Korean War Memorial

The Korean War was a very important war in American history and for that fact in world history, but oftentimes it is forgotten. This memorial goes to explain just that as it has became known as the "Forgotten War" as the statue even says it. The Korean War had major world wide implications and the threat of Nuclear War was very high. The American troops fought out of the Pusan Perimeter and went deep into North Korea before interference by the Red Chinese Army, which could have caused this regional conflict to escalate into a World War.

The Korean War started on June 25, 1950 when the Communist North Koreans invaded South Korean that was backed by the United States. General Douglas MacArthur was the military commander of Japan and was put in charge of the U.S. Military in Korea. The first order of business seemed to be obvious, which was to reinforce the Pusan Perimeter and attempt a break out from the perimeter . However in what was a very risky decision from General MacArthur, he decided to do an amphibious landing at Inchon. This landing ended up being success and very rapidly the allied forces began to move into North Korea itself.

This is where the threat of Nuclear War and a possible Third World War began, as the forces got near the North Korean and China border the Red Chinese Army interfered on behalf of the Koreans. The result of this interference was ill prepared soldiers and equipped soldiers for the winter conflict that would ensue. The United States Marine Corps would get one of its touch stone battles during this conflict with the Chosin Reservoir. The 1st Marine Division was outnumbered 8 to 1, but was able to break through the Chinese lines, decimated the enemy, and make it back to friendly lines. The allied forces were quickly pushed back below the 38th Parallel, but was able to regroup and ended up in a stalemate along the 38th Parallel. Little did the world know however, that there was talk of using Nuclear Bombs on the Chinese.

General Douglas MacArthur was determined to win the war outright and believed the only real way was to hit the Chinese themselves inside of their country. MacArthur left all on options on the table and even considered using the Atomic Bomb on China. Ultimately this decision would be left to President Truman who happened to be the only person in history to give the order to use the Atomic bomb. The Soviets had the same capability by this time and Truman didn't want to use the bomb or potentially cause a Third World War. MacArthur was removed from command by Truman over the disagreements and eventually an armistice was signed, which returned everything to the previous lines, the war until this day is not officially over. The Korean War shouldn't be a forgotten war, it was a very important war, that could have had huge implications on both sides of the Cold War. This was the first battlefield post World War II, where the two opposing ideologies of the Cold War would go up against each other.