Despite the American tendency to bypass it, the Korean War from 1950 to 1953 was a watershed in American history. It was in Korea, for the first time, that the United States committed its armed forces to limiting an expansion, by Communist forces, which many believed was designed to take over the world; it was also the first war that a world organization, the United Nations, played a military role. The conflict in Korea was a war that was fought in hardship and danger by the grunt, the man and woman in the field, bringing an end to the myth that possession of an atomic bomb made conventional warfare unnecessary. Training, usually with World II weapons, life on the front, care of the wounded and the dead, and coming home, are just some of the topics covered in The Korean War. In addition, a timeline of events, a helpful topically arranged bibliography of recommended sources, and illustrations, including many photos taken by the soldiers themselves, bring this period into full focus.

This annotated bibliography is the first to cover the early phases of the Korean War, for the period from June 25 to September 22, 1950, in a comprehensive manner. This guide provides a brief history of the critial period around the Pusan perimeter, identifies important archival sources, and then describes 401 studies in English--both offical and unofficial reports, documents, surveys, monographs, and periodical articles. The bibliography is organized both by different genres of work and topically. An appendix points to the United Nations country's forces that served in the war. Indexes by author, subject, and periodical make this short guide easy for researchers in all fields of study.

This bibliography is the most complete listing and description of primary and secondary works about the Inchon Landing, one of the most significant amphibious landings in modern history, and the turning point of the Korean War. This was the time when the war had driven United Nations troops to the tip of Korea into a defensive perimeter at Pusan when General Douglas MacArthur decided on an end-run up the west coast of Korea to cut enemy supply lines and relieve the pressure on Pusan. This phase of the war marks the last point at which it was being fought to win. The bibliography covers the entire operation from early planning to final stages, the role of different national troops, the controversies over General MacArthur's strategies and differences among leaders, and the evaluation of the landing and campaign. This book-length bibliography, the first to deal exclusively with the Inchon Landing and Seoul Campaign, provides a brief history and chronology, and then describes archival and special collections, official and unofficial reports, books, journal articles, dissertations, films, and fiction of note. This guide is designed for students, teachers, professional researchers, and all those interested in the Korean War.

Historians often refer to the Korean War as the forgotten war, but Edwards argues that in many respects it is a conflict that has been deliberately ignored for the past fifty years. This broad look at the war examines how Americans have attempted to remember and commemorate the confrontation which played such a major role in America's Cold War experience. As a United Nations effort or Police Action, the hazy identification of the war has in part contributed to a lack of public understanding of what happened in Korea. This book considers the American response to the loss in Korea, and how this response played out as a failure to remember.

After discussing the phenomenon of historical absence, the essays turn to the still considerable disagreement about who started the war and why. They provide the latest information concerning the relationship between Chairman Mao, Premier Kim Il Sung, and Chairman Joseph Stalin at the outbreak of the conflict. Edwards identifies lesser known figures and comments on operations that are not generally known or discussed. He discusses the impact that revisionist historians have had on our views of the war and why it produced a cease-fire rather than a peace treaty. The study also places this still unresolved conflict in the context of multi-national forces and peacekeeping actions as we understand them today.

Caught between the popular and passionate World War II and the divisive Vietnam War, the Korean War has been neglected by scholars and society. Yet it is one of the significant events of the 20th century, and scholarship on the war is increasing. This annotated bibliography covers the war from the early division of Korea in 1946-1948, the North Korean invasion, American and United Nations' involvement, and the Chinese entry, through the American withdrawals, the development of static lines, the armistice talks, POW exchanges, and post-armistice difficulties.

The volume opens with a brief overview of the official war and a guide to archival sources and collected documents. It then includes chapters on the causes and conflicts, histories, military operations, special topics, and response to the war, and concludes with analysis and historiography.

Written by a knowledgeable film critic and Korean War scholar, this is the only guide exclusively devoted to the study of Hollywood and television films based on the Korean War, 1950-1953. It opens with eight short essays, discussing the appeal of the war film genre, government and filmmaker cooperation, the isolation of Korean War films from other war films, why John Wayne didn't make a Korean War film, the other actors who did, the plots of Korean War films, television and Korean War films, and the myths resulting from films. Eighty-four films are then discussed in alphabetically arranged entries. The entries include production unit, color status, producer, director, screenwriter, actors and actresses, movie length, and the author's numerical rating of the film. The commentary places each film within the context of other war films, the Korean War, trends in Hollywood, and the social and political realities of the United States. The films also are listed chronologically. Producers, directors, screenwriters, actors, and actresses are indexed by responsibility and are included in the general index. The book also provides a list of 109 documentary films available for public viewing.

The Korean War has often been regarded as a forgotten war, although that is certainly unfair. It was, if anything, a rather crucial war within the ambit of the Cold War, started by North Korea in 1950 and, although the bulk of the fighting was over by 1954, peace has never been concluded and the two sides still face off over the demilitarized zone. On the other side of the zone is South Korea, which has since become a very prosperous and democratic country, while North Korea has achieved relatively little. So, that war is certainly not forgotten by the Koreans. And, given the large number of deaths and casualties, it is still remembered by many in the United States and other allies, as well as China and the Soviet Union. This Historical Dictionary of the Korean War, now in its second edition, does much to jolt our memory and inform us about the war. This is done first in a lengthy chronology, tracking the war but also the path to war and what happened after. The introduction covers the war as a whole, trying to make sense of it. The dictionary section provides all of the necessary details on significant persons, places and events, battles and other engagements, military units and material, as well as the political, economic and social background. There are also maps and a list of acronyms. This is really the ideal source for information, in addition to which, it also has an extensive bibliography.

One of the central events of modern history, World War I has been poorly presented in English language films. Torn between the powerful isolationist movement in the U.S. and a growing hatred of the "Hun", contemporary films were mainly propaganda calling citizens to arms. Spurred partly by a patriotism, the American film industry used the outbreak of the war and the government's interest in promoting patriotic sacrifice as a means to expand and take the lead in the film industry worldwide. More a business model than an art form, these early efforts claimed a place of respectability for film among the arts. Twenty years later, though films produced about the war were few, they were technically superior and generally carried conflicting messages about the war's mission and value, while focusing more on storyline than history. This study of English Language World War I films examines nearly 350 films from 1914 to 2014. Descriptions and critiques of each of the films are included, with stories and details about the actors and directors.

When in 1950 the United Nations called upon its members to provide aid to South Korea, more than forty nations responded. Some of these sent troops which fought under the United Nations Command, some sent commodities and medical supplies. Some nations offered moral and political support but for a variety of reasons were not able to send aid. This book looks at the nations involved, what was behind their willingness to provide troops or aid, or what prevented them from doing so. The military contribution of the nations involved is discussed. The combination of troops, and their individual needs, made the logistics of this enterprise difficult, but in the end troops from 17 nations fought together to defend the freedom of South Korea.

In many respects, all wars are alike. All soldiers compete for position and mobility; all forces struggle for the larger territory, the greater power. Yet each war has as well its distinguishing characteristics?its unique features, its most-remembered events, its particular frustrations that haunt the dreams of its veterans. In Korea, it was the hills. The Korean hills offered observation, artillery, and mortar advantage to whichever country controlled them. On these hills, thousands of soldiers fought decisive battles for a few feet of land or for higher elevation. This reference work identifies more than 400 hills, outposts, complexes and phase lines that were key components of the Korean War, allowing researchers to relate individual battles to the larger narrative of the war. Each entry details major operations fought in the area, including the units involved, the area's strategic value in the overall war, the type of combat, and the munitions involved. Geographic features known by both numbers and names are cross-referenced for ease of access.

The Korean War is often regarded as the "forgotten war," however, considering its historical significance it should be anything but. It was the first pitched battle between the communist forces and a coalition of the United Nations. While it was not the last such war in Asia, it did stem the tide in East Asia and permitted South Korea to prosper while North Korea decayed. This guide is prepared with the student and interested lay reader in mind. Its purpose is to provide an overview of the Korean War through: * a timeline of events * an introduction that explains the place, its history, and the phases, costs, and consequences of the war * dictionary entries that summarize the significance of the persons, places, organizations, military operations, battles, weaponry, and other elements of the war * a bibliography of accessible resources for further research

This is the most comprehensive bibliography to date of works by and about General Matthew B. Ridgway, one of America's greatest military leaders. This short reference guide covers the entire career of this professional soldier and diplomat from World War I through World War II and his command of the first American Airborne Corps in Europe, his command of the Eighth Army in Korea, his command in the Pacific, Japan, and NATO, and his later service as Army Chief of Staff. This study offers a short biographical sketch, identifies important archival sources, and provides annotations with the 367 citations to books, documents, journal articles, and other materials. The bibliography is organized into chapters dealing with various genres of material, periods, and topics and then arranged alphabetically by author. The indexes to periodicals, authors, and subjects make the material easily available for the use of students, scholars, and experts interested in America's military history from 1917 to the present.

This reference work provides information on all known military operations carried out under United Nations command as part of the Korean War, from June 1950 through 22 July 1954.

Following an introductory history of the Korean War and a precise chronology of all Korean War operations, entries are arranged by operation name in five sections: primarily ground operations, primarily air operations, primarily sea operations, specialized operations, and covert and clandestine operations.

For each operation, information includes dates, objectives, units involved, place within the greater strategy of the war, and outcome.

From rubber landing boats to picket boats to minesweepers, smaller support vessels did much of the work of the Korean War, and endured many of the dangers and hardships. Rarely mentioned in histories of the war, they served functions essential to keeping the United States Navy and the United Nations partners in active duty. This volume delivers an overview of the various kinds of vessels involved, the difficulties of mobilizing the aging American fleet at a time when a significant downsizing had been expected, and the design and specification considerations of the support vessels needed for the new war effort. It lists the individual support vessels and details the degree of their involvement, often providing photographs as well as comments from men who served aboard the ships.

Wars have played an interregnal part in American history. Some of these are well remembered, some are not. Among the more significant wars that have been largely ignored is the Korean War (1950-1953) fought less than five years after the end of World War II. Much of the history of this watershed event has been lost or misinterpreted, primarily because the undefined goals of the conflict, the inability of the home front to properly engage, and the failure to achieve complete victory has tarnished it. Resulting from the intense propaganda issued and the vastly limited press coverage, much of what is known is the result of battlefield stories that are basically true but which miss much of the more significant information. These myths appear in the American memory and are told over and over again. In taking a closer look at these myths, such as 'Who started the war' and 'Did the Marines win the Korean War?' a clearer and somewhat unique understanding of the war is presented.