Today is the 60th anniversary of Korean War. The Korean would like to express his gratitude to everyone who fought in the war and kept Korea alive to become the prospering democracy that it is now.
There is an ad in New York Times Square thanking soldiers in Korean War. Also, President Lee Myung-Bak of Korea wrote an op-ed thanking the involvement of the United Kingdom on the Times today.
I had read the NYTimes articles on the Forgotten War. Had posted a couple of blurbs on my blog to remember the anniversary for it was my war. Cheers.
ReplyDeleteThere was one in The Australian as an op-ed, while Canada's Globe n Mail ran it on the letters page.
ReplyDeleteThe reality is that the Korean War was tragically unnecessary. If the Americans would have stayed out of the conflict, Korea would not be suffer its current state of tragic division. Korea would have developed in a similar fashion to China or Vietnam. It would have undergone a 20-30 year period of national reconciliation and a sort of house-cleaning of Japanese collaborators. But the regime would have moderated and reformed, just like the Chinese and Vietnamese regimes have.
ReplyDeleteToday, Beijing and Seoul are virtually indistinguishable. If the Americans would not have been went on their Cold Warrior crusader adventure in Korea, Seoul would look exactly like it does today - except without the painful memories and millions of lives lost from an unnecessary war.
trudeau89
ReplyDeleteThat is nothing more than pure speculation. No one knows what would have happened if the Americans did not intervene. A united Communist Korea might of completely changed the choices and behaviors of the both the Soviet Union and the United States in their future foreign policy decisions. Perhaps it would of been better, but maybe it could have of been worse.
Thanks for posting this. My dad, who spent 14 months in Korea with the USMC in '51-'52, and his fellow vets appreciate these 60th anniversary expressions of thanks.
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