Forgotten Korean War Veterans

Within a few short years of our young men being home and restarting their lives, the United States found themselves involved in the Korean War from 1950-1953. What brought us to this point once again? Why did we allow ourselves to get involved in another countries civil war?

North Korea was backed by the Soviet communist dictatorship while South Korea was against communism hence the civil war. The United States and the UN decided to intervene and help South Korea. This wasn’t a new battle for Korea it was something they had been batting with on and off for many years. At one point Koreans fighting with Chinese against Japan fought Koreans who were collaborating with Japan. Things didn’t improve after WWII.

In 1945 just a few days after the bombings in Japan measures were taken by two US Army officers drawing a line now known as the 38^th parallel in Korea. It was a line drawn in the sand, on the map, however you want to look at it, in which it divided North and South Korea. A line which not only divided the country in half, but separated families at the same time with the North side being temporarily occupied by the Soviet Union and the South by the United States. Over the next few years rebellions surged. The United States saw this as a communist threat which led to us providing military support and equipment in hopes of stopping the rebellions.

The United States didn’t belong there. President Truman by passed Congress and with the backing of the UN entered the Korean Civil War. Although we sent out military there it was never called a war, instead Truman referred to it as a “police action.” Our soldiers had no idea what they were doing there. They didn’t feel wanted they felt more like they were intruding in a family feud and were treated that way by the locals.

Although there was never a treaty signed at the ending of the war there was a cease-fire signed and everything went back to things as usual. In other words there was no winner, everyone lost. The number of lives lost was a staggering five million people with most of them being civilians. I could go on with more about what happened during and after this conflict but I won’t.

Instead I want to tell you about those who served in our military at that time. Just a few years earlier at the end of WWII when our military returned home they were cheered and celebrated. There was patriotism pouring out of everyone’s heart and home. It wasn’t the same for those who returned from Korea. Men and women who were only out there doing the job their government sent them to do  were looked down upon for wearing the uniform so revered in the past.

The sad thing is there was a large number of the 1.8 million veterans who served in WWII during the final months sent to fight in Korea according to the Department of Veterans Affairs. Our Korean War veterans struggled with attitudes from Americans when they returned home. They had the same struggles as veterans returning home from WWII but instead of their jobs being there waiting for them they faced more unemployment struggles then those returning from WWII. They were met with family dilemmas because readjustment into society was harder. People couldn’t accept their participation in the conflict. After all, no one won, so the mindset was, we went there for nothing.  It was the first action the United States had taken that wasn’t classified as a war. 

What we, as Americans, seemed to forget was, no matter what the reasons were our military was deployed, they fought, they served, they followed orders, and they saw things they wish they never had. They faced the same struggles as those returning from WWII only a few years earlier but without the compassion and understanding. Many soldiers who fought in Korea died from frostbite even before reaching the battlefields because of temperatures dropping below zero. Not being recognized or greeted as American heroes and shown compassion by their fellow Americans was not only heart breaking but played on the minds of many of these Korean Veterans. Imagine how ignored, defeated, and even guilty they felt for doing the job they were ordered to do. Our Korean veterans came home a forgotten breed. 

Some of the illnesses these brave service members faced were frostbit, immersion foot or trench foot, hypothermia, and non-freezing cold injuries. Besides being at high risk for cold injuries these veterans faced a higher risk for asbestos and PCP exposure, radiation, and other occupational hazards. Many suffered long term and even severe health conditions for years and for some decades after the original exposure. Today the government recognizes that many cancers and other medical conditions caused by these occupational hazards are, in fact, service related, but why does it always take so long for them to put two and two together?

Why are our Veterans treated as just another piece of military equipment? To all those who have severed this country with pride regardless of the war or police action they were deployed to I beg you to reach out to organizations who will fight for you. For those who served in the Korean War check with the Korean War Veterans Associations, the DAV, and even the VA. There is help from Silver Star Families of America who are there to help the wounded, disabled, ill or dying veterans from all branches of the service. There is an organization set up to help those who are looking for details and information about POW’s and MIA’s so check with the Korea-Cold War Families of the Missing. They will be more than willing to help assist the family members of these veterans. Don’t give up just because of all the red tape. Make a list of what needs to be addressed and fight for what is rightfully yours.

Our Veterans are not asking for a handout. They are asking for help because when our government said they needed them, our service members took up arms, no questions asked. Trusted their government to take care of them and for the people of this great nation to stand behind them. No veteran deserves to be forgotten, and no veteran deserves to be ignored by our government or those at the VA who were put there to help them. The resources are there you just may have to push the envelope a little and fight for what is rightfully yours. Sad to say but even after all the time our veterans served their country, so many years later, they are still fighting the fight.

May God Bless America and all our amazing service members, past, present, and yet to come!