As we ring in the New Year lets’ take time to remember how
we got to this point and the price we as a country have paid for the right to
survive. At my age of 72 I remember many
New Years and the fears and excitement we faced as the years opened. 1948; We were just getting over the 2nd
World War and in the process of rebuilding our economy. The war had left many families decimated with
the loss of so many sons, daughters, husbands and wives. By this time the Russians and their dictator
Stalin had shown their true colors and we were at the beginning of the so
called Cold War. The land grab by the
Soviets and the crushing of the spirit of so many in the eastern bloc was prevalent
on the minds of Americans. These poor
people had just been through a war to regain their freedom and now found
themselves in the yoke of another tyrant.
A war weary America could do nothing to stop the spread of the Soviets
influence and went about rebuilding their own infrastructure and our industry was
being reconstructed for peace.
At the
other end of the spectrum the Chinese Nationalist government led by Chiang Kai shek
was deeply involved in a civil war with the Communists. 1949; The
Nationalist Government in China capitulated and the country was taken over by
the Communists. This emboldened the
North Koreans a Communist government to begin to build their armies as a threat
to their southern neighbors. The Selective Service was on the mind of young American men after the age of 18 as there was noise of
a potential war in the Korean Peninsula.
The general feeling was if the spread of Communism was not stopped it
would spread through the Far East, it was called the domino theory. The
general feeling of most young men at the time was that war was inevitable at
sometime in their lives and most were either drafted as 1A’s or enlisted after
high school. The few who went to college
were exempted from the draft with a lower rating in the draft. 1950;
President Truman had negotiated a protection treaty with the United Nations, South
Koreans and the Nationalist Chinese who had reinstated their government on the island
of Taiwan.
The North Koreans made their surprise move on June 25th
1950 sending their army across the 38th parallel in what many felt
was a move sponsored by the Soviets and Stalin for world domination. The United States reacted by sending General
MacArthur with his Occupation force from Japan to counter the attack. The Chinese Communist who we had just helped defeat
the Japanese in their brutal conquest of China sent masses of troops in support of the
North Koreans changing the entire scope of what was being called a Police
Action. This was the beginning of what
has been called the Korean War. It was
also the first politically charged war where the Generals were not allowed to actually
run the war but were always under the scrutiny of the United Nations and Washington
as well as the press. President Truman relieved
MacArthur in a move that sent shock waves through the military. This was also the first war fought under the
auspices of the United Nations as they were the ones that had drawn the
arbitrary line at the 38th parallel initially dividing the country. The U.N. set the rules of engagement
something that Mac Arthur could not abide by.
1951; The North substantially supported by the Chinese and the Russians were
about to take Soul the capital when our Marine forces landed at Inchon and
after days turning to weeks of hard fighting drove them back.
The South Korean Army was ill equipped to
battle the Soviet Tanks and Migs of the North Koreans alone. Few of their army had even seen a tank before, let alone a jet fighter. Many believed
this was a test by the Soviets to see if the United States had the resolve to
fight another war. 1951 &1952 The
war drug on and America’s youth were continually sent to fight what the United
Nations considered a Police Action in Korea.
The Russians and Chinese having veto power in the U.N. blocked any
attempt to escalate the participation saying it was basically a Civil War. While the governments were in the middle of
negotiations for a settlement of the dispute we continued to fight with heavy
losses, a lesson we failed to take note of and seem to repeat in the Vietnam
action. 1953; Our troops came home less 35,000 of our finest
young men and women. 1954-1967 we
actually had a peaceful period with the exception of the cold war that seem to
perpetuate our lives daily. As a kid
growing up in the 50’s it was just an understanding that we were going to end
up in a hot war with Russia and we seem to understand and accept that fact. 1968; The U.N. put us in the middle of another war,
this one definitely a political fiasco.
The rules of engagement were once again dictated by politicians not the
generals on the line. This war divided
our nation, a situation that has remained until this day. We have those who believe that there are no
borders in the world and we should all be under a one world government. These people are called Progressives and feel
that we Americans have been the aggressor throughout history. They have done their best to tame America to the
level of Europe. For those of us who
lived through WWII, Cold War, Korea, Vietnam and the 2 gulf wars, this is a
slap in the face. We are not warmongers
as we have been called, I don’t know a soul whoever has ever wanted a war. We just want to have the freedom to win when
our politicians get us into a conflict.
The United States is a land of laws, laws that are made by our Legislative Branch and defended by our Judicial system. The Executive branch of government is there to defend the Constitution and protect the citizens of the States from foreign enemies. The present system of government, Executive, Legislative and Judicial seem to think that they have the power to ignore the Constitution and the rights of Americans and decide what’s good for us. We are not subjects of a Kingdom but rather freedom loving Americans who have fought and died for the God given rights we hold so dear. Beware of a government that offers to give you what is already yours. It may seem free but it has a price, the cost is the rights that we have fought for and carry a cost of 100’s of Thousands of lives.
Peace comes from strength not political talk, peace happens
when our enemies fear our might not our negotiating prowess. Let's go into 2014 with an attitude of strength and defeat those who would weaken our resolve as a country. God Bless America...
