The Forgotten War

If you Google "The Forgotten War," the Wikipedia page for the Korean War is the first thing that comes up. I think this is probably accurate. I will admit to not knowing much about it before I was headed to Korea. I figured I should get acquainted with it since I was going. I have been a fairly big WW2 buff to this point in my life, and figured why not this war also. Let me start by saying that I am under no illusions that war is anything but an ugly waste of life, resources and effort. However, war is a part of our history and will remain part of our history. Because of this, I figure it is worth learning about. 

 The Korean War Museum. I was surprised at how extensive this place was. It was absolutely massive. The outer grounds had planes, tanks and helicopters that were used in the war. It was awesome to see and one of the best things I visited in Korea. In front of the building are 21 flags of the nations that fought with Korea during the war. 

The planes parked outside next to the tanks. On the right is a B-52 bomber. Huge!

 A line of tanks, missiles and other armaments. 

 You put 50 cents in the stand and the tank lit up and made a bunch of noises. 

 Inside they had this guy dangling from the rafters (not a real person).

 The museum detailed all of the exploits and adventures of the ROK military forces including the Korean War, Vietnam and assisting in support roles in Desert Storm, etc. This mannequin that you see is the future of what soldiers will look like. Full face helmets with integrated optics, communications and weapons that have combined guns and grenade launches tied in to the helmet controls. To me, this is very interesting stuff as we are moving into what used to be considered space-age stuff. 

 I thought this North Korean propaganda was worth taking a picture of. 

 I like this mural. When the North Koreans attacked, they had no combat aircraft...just training planes. These training pilots took mortars and dropped them out open windows on the advancing troops. Crazy.

 You will remember the incident of the axe murders inside the Joint Security Area that I mentioned. They had some artifacts from the incident as well as a large diorama detailing the fight. 

 Now we get to the more serious stuff. Outside the war museum is this statue of two brothers, one with the North Korean army, and one with the South. They were reunited on the battlefield in the midst of fighting. It is a standing monument to the wish of the South for unification someday.

 The main sculpture in the front of the museum showing a sword of justice as well as a tree of life. There are 21 layers to the two sides of the bowl in remembrance of the countries that fought in the war to save South Korea from the same fate that we see in North Korea currently. 

 Sculpture detailing how people from all walks of life came together to fight for freedom. 

 In front of the U.N. cemetery in Busan there is a sculpture depicting soldiers from the nations who died defending Korea. 

The U.N. Memorial Cemetery is the only one in the world. It is a permanent resting place for those who died in the war and whose remains are still there. The U.S. returned the remains of their soldiers, but Turkish, French and Commonwealth countries left (at least some) of their soldiers in Korea.  

 The graves and monument for soldiers from Australia. 

 A monument for all the Commonwealth Nations.

 The lion sits in front of the British graves.

 A statue for the soldiers from New Zealand. 

 In the cemetery they have a wall with all the names of the soldiers from foreign countries who died during the war. This part of the wall shows the soldiers from all the countries besides the U.S.

 Where those men are standing is where the memorial starts with the American names. 

 It continues onto the next panels, on to the back and on 3 additional walls. 

The names of the soldiers who were from Utah and died in the war. Both of these sites were sobering to visit, and it makes me a little disappointed that this is a forgotten war. I think that since it came so quickly after WW2 and was eclipsed by Vietnam, we forget about this conflict. It should not be so. 36, 516 Americans died for the sake of freedom in Korea, and that is no small price to have paid. 

Look at the brutal conditions that are reported in North Korea now and contrast that to the picture that you get when you visit or see things from South Korea. 47 million people now live in freedom with a standard of living that is enjoyed by such a small portion of the world. This came because good people were willing to sacrifice for those that had no recourse of their own. Though this was a crucial point in the Cold War, I would like to believe that the decision to help the Korean people was not only made on that alone, but that there was an inherent desire to help people who could not help themselves. 

It is my opinion that the United States has acted on behalf of those who are unable to act for themselves. People have termed America as the 'world police,' and while it is somewhat pejorative, for me, it suggests the underlying responsibility that those with the means to do good have to those who are in need. I don't believe that America should be involved in every conflict on Earth and send our young men and women off to fight and die on every foreign battlefield, but I do believe that we have a responsibility to help because we can (and I believe we should). 

I am immensely proud to be an American and make no apologies for the fact. It comes down to a basic point for me to consider: Is the world a better or worse place because of the actions of the United States? You may have your own thoughts on the matter, but for me the answer is that the world is a far better place because America has taken the actions it has. 

Take a minute and think about those who have suffered for the sake of freedom all over the world and be grateful. The people of Korea are immensely grateful for the sacrifice made by those who helped them in their hour of need. The attitude of the Koreans toward Americans is totally different than the attitude of the Japanese. I think if you were to pose the same question to the Koreans, you would get the same answer that I gave. 

I now step off of my soapbox and will get back to posting pictures of food and stuff.