The forgotten war which took place from 1950-1953 is a period in American history, as well as personal history that means a ton to me. My grandfather, William Gordon Dillard, fought in that war. He was a soldier in the 7th Infantry at the Chosin Reservoir. During that battle, he was injured, by a mortar round, proclaimed dead and MIA for about 2 weeks. and suffered severe frostbite. Obviously, his survival meant that I'm here today to tell you that story.
I learned a ton from this book which completely switches gears from the previous 10 volumes and allows Higgins to narrate this hazardous tale. First thing I can say is BOY, did we muck this up! After 5 years of battling Hitler, Mussolini and Hirohito, America was more than ready to stop fighting and I get that. However, the Soviet war machine, despite losing almost 25 million soldiers and civilians in WW2, was more than ready to keep on rolling. And roll, they did! Tank battalions were ordered to clear out the Imperial Japanese occupational force from Korea and they had every intention to keep on rolling all the way from Pyongyang down to Pusan. So we stopped the Russians by putting up a barricade along the 38th parallel cutting off the industrial centers of the North from the fertile farmlands of the South.
From 1946-1950, war between the two halves of Korea looked inevitable. Syngman Rhee, the President of the capitalist backed South Korea, begged the United States for tanks, guns and planes. But because of a fear that by doing so, Rhee would use those weapons to invade the North, we never responded to those requests. So when the Communist backed troops of North Korea crossed the barricades in the Summer of 1950, the South was severely under armed and out-manned.
The key to the North's success were it's tanks: the T-34. It was a Soviet tank known to cut through Nazi lines like a hot knife through butter. When we sent American troops to repel the tanks, our weapons couldn't even put a dent onto the side. That's because America had pretty much paused any legitimate development in our defensive forces. In fact our reinforcements were so poorly trained, we had barbers, cooks and construction workers fighting hand-to-hand combat with literal commandos! And the food, uniforms and munitions were all surplus from World War II!
Our failure to begin the war with properly armed and trained forces as a result, would fuel an arms race that would bankrupt a small nation. In fact, we outspent the Soviet Union, the largest country on the globe at the time, to oblivion, resulting in the it's collapse in 1991. It's another reason we're not on very good terms with China, Cuba and many factions in the Middle East. While I'm more than proud of my grandpa's role in Korea, I'll also be the first to say that we really screwed up during that police action.
Cold War Correspondent marks my completion of having read the entire series. I just didn't do it in order. Thankfully, there's more fun on the horizon. In September of this year, the 13th volume will debut. It's a spooky collection of true tales of terror. I have no idea what to expect. But I can't wait to read it as part of my Halloween reads for 2025.
Great stuff for kids ages 12 and up who love history and graphic novels. Maybe they had a relative who fought in Korea like I did. Though this book stops before the end of 1950, meaning there is still 2 and a half years of war left untold, this can be a valuable tool to help them understand what it was like for their loved ones who fought along the 38th parallel.
Worth Consuming!
Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.
