The Korean War, an Audio Collection

"Our nation honors her sons and daughters who answered the call to defend a country they never knew and a people the never met."

Dubbed the Forgotten War, the Korean War was a war that took place from June 25, 1950 to July 27, 1953.  This was a war between North Korea backed by the Soviet Union and China, and South Korea backed by the United States and allied nations in the United Nations.  A totalitarian government known as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in the north and a capitalist government known as the Republic of Korea in the south felt that both were the legitimate government in all of Korea with neither accepting the border as permanent.

Within two months of the war starting American troops were hastily dispatched to where they were at the point of defeat.  But by September 1950, a United Nations amphibious counteroffensive had been launched at Incheon.  It was risky, but it had cut off KPA troop supply lines off in South Korea.  And any of the KPA who were not captured were forced back into North Korea.

One of the biggest controversies of this period was President Truman's firing of General Douglas MacArthur.  MacArthur felt that he knew best when came to the war, but he did technically cross the line in the chain of command when Truman felt that the general went above the president.  Truman would say it is a case of who was really in charge; the military or the people.  At the time the President was criticized for the controversial firing.  Even his own mother-in-law exclaimed to her daughter, "What right does your husband have to fire the greatest general this country has ever had?!"  The First Lady told he that he was president of the United States (Mother) and if he wants to fire a general, he will.  Even the Congress voiced their opinions, especially Senator Joseph McCarthy to where he was accusing members of the Truman administration as being Communists.  MacArthur would address a Joint Session of Congress stating that old soldiers don't die, they just simply fade away.  Decades later though, historians would praise President Truman for relieving General MacArthur of his command.

The Presidential Election of 1952 was coming and the Korean War was still very hot.  President Truman had decided not to run for a second term in his own rite.  The Vice President ran but he was not successful enough to defeat the President's hand picked candidate, Governor Adlai Stevenson of Illinois.  As for the Republicans, there was a bitter match at the Convention between Ohio Senator Bob Taft and the former NATO Commander Dwight D. Eisenhower.  In the end, Ike defeated Taft for the Nomination and he and Richard Nixon won the presidency.  It would be the first time that Washington had a Republican administration since 1933.

The 1952 Election was based on one issue…Within five years of the end of World War II, the United States was involved in what was called a police action, or a conflict where American troops were dying everyday.  Had the nominee for the Republican Party been Senator Taft and Harry Truman had decided to run for a second term, Truman might have won.  But going up against General Eisenhower; no Democratic candidate, not even Harry Truman was going to defeat IKE.

Within six months of General Eisenhower's Inauguration an Armistice was signed.  This was a document that stopped the battles and the shootings, but it did not really end the Korean War.

When Americans think of radio in the early 1950s we tend to think of sweet family radio programs like My Favorite Husband, Father Knows Best, and The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet; or even quiz programs like You Bet Your Life.  But there was a Cold War going on and radio played a pivotal role in spreading the propaganda.

One such show was called If Freedom Failed.  AFRTS would air this program to our fighting boys letting them know that if capitalism and God did not defeat the godless Communists then those safe typical American towns; in this case, Springfield, USA would be taken over by a tyrannical government.  Just in the first episode alone, starring Gregory Peck, it tells the story of what happens when a tyrannical government erases the history that doesn't fit their agenda and how that power along with ignorance can be very controlling.

By 1994, it was believed that North Korea had blocked international inspectors from verifying if North Korea was violating the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.  Bill Clinton was determined to stop North Korea from developing nuclear weapons, even if it meant going to war.  Nearly 30 years later, there are declassified documents showing that the Clinton administration was prepared to go to war in 1994 during a possible nuclear crisis.  There was even a hypothetical plan by the Pentagon to strike North Korea's nuclear reactor at Yongbyon.  Thankfully that never occurred.

As early as 1990, given his history with nuclear reactor design Jimmy Carter was requested by Kim II Sung to come to North Korea to address the issue of reprocessing nuclear fuel rods from an already antiquated power reactor.  This was done because North Korea wanted to avoid any confrontations with the United States and other countries.

Being made aware of President Clinton considering sanctions against North Korea for violating the Nonproliferation Treaty, President Carter sent a letter to President Clinton requesting that he go to Pyongyang as a representative of the Carter Center.  President Clinton saw sending his predecessor as a way of letting Kim II Sung back down without losing face.

After crossing the DMZ, Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter were the first Americans to do this since the Armistice in 1953, President Carter met with Kim Yong Nam, who seemed like a hardliner with every proposal President Carter made.  It seemed, in Jimmy Carter's mind that the North Korean government didn't quite care about the threat of sanctions, only that they felt like an outlaw nation where their leader was looked upon as a liar and a criminal. 

The next really big thing to happen in regards to Korea, aside from President George W. Bush referring to North Korea as part of the "Axis of Evil" in his 2002 State of the Union Address into the lead up to the second Gulf War after being attacked by Saudi hijackers on September 11, 2001, was President Donald Trump creating normal relations with North Korea's dictator; Kim Jong Un.  Trump would first refer to Kim as "Rocket Man" in a UN speech only after threatening fire and fury on North Korea.  After a while though, mentions became more tame and there was expressions of love letters that Trump and Kim exchanged during Donald Trump's time in the White House.  But the biggest event in recent times is that Donald Trump became the first sitting American president to cross the DMZ into North Korea.

This collection is created in the memory of the 36,000 American troops killed and the 7,000 American troops left unaccounted for during the Korean War.  To the veterans of that war, please know that you and your fallen comrades are forgotten no more.

See also…

• Korean AFRS Broadcasts
• If Freedom Failed
• Your Pocketbook
• Harry S Truman Recordings
• Dwight D. Eisenhower Recordings
• Joseph McCarthy Audio Excepts
• Douglas MacArthur Recordings
• Presidential Election 1952
• The Presidency and the Cold War
• The Vietnam War, an Audio History