On Sunday; 25 June 1950; Communist North Korea unexpectedly invaded its southern neighbor; the American-backed Republic of Korea (ROK). The poorly equipped ROK Army was no match for the well prepared North Korean People's Army (NKPA) whose armored spearheads quickly thrust across the 38th Parallel. The stunned world helplessly looked on as the out-numbered and outgunned South Koreans were quickly routed. With the fall of the capital city of Seoul imminent; President Harry S. Truman ordered General of the Army Douglas MacArthur; Commander in Chief; Far East; in Tokyo; to immediately pull all American nationals in South Korea out of harm's way. During the course of the resultant noncombatant evacuation operations an unmanned American transport plane was destroyed on the ground and a flight of U.S. Air Force aircraft were buzzed by a North Korean Air Force plane over the Yellow Sea without any shots being fired. On 27 July; an American combat air patrol protecting Kimpo Airfield near the South Korean capital actively engaged menacing North Korean planes and promptly downed three of the five Soviet-built Yak fighters. Soon thereafter American military forces operating under the auspices of the United Nations Command (UNC) were committed to thwart a Communist takeover of South Korea. Thus; only four years and nine months after V-J Day marked the end of World War II; the United States was once again involved in a shooting war in Asia.
#1336002 in Books 2014-03-09Original language:English 9.00 x .70 x 6.00l; #File Name: 1496187008308 pages
Review
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful. But Then I'm a Civil War Fanatic...By Emory D. JohnsonJohn McElroy's sardonic wit makes this first hand account of the Civil War a fascinating read for those interested in that period of American history. The soldier's perspective will resonate with veterans; history buffs; and aficionados of period writing. Written in the later 19th century; the style is challenging for the modern reader. The vocabulary is peppered with antiquated; military and medical terms which had me turning to the dictionary feature of my Kindle frequently. It helps that the chapters are short.It is unfortunate that the Kindle version had many typographic and formatting errors. It would benefit greatly from a good proof reading. Much of the text is centered on the page rather than justified to the margins which was distracting at first; but I soon got used to it.If you want to go deeper into the Civil War than the novels of Jeff Shaara - and you're willing to put some effort into it; this is the book for you.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Fascinating but disturbingBy Gillian GreenIt is actually a little extreme to say that I "liked" it. It is a disturbing piece of history. The Andersonville POW camp was an interesting story; complicated by the fact that this POW camp was part of a civil war; rather than a war between independent states. There was a high degree of focused bitterness and incited hysteria in the situation which meant that there are strong and uncomfortable parallels between this piece of 19th century history and the events of the 20th.The book is very Victorian in tone in many parts; florid; overworked; even pretentious; but do not give up on it. Once the author leaves his judgements of the time behind and deals with the facts of the experience the book becomes compelling; shocking and distressing. The wanton cruelty and inhumanity is very clear; and it draws a link with the work of Golding whose main thesis in "Lord of the Flies" was that when humans are deprived of the civilising effects of law and order they become little more than beasts. If all the events of this book are to be believed it was not only the officials of the Confederacy who behaved bestially but members of the imprisoned force as well. War is an inhumane activity; and people exposed to it behave inhumanely.The book is very clearly the source material for the film of the same name - certain actions and episodes from the book appear in the film almost unchanged. It is well worth reading; not for the sheer pleasure of it as it is hardly pleasurable; but for students of the American Civil War; as I am; it is an interesting description of something which is sometimes peripheral to the battles and the larger personalities. It is a fascinating; if chilling; illustration of the effects of war on the ethics of humankind.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. If you value human life at all; this is a MUST READ!By WarDogI've been very interested in all things Civil War ever since I was a child and our family went on somewhat regular vacations to visit battlefields. Being raised in FL; I tended; in my youth; to lean towards the Southern side of things (The high school I attended was named Dixie Hollins HS and our flag was the traditional Rebel flag. Even our mascot was a student dressed as a Rebel officer.) but; as an adult; I try to look at and understand both side's feeling on matters of the day. I detest the idea of slavery (I'm white) but I understand why it was so prevalent during those times. That still doesn't justify slavery; in any case; but I understand why it was so popular in the South. I believe everyone(!) should read John McElroy's account since it was written by an actual Northern prisoner who was there; experienced theses things himself and wrote very detailed descriptions of what went on in several Southern prisons. Until you read this; you cannot truly understand what it was like. Until I read this account; I had no idea how appalling conditions were for these troops and I feel very strongly that these lessons should never be forgotten; lest we fall back into this trap in the future. We owe this to those human beings who perished under those conditions. That sort of treatment should never be allowed to happen again; especially in America; to our own people; by our own people. No human should ever be treated in this way. It's inhumane to even think about holding someone in so horrible a place as Andersonville. Lack of basic shelter; inadequate nutrition and no sanitation... It would have been far more humane to just shoot these men and allow them to exsanguinate rather than make them suffer as they did. The thought if it makes me ashamed to be from the same stock that caused this magnitude of suffering to be put upon other human beings. Truly awful. Think about this: Even Hitler and his band of murderers provided basic shelter and somewhat sanitary conditions for the millions of Jewish people he incarcerated. Their nutritional needs may not have been provided for much better than the Northern prisoners of our civil war but at least the Jews had shelter and a modicum of sanitation. And he HATED the Jews! Of course the Rebels hated the Yankees too but to heap this unearthly suffering on a fellow countryman marks a truly low point in American; as well as; human history. I'm personally ashamed that it happened and I pray it never occurs again.
