The Forgotten War must not be forgotten, nor the Code Of Conduct. Are we equal to its commands? - Thomas Patrick Chisholm, Chippewa Falls I have carried a worn copy of The Military Code of Conduct in my wallet for decades. I was never tested by the six precepts of the code, authorized by President Eisenhower in 1955, three years following the end of the Korean War. Many heroes, some in Chippewa County, survived the brutality of the North Koreans and the Chinese. Many more died in battle, including my friend Vernon “Red” Eliason, who I induced to join with me and who is buried in Prairie View Cemetery. He was killed in September 1950 and was I believe the first casualty from Chippewa County. Many more died in captivity. Eight thousand GIs are still missing in action. A total of 3,446 American prisoners were repatriated after the truce was signed 60 years ago today. Twenty-one indoctrinated Americans refused repatriation. Why? The treatment of prisoners in Korean and Chinese prison camps during “The Forgotten War” was not the first instance of man’s inhumanity to man. Recall the ancient inquisition, running the gauntlets, the brutality of the Japanese in World War II, the Holocaust or water boarding in Iraq and Guantanamo. Could I recite the code together with my comrades to save my sacred honor despite fatigue, torture, humiliation, anger, propaganda, lack of food and water, dysentery, freezing cold or tropical heat and the threat of death? I don’t know. Rhetoric and reality are not equal. Is a solid education and basic military training sufficient to recite only my name, rank, serial number and date of birth while facing an enemy never known or a culture never studied? What is more important: map reading and math or morality, patriotism or the difference between right and wrong? Is American democracy, our culture and history sufficient to survive in captivity? Education nurtured in a solid home, continued in schools accessible to all, public and private, from the earliest years by dedicated, broadly exposed, well-trained and well-paid teachers is essential to inculcate the fundamental principles of the United States, in addition to grasping its past and present political and social errors. The Korean War was not inevitable. That is my premise after 60 years of study. But I was not an educated, questioning GI in Japan in June 25, 1950 when the North Korean Army crossed the 38th Parallel, nearly annihilated a small South Korean Army and pushed the rapidly-deployed 8th U.S. Army from Japan to the edge of the Korean Peninsula. What was the result of that bloody conflict, in addition to 128,650 GIs killed and wounded plus the loss of many others from a variety of the United Nations? Thousands of Koreans, military and civilians died even before the invasion and hordes of Chinese military after they drove the U.N. forces back below the 38th parallel. Almost alone, the United States’ contribution to Japan before, during and after the Korean War sustained and increased Japanese prosperity, and that was clearly evident by the 1960s. South Korea changed from a poor, agricultural former colony of Japan to a current economic power we are still bound to protect. But a threat from an impoverished tyranny in the North persists. The truce of July 27, 1953 did not end the war. The cost was great and continues.
Posted on: Sat, 27 Jul 2013 22:09:04 +0000
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