 was a rifle, but it was also a weapon, and as a weapon I came to know it far better than most things associated with my life. There are a lot of books available about the M-1 as a rifle, I would love to see someone compile a book about men’s experiences and memories of the rifle.

Senior Fellow, Paul M. Edwards