| JUST TAKE a look at the Korean War Veterans Memorial in
Washington, D.C. The number is engraved in stone: 54,246*. There is
only one major problem—nearly one-third of the Americans included in
that figure did not die in Korea!
As it turns out, of the 20,617 non-hostile deaths originally
attributed to Korea, only 3,262, or 16%, actually occurred in the
war. Some 17,355 of those deaths occurred outside the war
zone—anywhere from California to the Mediterranean to the North
Atlantic. The vast majority—with the exception of 63 killed in
shoot-downs by the Soviets and Red Chinese—died in accidents.
"This is a mind-boggling figure!" wrote VFW member Walter S. Larsen.
"It is about the equivalent of an entire full-strength U.S. Army
infantry division of that period. It is curious so many non-battle
deaths would go unnoticed by the press and the public for so many
years. "Certainly, a further explanation by the Department of
Defense concerning these disastrous losses is in order. Maybe even
before the press stumbles onto this remarkable story!"
Fighting for Accuracy Marty J. O’Brien of Augusta, Maine,
readily agreed. That’s why he started trying to get to the bottom of
this vast discrepancy years ago. He was puzzled when he arrived at a
breakdown of the numbers—all outside the Korean theater of
operations—killed: 6,977 soldiers, 5,586 airmen, 3,870 sailors and
922 Marines.
Burt Hagelin of Dover Foxcroft, Maine, and a vet of Co. A, 9th
Inf., 3rd Inf. Div., was on the same trail. These same numbers were
supplied to him by the Pentagon’s Manpower Management Information
Division as early as Jan. 12, 1993. He even wrote a paper on them.
In fact, the Pentagon published the corrected figures (thanks to
Hagelin), after new and reclassified numbers were tabulated, in its
Selected Manpower Statistics, Fiscal Year 1994 in Table 2-23 on page
112. It provided a precise breakdown of the 3,262 non-hostile deaths
in Korea: Army=2,452; Marines=339; Air Force=298; and Navy=173.
Yet according to the Army’s Office of the Surgeon General, "no
records exist" to verify non-hostile deaths sustained elsewhere
during the Korean War era. Hagelin thinks a mistake was originally
made by the Pentagon. "Many Korean War Veterans Association members
wanted names on a wall," he said, "but the government vehemently
opposed engraving individual names. One wonders why."
The late Gen. R.G. Stilwell, the first chairman of the Korean War
Veterans Memorial Advisory Board, made it a personal crusade to get
the record corrected. He used all his influence to persuade the
military branches to re-check the numbers. One-third of the U.S.
deaths directly attributed to service in Korea were indeed sustained
elsewhere in the world.
Stilwell told this writer that he was overjoyed that Reader’s
Digest had consented to print a closer estimation to the actual
number in its July 1990 issue in the article "Veterans of a
Forgotten Victory" by Ralph Bennett. Unfortunately, the general died
before his personal project was completed and several years prior to
the memorial’s dedication.
Cold War: Distinct Casualties Some argue
that any uniformed American who died during the entire era anywhere
in the world should be included in a total figure. That was
appropriate for WWI and WWII—conflicts in which troops were
recruited specifically and exclusively for those wars. However, a
far more fitting precedent was set by the Vietnam Veterans Memorial,
which included only Americans killed in the war zone. Vietnam and
Korea were wars fought within distinct geographical parameters.
While they were waged, the Cold War against the Soviet Union and its
proxies was ongoing in Europe. Indeed, the Cold War had several
fronts, and America had to meet multiple and simultaneous global
military commitments. These other fronts rate recognition, too.
During the Korean War era, only 1.6 million Americans actually
fought in the war zone. More than 4 million more served world wide.
That 73% majority, whether drafted or enlisted, was put into uniform
to combat communism in two distinct theaters—Asia and Europe.
Hundreds of thousands of GIs would have served in Germany and other
parts of Europe between 1950 and 1953 even if there had not been a
Korean War.
On March 12, 1947, America officially declared "war" on Soviet
Communist expansion in Europe. The Truman Doctrine proclaimed
containment.
"Europe First" was the pillar of America’s postwar defense
strategy. The draft was renewed on June 24, 1948—two full years
before the Korean War erupted.
An army, four air forces and a fleet were all mobilized to
protect Europe. In 1951, four Army divisions were sent to Germany to
bolster NATO against a belligerent Kremlin. By 1954, 352,644 U.S.
troops were stationed in Europe—50,000 more than were on the ground
in Korea at war’s end. All of these military moves would have been
made regardless of Korea. Europe, indeed, was a separate
confrontation from the one in Asia.
Some 1.7 million men were drafted during the Korean War era, but
many served outside of Korea in support of Cold War objectives
elsewhere or simply in defense of the nation.
A clear distinction was made between Korea and other areas.
That’s why a Korean Service Medal (KSM) was awarded only to actual
war vets and a National Defense Service Medal to all others. If an
American who died would have qualified for a KSM, then obviously he
should be counted among the war’s casualties.
For the Sake of Posterity The massive
movement of troops on an emergency basis, accelerated training and
extended maneuvers created unlimited opportunities for lethal
accidents—on the ground, on the sea and especially in the air.
Significant numbers of these accidental deaths occurred in the
European Theater thwarting Soviet communism.
Submerging and thus disguising their deaths among others is an
injustice. The best way to honor their memories is to educate the
public about their service.
Their sacrifices are certainly worthy of recognition—but for
posterity sake it must be in a historically correct context.
A memorial to all the Americans who died during the Cold
War—distinct from the Korean and Vietnam memorials—is the answer. It
would confirm in the public’s mind that the Cold War was indeed
real. And not a figment of the imagination as the politically
correct would have us believe.
Such a Cold War memorial would cover all the other actions in
which 357 Americans were killed in hostile situations, not to
mention tens of thousands in training, maneuvers and operational
missions. For accounting purposes, the Cold War clearly deserves its
own category.
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial cast the mold for casualty
inclusion. Recognizing that the death of an American in Germany was
part of the Cold War, its founders nonetheless realized that that
loss could not justifiably be attributed to the war in Vietnam. Like
Korea, the mobilization during that era was worldwide.
If the Vietnam Memorial had included all that era’s deaths, it
would have an additional 19,644 soldier’s names on it. According to
the Pentagon’s Combat Area Casualties Current File, 16,004 of these
Army personnel died in the U.S. and 2,329 in Germany from 1965
through 1975.
Once and for all, let’s set the record straight: 36,913 Americans
died in, over or offshore Korea during the war, which lasted from
June 25, 1950, until July 27, 1953 (the era extended to Jan. 31,
1955, for VA benefits). Of that number, 33,651 were killed as a
result of hostile action; 3,262 died due to non-hostile causes such
as accident and disease.
The least we can do for their legacy is to ensure that their
record of service and sacrifice is historically—if not
politically—correct. After 50 years, it’s time.
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