A Veteran's Video: The Forgotten War

The Korean War is often called the "forgotten war" - sandwiched as it is between the somehow more memorable WWII and the Vietnam War. And yet, it was the first "hot" battle of the Cold War and more than a million Americans served and more than 30,000 died between 1950 and 1953. And for my client Tom B who fought there, the memories are as fresh as ever.

The Korean War was kind of a consolation prize for some Americans too young to serve in World War II. In many families, it was the younger brother who had enviously watched an older sibling serve in Europe or the Pacific. They eventually got their own war - but it wasn't quite the same.

A worthy war
The Korean War was a fight just as worthy as the Second World War - the objective was to repulse an unwelcome Soviet sponsored invasion of the South, after all. But it was a war that ended in a kind of whimpered draw. And, the MASH movie and TV show aside, it is a war that has little hold on our collective consciousness.

I was reminded of all this last week shooting a veterans video of Tom B who was sent to South Korea in 1952 (these are his photos).

He was only 'sort of' that younger brother (his brother John was indeed a WWII veteran). Sure, Tom fully supported the goals of the Korean conflict - but his draft into the infantry was decidedly unwelcome. The post-war economy was starting to boom and Tom was just getting started on what would end up (after the interruption) as a very successful business career. The Korean War didn't need to come to Tom's rescue - as WWII did for so many others in 1941 after the endless Depression.

Monotonous misery
Tom was lucky in that he entered the Korean War in its stalemate period - after MacArthur's push up to the very border of China and the inevitable Chinese counter-offensive. Most of the war's casualties occurred in those fateful, bloodthirsty battles. After that, the war settled into a kind of monotonous misery around the Chorwon Valley and the 38th Parallel.

Tom made it back in tact, although it would be wrong to say he was unaffected. He had served at the front-line and endured constant fear, deprivation and trauma. Men died either side of him. He suffered with the freezing cold, and was appalled by deaths caused by the enemy as well as by deaths caused by friendly fire. He sympathizes now with the suffering of the North and to this day is mournful of the enormous loss of civilian life.

Best try to forget about it, was Tom's attitude.

Living in holes
Some things couldn't be forgotten though. Like living in holes in the hills. And Tom can't ever forget his first night patrol, leading a platoon on a routine scouting mission. Some genius officer, safe back in camp, thought it would be a good idea to light up the fields by beaming lights up to the clouds. The reflected light was supposed to reveal any hidden North Korean or Chinese soldiers. But it also illuminated Tom and his men, making them prime targets! Years later, he remembered watching a very similar scene in Apocalypse Now and felt a wave of scary déjà vu.

Tom never made a lot of his war experiences. Most men don't. It's always a difficult discussion with those who weren't there. But Tom had passed his 80th birthday and his family thought it was time he told the story of those years - the story of this veteran on video.

Letters home
Tom did write letters home at the time. But his letters were anguishing. His brother warned him against being too specific because he thought it was too upsetting for their mother. Tom, who is as penetrating, direct and honest now as he was then, was nonplussed. This was what was happening to him, and he can't write about it?

He remembers his feeling on returning to the US. The best part, he says, was that no one was trying to kill him. He remembers handing in his rifle; it was like having a hand cut off - it had been his companion for so long.

Later, after the interview, Tom was looking at some of his military paraphernalia - buttons, rifle badges, his corporal chevrons, medals. He kind of shrugged. The Korean War - it's a chapter. It was time to talk about it. It was a formative experience no question. But it doesn't define him.

Veterans video
A veterans video allows former soldiers' war stories to be told and their experiences preserved for their children and grandchildren. Mostly, the veteran concerned, like Tom, has moved on and will not be a driving force in a veterans video project. But the stories of our old soldiers must be preserved. We owe them that honor and we have that duty to our succeeding generations.

The Korean War will most likely forever remain the forgotten war. But the story of its veterans' struggles must never be forgotten. Preserve the story of a soldier you know with a veterans video.