Another year older...

Another commemoration of the 6.25 Incident.

That's the Republic of Korea's name for commie invasion of South Korea on June 25th, 1950, and for the Forgotten War in general. (Here is my post from last year.)

Looking back at the post I link to above, I find that I give a pretty fair synopsis of the first few weeks of the war, if I do say so myself, so if you're interested, go read it. Considering that most Americans only know the Korean War from reruns of M*A*S*H, I suppose I could even claim to have provided an educational service. (This Wikipedia article is pretty good, too.)

One of my favorite Korean War histories is T.R. Fehrenbach's This Kind Of War (Amazon), which is not only a straightforward account of the war, but also does an excellant job of explaining how the US Army got into the mess it was in, in 1950, and what the effects of that mess were. An indication of the impact of the book, and the esteem the Army holds it in, is that editions of it were published by US Army print shops in Korea (and possibly elsewhere), and it was very common for junior offciers to be given professional development reading assignments from the book, with required book reports. (I think my own copy is one of these facsimiles. I was given it by my platoon leader at the time, who said she "was done with it." They can have it back: First, re-activate the Seventh Infantry Division, including the 107th Military Intelligence Battalion; then re-activate Fort Ord, California...)

I also just learned that Colonel Ed McMahon, USMCR (Ret.), who recently passed away, was not only a fighter pilot in WWII, which I had known, but he also flew unarmed artillery spotter OE1 Bird Dog's in Korea. (He could also be styled BG McMahon, CA Air National Guard, but what Marine would prefer that?)

This is also the date on which Custer got his near the Greasy Grass. Seems appropriate, somehow. Of all the old battlefields I've visited, that one gave me the most severe creeps. (And very few Michiganders like to admit that Yellow Hair, AKA Old Ego, was a native son...) Also the Khobar Towers bombing, and the birthdays of Hap Arnold, Lord Mountbatten, and George Orwell, among others.