National Korean War Veterans Armistice Day
“…the wrong war in the wrong place at the wrong time.” _______ General Omar Bradley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Armistice signing
No single incident caused the catastrophic events that became WWII and the wars that sprang out of those six years also had their seeds dropped many decades before. Those of you that read my post “Setting the stage for war” at https://pacificparatrooper.wordpress.com/2012/09/14/setting-the-stage-for-war/ or have read the book, The Imperial Cruise by James Bradley, have an idea of which I speak. I could go back into history as far as Marco Polo, but I’ll spare you my rambling.
Teddy Roosevelt declared, “Our future history will be more determined by our position on the Pacific facing China than our position on the Atlantic facing Europe.” He was eager to see American strength spread across Asia just as it had gone across the North American continent. He also stated, “I wish to see the United States as the dominant power on the shores of the Pacific Ocean.” Though he knew very little of the Orient or its culture, he favorite motto – “Speak softly and carry a big stick.” – would cause a ripple that would grow into the tidal wave of conflicts still felt today.
I realize it is unusual to begin a section on Korea with the date that the war came to a close, but the calender of events is unavoidable.
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A look at the “high-life” in the 1950’s ____
It may not look like much – but WE had fun!!
Click on images to enlarge.
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Farewell Salutes –
Stephen Voss – Boca Raton, FL; U.S. Navy Medic, WWII, 6th Naval Beach Battalion, wounded on Omaha Easy Red II section of Normandy invasion. One year later, invasion of Okinawa.
Sylvia Yelverton – Fitchburg, MA & W.Palm Beach, FL; U.S. Air Force during Korean and Vietnam Wars
John Bretherton – Charleston, SC; U.S. Navy, WWII, on USS Jensen (Atlantic) and Hospital ship, USS Haven (Pacific)
Ernest Bates – Canton, OH; PA & Greenacres, FL; Sgt. U.S. Army Air Corps, WWII
Michael Diesel – Brooklyn, NY & Lake Worth, FL; U.S. Navy, WWII
Samuel Grundfast – Boynton Beach, FL; U.S. Navy, WWII
Robert LaCasse – Millinocket & Skowhegan, ME; US Army, WWII
Ethel Moore – Kamloops, Can. & Los Angeles, CA; RC Army, nurse, WWII, chosen to represent Canada at the coronation of King George VI
Bernard Wallach – Bronx, NY & Lake Worth, FL; U.S. Navy, WWII
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Posted on July 27, 2013, in Korean War and tagged 1950's, family history, History, holidays, Korea, Korean War, Military, nostalgia, veterans, Vintage. Bookmark the permalink. 83 Comments.
Pacific Paratrooper 
I want to thank you once again for helping to catch me up on so many areas of US History I need to know and understand. So many `thoughtful and spot on comments accompany this post.
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Oh, I love the comments! Many times we will get more information, first-hand stories and links to accompany the post. I urge all the readers to look over the comments when they are finished with the post. No one continues to learn more than I, that’s for sure!
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Many years later and Australian Vietnam vets are still behind the eight ball.
As the years pass by I feel the governments and departments are biding their time for our passing, the same will happen with vets from the current conflicts.
Ian
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It’s hard to tell what the H*LL governments think. I just hope you aren’t right, Ian!
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Quite synchronistic, this. I was reflecting in the context of a WW1 book I am editing how, in history, things that spark off major events may have something lighting the fuse, but the laying of the fuse and explosive usually goes way back to any number of other things.
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It certainly does…usually major events are spotlighted as the cause and or influence, but once the data is collected and put in order – WOW. That is an excellent metaphor you made!!
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Reblogged this on The ObamaCrat™.
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Thank you for helping to honor the troops.
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i never tire of reading your fascinating military history blogs, Keep ’em coming!
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Thank you, I love the encouragement!
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It’s sad to say I’d almost forgotten about Vietnam and Korean Vets being denied VFW membership. I’m a Vietnam-era Vet myself. I will never forget or forgive the ill treatment of returning Vietnam Veterans. Forgive me if you’ve already mentioned the passing and subsequent recent burial of Jeremiah Denton at Arlington.
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I remember that!! I went to my father, Smitty (who was an officer in the VFW at the time in Hallandale, FL) and told him I knew a Nam vet being denied membership at the Delray post, He went ballistic!!! Dad said, if he couldn’t do anything about Delray – send the man down to him. The vet was installed at the Delray VFW about a week or two later. A little common sense was all it took! (and whatever else Smitty said to them!) 😉
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Reposting is a great idea. It’s like watching an old movie classic.
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Yes, I couldn’t come up with any better ideas yesterday than I already had, Pierre, but I did have things I wanted to add – such as the honoring of the 108 year old veteran!!
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I didn’t even realize there was a Korean War Armistice Day. Obviously there was, the thing had a beginning and an ending, unlike the messes with which we’ve managed to get involved today.
Bless the poor soldiers who have endured any war.
“Imagine there’s no countries
It isn’t hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for.”
John Lennon
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That seems to be all we can do – imagine….
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Reblogged this on pacificparatrooper and commented:
A COMMEMORATIVE HOLIDAY OFTEN FORGOTTEN. PLEASE VIEW THIS REVISED ARMISTICE DAY POST OF MINE TO HONOR THE TROOPS.
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A reblogué ceci sur Lest We Forget and commented:
About the Forgotten War… Korea 1950-1953
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Merci, Pierre. I’m honored as always.
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Well done.
Smedly Butler had many of the same observations.
War, certainly is a racket…personal agenda’s, greed, competition, do very little for a national state – if the effort is not done in thte true defense of its interests – that would be Cultural – not economic (since we are dependent on ourselves, firstly).
Looking forward to more yoeman work.
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Thanks for commenting, Johan – you speak the truth.
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I agree with you and Johan Hoeff, too. Perhaps there was glory in war when the king rode into battle with the troops. I doubt it, but that did, at least, put the entire demographic of the kingdom in the same peril.
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Your postings reveal the dubious characters that lie behind the exteriors of most politicians. It makes their decisions to send troops to war even more nefarious and the aims malignant. What hurts most is their disregard and lack of respect for the mental and physical scars left upon those who have survived the ravages of combat. Your postings are all the more valuable because they reveal what so many would prefer remained hidden. Thank you.
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You completely understood my meaning here and Thank You.
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I concur and it is still going on…
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Thanks, Pierre.
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Exactly. If they or their children had to serve in combat they have no problem sending other people’s children into, there’d either be fewer wars or better resources devoted to the survivors of these adventures.
Though I volunteer to take veterans to area VA clinics, for example, I always question why money was an issue, even in my red state, for closing down a VA clinic in my town and limiting access to government-provided transportation for those veterans unable to make appointments to surviving VA medical care. (Or having to rely on a volunteer like me.)
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I’m glad to see more discussion going on between all of you. Thank you for getting involved.
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I am so glad that you are covering this…all of it is new information to me and I look forward to learning from your posts. By the way, the Memorial in your picture is fantastic, very moving to walk through.
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Thanks for your comments and I do hope to see the monument one day.
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I love these comments, and don’t think I could add to them. But I am so looking forward to your posts on the Korean War — it’s the war we were fighting when I was born. I had no idea about the “police action” discrimination. I have a lot to learn, and your blog is a great place to start.
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“Police action” went above the heads of Congress – it HAD to cause a stir!
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I am looking forward to your posts on the Korean War.
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Thank you, I’m doing my best to research the topic from all sides.
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Yes, you do a wonderful job of that. Bearing in mind your understanding and research on WW2 and now the Korean War, I am curious to know what light you can shine on my latest post concerning nuclear testing in the Pacific. When you have time, of course. I write more from the point of memories; my research is not rigorous.
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Thank you for your trust, I’ll get right on it.
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🙂
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I found your research to be very informative. I learned facts that I was previously unaware of. I’ll add that the testing DID alter the Earth’s axis and is partly the reasoning behind nuclear bans on further tests. (of course not every country follows the rules) Unfortunately, the guardian.co.uk link would not work – can you recheck the address or is it my computer? My heart has always gone out to those in the Pacific forced to endure the results and I sincerely hope more readers take the time to get educated on the subject – I highly recommend your site.
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Thank you for taking the time to read my post. You have a much wider perspective on the war and immediate post war period than I do, so it’s good to have your input. I don’t think I knew that the tests altered the Earth’s axis. Quite alarming. I will look in to the Guardian link again.
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Very good, I hope more people read it.
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Thanks for telling me about the link not working. I think it is fixed now.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jul/03/french-nuclear-tests-polynesia-declassified
If not try linking from here.
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Yes, it works and is worth visiting. More facts I was not aware of, thank you.
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Great! Of course it is only one point of view but I was happy to see it was a recent article and, I think, well written.
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I’m still reeling over the thought that 1 in 10 American soldiers in the Korean War died. As a kid growing up, I really didn’t appreciate that my father was in the Korean War. It was close enough to WWII that the implication from society was that those were the real heroes and the Korean War wasn’t a “real war.”
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That was Truman’s plan and it worked for many decades. Some VFW posts refused Korean & Vietnam vets from joining because of the “police action” tag put on them.
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I had no idea. That’s terrible.
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Mt father, Smitty, was disgusted when I brought him a Nam vet who could not join, dad got him into his post. But, this took a long time for some other posts to accept them. Their excuse – “it was a police action – not a war”
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That’s really sad. I keep imagining how those guys felt.
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I know what you mean.
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I’ve always been so conflicted about TR. I love his energy and big family. I love his house Sagamore and the story of his childhood, but his expansionist views really disappoint me. People are so flawed, but I love them still.
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Don’t forget his POSED photos as a big western rancher and safari man – hilarious, but yes, we can love them despite their faults.
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I visited the Korean War Memorial several years ago, and enjoyed the pictures in this post.
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It must be so much more impressive in person. Thanks for stopping in, Sheryl. I’ve enjoyed your site since I joined Word Press.
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Great post. My father was an EDT for the Navy during the Korean Conflict. He had to take his dog tags off, he was dropped a mile from the Chinese shore, told to make maps and be at the same spot in the water 24 hours later. You’d think talking to him he went around the corner to pick up a newspaper….
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Would love to hear more. Is your father still with us? Sounds to me he was/is a very brave man.
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The Korean War is somewhat similar in treatment as Japan’s is to WWII. In fact, you can bet if you stopped a commuter in Japan and asked, “What do you know of Iwo Jima?”, they likely don’t know diddly-squat.
I’ve always wanted to ask of how you manage to notify us of the passing of our heroes… It must take a lot of diligence to find these. Very noble of you!
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Thank you, Koji. Yes, I go thru a number of newspapers for the Farewell Salutes – is there one you would like me to add to my list?
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Thankfully no… but a very noble endeavor, gpcox. Smitty is smiling on you… 🙂
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Ya know, I believe he is.
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🙂
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The Korean war sometimes seems like the forgotten war, except to those who lived through or fought in it, so I’m really looking forward to reading more of your posts.
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I was only a child at the time, but I did have an uncle there. I hope I do it justice.
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Oh, I know you will.
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Thanks for the confidence boost, Trappper.
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THE IMPERIAL CRUISE, incidentally, turned out to be one of the better books I’ve read on the topic of American expansionism/colonialism/imperialism/whatever-you-feel-comfortable-calling-it! Thanks for the recommendation! It does have some irritating qualities (the references to Alice Roosevelt as The Princess, and Willian H. Taft as “Big Bill”, over and over: yes, I got your point, Mr. Bradley! She was spoiled and he was fat!), but the content and scholarship stand up, making this an informative book that helps demythologize American continental expansion in the first century of our national life and the continuing involvement in international affairs.
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I was very glad that you had acquired the book, now you can see how difficult it is for me to condense the info and try to make it interesting at the same time. The newspapers are the ones the made Alice the “Princess” sometimes we really grab at straws to find a ‘role model.’
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That is the understatement of the century! It also shows how well you do get across the ideas and information you present. This is one of my favorite history-based blogs. You do honor, I think, to those who served and those you mention.
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That is certainly my aim, it makes me feel good to know that I am accomplishing my goal.
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It’s interesting that I didn’t care for history classes when I was in school and now I find it fascinating. I suppose growing up and older brings the reality of how important it really is. I’m looking forward to learning about the Korean War. I know next to nothing.
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I think because we actually didn’t win Korean that it was pushed under the rug in our history classes. I know I was told – started 1950 and ended 1953 – and that was about it. No one really handled it very well, as you will soon see.
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I also was not exposed to Korea much. Just mainly the TV show M*A*S*H
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M*A*S*H* was mainly about the second half of the war, it will be mentioned.
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I am the same. I think it must have been a dormant gene or maybe it is the way it is presented. No Internet, history channel, Biography channel or military history channel when I was in school.
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I think everyone pretty much had the same lessons – names and dates to memorize, but no realize explanation of what was really going on.
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1905 Teddy Roosevelt got the Nobel Prize for peace. He sent his VP Cleveland, I think to negotiate with Japan and Russia to hold peace. He was worried about the military ambitions of Japan which was eyeing Korea and the Philippines. The prize to keep Japanese off the latter was give it control over Korea under a special treaty. Japan went to korea and China as well. It would lead eventually to Korean War. After Japan’s surrender rising tide of Communism in China would ensure it. Vietnam War was not yet in the cards but would take shape.
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Teddy was given the prize before the Nobel committee discovered his hidden agenda. And, I’m afraid Vietnam (Indochina) was very much in the cards even during WWII.
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I have located mention of the village here – http://lindumfilms.com/villageofwidows – is this the Canadian village that you mentioned?
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I know I will love this…
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I can only hope so…
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I confess to knowing very little about the Korean War. Thanks for the reminder to learn more 🙂
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Always trying to help. Thanks for stopping by to read.
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