Korean War Research

One-Day Conference on Lessons from the Iraq War

2009-03-11T14:30:00.001-06:00

This non-partisan conference will look at lessons to be learned from the Iraq war. We will be joined by academics, veterans who have served in Iraq, refugees from Iraq, peace activists and ethicists representing a range of Christian perspectives on war. There will be plenty of time for attendees to engage in discussion with speakers, panelists and each other. A group will follow up on the next day to distill the lessons that emerge from the day’s proceedings. These will be published at www.koreanwarcenter.org.

Friday, April 24, 2009

This unique Conference will be held at

Graceland University Independence Campus,

1401 W. Truman Road, Independence, MO.

Special Early Bird Registration

$20.00

$15.00 Students and Pensioners

(Add $5 after March 24)

No refunds after April 5.

To register for this event

contact Gregg Edwards 816.833.0524 ext. 4304

complete a registration form at www.koreanwarcenter.org

This conference is co-sponsored by Graceland University Community of Christ Seminary, Center for the Study of the Korean War, and the Community of Christ Human Rights Team.

Difficult Week

2009-02-24T13:22:00.001-06:00

Budget cuts, restructuring, and other unfortunate but all too familiar manifestations of this troubled economy have been impacting many of the Center's friends and colleagues across the country, as well as some in our local community. Our heart goes out to those facing difficult times.

We have been facing limitations of our own. This week would have been the Center's 10th Annual Conference on War and Media, but economic constraints made it necessary to postpone this year's event and look forward instead to opportunities next year. The Annual Conference has always been a venue for anyone interested in learning about the Korean War, or sharing their knowledge or experiences from the war. We will miss hosting that opportunity this year.

It is our hope that the Conference will return next year; in the meantime we will continue striving to fulfill the Center's mission.

Director Gregg Edwards

Korea War Veterans Tribute- Free Event in Jacksonville, FL

2009-02-16T15:34:00.003-06:00

The Florida Veterans Programs & Projects, Inc., Michael Rothfeld president, is hosting a Korean War veterans tribute in Jacksonville, Florida, on June 25th, 2009. Check out both the website, http://anyveteran.org/, and their press release (below) for this important event:

"Jacksonville Salutes Korean War Veterans

Korean War Veterans will be honored at an educational and entertainment program at The Main Library in Downtown Jacksonville, on Thursday June 25^th, 2009 at Noon in the Hicks Auditorium on the Conference Level. This free event is hosted by the Florida Veterans Programs & Projects, Inc. (FVPPI), a Florida Not for Profit Corporation, in association with The Art Institute of Jacksonville and the Community Education & Enrichment Program of the Jacksonville Main Library.

This program will consist of 1950's Korean War era music and the premier of the "Korea: Forgotten War, Remembered Heroes" documentary. The music will be provided by students and faculty of the Florida School for the Deaf & Blind of St. Augustine, under the leadership of Music Director Mr. Bill Sabo. The documentary, produced by Michael Rothfeld, President of FVPPI, and directed by Dr. Nadia A. Ramoutar, Academic Department Director of the Digital Filmmaking & Video Production Department of the Art Institute of Jacksonville and her students, share the experiences of five local Korean War Veterans.

Many of the heroes interviewed for this documentary will be on hand for this special show. All Korean War Veterans and their families are invited to attend and to be recognized. The general public is also welcome to attend this free program. Several Korean War Veterans will also be speaking about their war experiences. The day's events will start at noon on the 59th Anniversary of the start of the Korean War, Thursday June 25th, 2009.

The Main Downtown Jacksonville Library is located at 303 N. Laura Street, phone number (904) 630-2665.

For maps of Downtown Jacksonville, including an interactive parking map, please visit: http://downtownjacksonville.org/getting-around/maps/

Call Michael Rothfeld at (904) 829-0381 or visit our website at: http://anyveteran.org for more information about the show."

Gregg Edwards, Director

Arlington Columbarium

2009-02-16T14:36:00.001-06:00

As noted in the February 2009 VFW Magazine, page 8, Arlington National Cemetery has opened its "ninth outdoor structure for entombing cremated remains...This columbarium is six feet tall and close to half a mile long. The outdoor wall will contain some 6,500 remains."

The article goes on to note that in 2011, "Arlington County will exchange a 4.3-acre parcel of land with the federal government, providing up to 3,440 new burial sites. An acre can accommodate between 600 and 800 graves."

Heavily Invested

2009-02-16T13:29:00.001-06:00

The Republic of South Korea is planning a celebration for the sixtieth anniversary of the beginning of the Korean War. Sponsored by the Armed Forces Association, it is to be held on Armed Forces Day (1 October 2010) at Seongnam, near Seoul.

In the past sixty years the ROK armed forces have grown into a highly sophisticated and efficient force which stands ready to protect its nation from the potential harm that still looms across the 38^th Parallel. This could not have been possible without the help provided by the United States, which is still heavily invested in South Korea. For more information check out the Joint Force Quarterly.

Senior Fellow Paul M. Edwards

Missouri Conference on History

2009-02-02T16:51:00.001-06:00

I wanted to take a moment to mention a great local (that is, relative to the Center for the Study of the Korean War!) conference: the 51st Annual Missouri Conference on History.

Hosted by the Missouri State University Department of History and held in Springfield, Missouri, this jewel of a conference always has interesting topics and speakers. This year's keynote speaker Kerby Miller, Curators’ Professor of History at the University of Missouri-Columbia, is addressing “Irish” and “Scotch-Irish” in Ireland and America: Only “Two Traditions”?

This conference will be held April 15-17, 2009, in Springfield University Plaza Hotel and Convention Center, includes a variety of speakers presenting on a wide range of interesting topics, including: “Rethinking Atomic Euphoria in Bavaria: Josef Baumgartner’s Campaign Against Munich’s Atomic Research Reactor, 1953-1957” from Kyle Miller, University of Missouri; “The Purple Cross Society” by the Center's own Paul M. Edwards, Graceland University; “My Brother’s Keeper: World War II Prisoners of War and the German and Italian Communities in Missouri” by Derek R. Mallett, Texas A&M University; “A New Perspective on Meriwether Lewis’s Death” by Thomas C. Danisi, Independent Scholar; and more.

The web site (linked above) is maintained by the State Historical Society of Missouri, another great organization that we at the Center have always had a lot of respect for.

Ridgway and the Korean War

2009-01-26T10:08:00.001-06:00

The University of Pittsburgh’s Matthew B. Ridgway Center for International Security Studies will hold a symposium on “Ridgway and the Korean War,” at the University of Pittsburgh on April 3, 2009. This symposium will focus on Ridgway as both a man and as a leading military leader of the US, during a defining moment in the Cold War. According to Donald M. Goldstein, Professor & Interim Director of the Ridgway Center, and Dr. Dennis Hart, Associate Director of the Asian Studies Center at the University of Pittsburgh, "the legacy of Ridgway and the Korea War and their effects on Koreans and US relations with the world remain with us today and this important symposium will provide valuable insights and understanding of the man, the war, and the world they helped to create."

Presentations will be followed by a question and answer session, and later by a public panel discussion on the Korean War. Audiences for the presentation and panel will include academics, students, veterans, and other members of the general community. Representatives from the Center for the Study of the Korean War will be in attendance and presenting.

Gregg Edwards Director

Two Books on PTSD

2009-01-26T09:55:00.001-06:00

Recently two books have appeared on the market with the same title, and which address the same issue. Both are called "Haunted By Combat." While both are interesting, it is the second, Haunted by Combat: Understanding PTSD in War Veterans Including Women, Reservists, and Those Coming Back from Iraq, by Daryl S. Paulsen and Stanley Krippner, and published by Praeger Security International (2007) that may be most worth reading.

In it the author traces the effect of post traumatic stress through several wars and comes to the conclusion that while they bear a great deal in common, there are also some very distinct and interesting differences from war to war. Bringing it up to date, he comments on the fact that there appear to be a larger percentage of head wounds in Iraq, probably due to the advances in body armor, and that this requires that more psychological aid be available.

Check the catalog of Greenwood Press at http://www.greenwood.com/catalog/C9187.aspx, or Praeger Security International at http://www.greenwood.com/psi/

Senior Fellow Paul M. Edwards

Rakkasan Friends

2009-01-19T08:40:00.001-06:00

Recently, Graceland University’s Center for the Study of the Korean War was honored by The Ripcord Chapter of the 187th Airborne Rakkasans, and the Mid-America Chapter of the 82nd Airborne Division, with a plaque and a contribution to be used for flag replacement.

The plaque honors the Airborne Ranger Companies that served in Korea, and also any Paratroopers from other Airborne Divisions that served in the 187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team.

The recognition is due to Rakkasan and friend David Deatherage, Independence native and Korean War veteran, who visits the Center regularly and has been responsible for carrying the name of the Center to area and national associates of the Rakkasans and the Airborne. He took a copy of our informational DVD to the national gathering of Airborne in North Carolina last summer, and regularly advertises the Center in his emailed newsletter and communication-chain.

Thanks to these supporters, and especially to Dave!

Gregg Edwards Director

The Remembered War?

2009-01-12T15:42:00.001-06:00

The Remembered War? Not quite yet.

I read an interesting note recently, in which the author stated that because of the publication of David Halberstam’s The Coldest Winter, the Korean War is no longer forgotten.

I am very happy that this fine author took the time and had the interest to write about a phase of this awesome war, but I doubt if it is going to make a lot of difference to America’s memory of those events. True, the last decade has seen some excellent works on the war, but the literature is still criminally small.

If you want to understand what I mean, the next time you are in a bookstore go to the history section. See if you can find a Korean War section. If there is one it is most likely located somewhere between World War II and the Vietnam War, and usually displays books from those two events rather than the Korean War. Even the Spanish American war has more material available.

I think it will be some time before the events of the Korean War are no longer forgotten.

Senior Fellow Paul M. Edwards

Revising a Resource

2009-01-12T14:48:00.001-06:00

A resource book on the Korean War, by the Center’s founder and Senior Fellow, Paul M. Edwards, and published by Scarecrow Press in 2003, is being revised. Scarecrow contacted Paul last week about revising The Korean War, A Historical Dictionary. This is significant for several reasons: one is that it means there is academic interest in updating the dictionary, which would indicate as well that there is new material since 2003, related to the Korean War.

Another reason for significance is that this volume, number 23 in Scarecrow’s "Historical Dictionaries of War, Revolution, and Civil Unrest” is being utilized enough that the desire for a revision is there. The book is a hardback library edition and is in libraries in academic and military institutions around the country. Paul has agreed to do the revision.

Gregg Edwards Director

Speaking of the Korean War...

2009-01-05T15:26:00.001-06:00

Well, maybe it is not the same as being forgotten, but it seems that the Korean War is more and more a footnote to the sane and silly, referenced for no particular reason.

I subscribe to the Google News Alert which, most days, indicates half a dozen or so places where the war is mentioned. There are interesting and useful references, but some alerts may help make my point, such as these three from not too long ago: one was an account of Adam Bloom’s involvement in an experiment in a “black box”, one a plea for conservative leadership: “Where have all the leaders gone”, and the third an attack on the Korean Music Awards.

Senior Fellow Paul M. Edwards

Research and Inquiry

2009-01-05T15:22:00.001-06:00

We were contacted last week by Dr. Jeon Hyun Soo, a professor at Kyungpook University in Daegu, South Korea, who is interested in doing some research at the Center. He will also be spending time at the Harry S. Truman Presidential Museum & Library here in Independence, and the National Archives in Kansas City.

Dr. Soo, who received his doctorate (Contemporary History of North Korea) from the Institute of Asian & African States, Moscow State University, is former Senior Research Officer of the Korean National Archives & Records Service. He is the author of Korean War, 1950-1953, Documents & Materials (Seoul: National Institute of Korean History, 2006, in English), The Contemporary History of North Korea (Seoul: Graduate School of North Korea, Kyungnam University, 2004, in Korean), and The Socioeconomic Reformation in North Korea under Soviet Military Administration (Moscow: Institute of Asian & African States Press, 1997, in Russian.)

Dr. Soo is a visiting scholar in the US this year. Needless to say, we are very excited about the opportunity to meet with and talk to Dr. Soo.

An inquiry came in from Florida, from the daughter of a Korean War veteran, asking for “reliable resources to recommend veteran focused trips to South Korea and the DMZ.”

Another inquiry asked about a US Army defector during the Korean War.

Another inquiry asked about for a good source on General Almond.

These are the kinds of inquiries that come in on a regular basis, averaging 1,000 per year, sometimes by phone but mostly by email.

We are happy to be of help.

Gregg Edwards Director

"Crimes" of the Korean War

2008-12-22T09:35:00.002-06:00

Bruce Cumings has come on the scene with a recent description of America’s dark involvement in the death of political prisoners during the Korean War. Having a lot of respect for Cumings' work on the Korean War, I don’t wish to make too much of a point of it, but I can’t help wondering if Cumings, who knows a great deal about other things, has no real concept of war.

So far I am not sure the information is all in about the Taejon massacre, or the No Gun Re shootings, or any of the other “crimes” of the Korean War. If they happened I am not surprised; sad, but not surprised. It seems to me that most incredible things about the emergence of these stories, and the American outrage about them, is the naiveté they expose.

What does American think it is doing when it sends it young men and women off to war? Why do we continue to play surprised that war is awful, awesome, cruel and mean, and cannot be fought cleanly and without hate and rancor. If we would stop talking about war as if it was an abstraction, and face up to its realities, maybe we could help prevent the situations in which such things happen.

Senior Fellow Paul M. Edwards

Rabbits in Korea

2008-12-15T08:42:00.002-06:00

There are a lot of interesting stories from the Korean War and a good many of them have not been told. Some, admittedly, are less than documented.

Is anyone aware of Operation Rabbits, which is supposed to have been a part of the larger Operation Aviary? According to some sources this operation consisted of South Korean actresses who were willing to be parachuted into enemy territory. There they were supposed to become mistresses of high ranking enemy officers, and then relay the information back to the United Nations.

Great story, does anyone know of any documentation?

Senior Fellow Paul M. Edwards

Another Casualty

2008-12-09T15:30:00.002-06:00

Yet another casualty of the Korean War! I am saddened by continued reports of people who decide to start a Korean War museum, make a lot of noise about it, bring in some money from those trying to honor the veterans, and then don’t produce. How many of them have we had now? They spring up everywhere from Hawaii to New Jersey.

The casualties in these never-producing efforts are the veterans they are supposed to honor, and the solid institutions that have been in business a long time doing what they can to keep the Korean War and its veterans in the foreground of American memory. The problem is that after these would-be museums are unable to get off the ground, or fail, or just plain disappear, it turns off the donors that would be willing to support a legitimate effort.

The Center for the Study of the Korean War has been in business since 1989, is affiliated with Graceland University, an institution of higher education that has been around since 1898, and collects documents, photographs, maps, etc. from Korean War veterans to be used by scholars, students, the History Channel and the like!

If you feel you can support someone that will use your contribution with honesty and integrity, please keep us in mind.

Senior Fellow, Paul M. Edwards

Back to the Blog

2008-12-09T08:31:00.001-06:00

In the past there were blog posts from the Center's Senior Fellow, Dr. Paul M. Edwards, that I uploaded once a week. And then I stopped uploading them, so Dr. Edwards stopped writing them. But he and I have much to report about the Center and so I am restarting the process.

I had not tired of posting his comments (after all, I had the easier part of that arrangement), but I had gotten sidetracked and then never recovered.

It's important to the Center to communicate what we're thinking and what we're working on, so I am reintroducing the commentaries from Dr. Edwards, and adding my updates on the happenings at the Center. Please feel free to post replies or comments.

Gregg Edwards, Director

Latest Newsletters Available

2008-05-16T14:12:00.001-06:00

All of the Center for the Study of the Korean War’s quarterly newsletters are available on our website at http://www.koreanwarcenter.org/newsletters.php

Gregg Edwards, Director
Center for the Study of the Korean War

Rakkasans!

2007-12-03T09:13:00.000-06:00

Had a chance to meet with two local chapters of the Rakkasans this past week as they celebrated their Christmas dinner.

These airborne troopers were attending from several of America's wars, including old-timers and younger men who had recently returned for war.

They meet together to remember old times, but it is more than that. They also meet to remember what they did, and why, and to register their patriotism and their continued support for the country.

They seem to have a lot of different opinions, even some disagreements, about all kinds of current events, but they were united in their support of each other, and of the nation. It was good to be with them.

Senior Fellow, Paul M. Edwards

Finding the MIA

2007-11-26T09:24:00.000-06:00

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

2007-11-19T15:49:00.000-06:00

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

2007-11-12T14:27:00.000-06:00

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

2007-11-05T09:15:00.000-06:00

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

A Win For North Korea

2007-10-29T10:22:00.000-06:00

For those who are interested in the current peace talks between North and South Korea, it would be helpful if they read about them with some perspective about the U.S. role.

For more than six years the Bush administration has been attacking the North Korean government, listing them among the axis of evil, and saber rattling while the North Koreans have postured their nuclear power plants and sent missles out over the Sea of Japan (East Sea).

Now, with seeming surprise, there is talk that America will promise not to undertake an aggressive war against North Korea in return for the North’s promise to stop its nuclear endeavor. Shades of remarkability, is this not the same proposal that President Clinton made nearly a decade ago. And was it not seen then as a “win” for North Korea.

Well, that is because it is. I don’t usually buy all that Bruce Cumings says about the Korean War, but he is sure on the mark in his recent comments when he explains just how much of a win it is for the North.

North Korean Economy: http://nkeconwatch.com
Roundup: Historian. http://hnn.us/roundup/1.html#44102

Senior Fellow, Paul M. Edwards

Best Interests

2007-10-22T14:34:00.000-06:00

So what are China, Russia, and the United States doing in the Korean peace talks?

Is it that everyone who had an interest in the war nearly sixty years ago still retains the same interest? Or, perhaps, these are the nations that see some significance in Korea remaining divided.

Is it South Korea that is refusing to send the promised rice until the nuclear plants are destroyed? Don't think so. Is it China that is interested in opening the border so that Koreans can move back and forth with their families? Don't think so.

Perhaps the move, recently taken by the South to just go ahead and talk with the North, is a good move.

www.kimsoft.com/korea/4-talks.htm
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Korea/IF02Dg01.html

Senior Fellow, Paul M. Edwards