Finding the MIA

When United States and United Nations troops were moving north in November 1950, the promise was that they would be home by Christmas. This is at last coming true for First Lieutenant Dixie S. Parker of Iowa, who was killed 27 November 1950.

After fifty-seven years his body, lost in the foxhole where he died, is being returned for burial in our national cemetery.

While thousands are still unaccounted for, the search goes on with GIs being identified every so often. While all wish the process was moving faster, and more completely, our hats must go off to the government (www.dtic.mil/dpmo) and their continued effort to locate, identify, and bring home those who died in this awesome war.
http://www.wmbb.com

Senior Fellow, Paul M. Edwards

Culture Wars

Cara has a wonderful idea (http://caramac.umwblogs.org/), suggesting that we might be far better off conducting a cultural war rather than a shooting war.

She also points out the similarities between Korea and Vietnam; not so much the causes or fighting, but the remembrance. The tombstones of those men who died in those wars are still reporting these wars as “conflicts.”


Senior Fellow, Paul M. Edwards

The Real War

The Baltimore Sun (http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/broadband/photoedge/blog/)
has recently used the length of the Korean War as part of a trivia question.

What are the dates of the Korean War, it asks, then reports the answer as 57 years. It then goes on to say that the “real war” was from 1950 to 1953. Well, they are right of course, if you are not concerned with what was going on.

Even the US Army acknowledges that the war continued well into the new year, and thus see the end, for official purposes, as 1954. But even that is not a good picture, as anyone who was there between 1953 and 1954 will know. The war may have been over as far as the politicians were concerned, but not the GI in the field.

Senior Fellow, Paul M. Edwards

Progressive Historians on Ridgway

The progressive historians have published an excellent comment about General Mathew Bunker Ridgway who, at Christmas 1950, took over command of the United Nations forces in Korea.

He arrived he found a demoralized army and a highly aggressive enemy at his heels. His response was a long unappreciated military marvel.

Check their website: http://www.progressivehistorians.com

Senior Fellow, Paul M. Edwards