Korea: A Forgotten War Poem by Captain Tom Lyons, US Army, 2nd Inf.Div
Why have they forgotten?
Will some one let me know.
A war fought through the summers,
And through the winters snow.
Will any one out there listen,
To what we have to say?
While fighting in Korea,
We lived from day to day.
We were but young Americans,
Sent off to fight that war,
After it had ended,
You heard of us no more.
Many young Americans,
Sacrificed their flesh and blood.
While serving in Korea,
They died while fighting in mud.
Those veterans now lay,
In sacred ground so hallow,
Before this war was over,
Many more GI's did follow.
We were proud to serve our country,
In that far off land,
Why has our nation forgotten,
We shall never understand.
Will some one let me know.
A war fought through the summers,
And through the winters snow.
Will any one out there listen,
To what we have to say?
While fighting in Korea,
We lived from day to day.
We were but young Americans,
Sent off to fight that war,
After it had ended,
You heard of us no more.
Many young Americans,
Sacrificed their flesh and blood.
While serving in Korea,
They died while fighting in mud.
Those veterans now lay,
In sacred ground so hallow,
Before this war was over,
Many more GI's did follow.
We were proud to serve our country,
In that far off land,
Why has our nation forgotten,
We shall never understand.
Korea, The Chosen Place (Poem) by Staff Sergeant Irvin V. Worden
Korea, the chosen place
Ravished by war, laid to waste
All United Nations there engaged
In another history Page.
Korea, tis not a beauty site
To see by day or by night.
The eye beholds only the gloom
Of a country buried in war's tomb.
Korea, it's been torn up
and torn down;
Marched up
and marched down.
Korea, blood shed, land and mountains
Have been bathed by youthful fountains.
Brave men here have gone to their reward
Perishing 'neath the sword.
Korea, twas not a war they say;
Only a police action day by day,
A testing place
For the human race.
Korea, two ideals clashing
Communism and democracy smashing;
The U.N.'s firm stand
Against the hammer red hand.
Korea, a question of peace there,
A question of peace everywhere
Soon it may be inflamed
Again in blood and war's shame.
Korea, a prayer of the free
That inpeace here we may see
The sword no more to rise
On any land or any skies.
Ravished by war, laid to waste
All United Nations there engaged
In another history Page.
Korea, tis not a beauty site
To see by day or by night.
The eye beholds only the gloom
Of a country buried in war's tomb.
Korea, it's been torn up
and torn down;
Marched up
and marched down.
Korea, blood shed, land and mountains
Have been bathed by youthful fountains.
Brave men here have gone to their reward
Perishing 'neath the sword.
Korea, twas not a war they say;
Only a police action day by day,
A testing place
For the human race.
Korea, two ideals clashing
Communism and democracy smashing;
The U.N.'s firm stand
Against the hammer red hand.
Korea, a question of peace there,
A question of peace everywhere
Soon it may be inflamed
Again in blood and war's shame.
Korea, a prayer of the free
That inpeace here we may see
The sword no more to rise
On any land or any skies.
Korean War Veterans shared their wartime experiences through poetry that enabled them to heal emotionally.
United States Korean War Veteran's Testimony - Oral histories are an excellent way to preserve history for future generations. Many Korean War veterans have participated in "You Tube" videos detailing their wartime experience, as well a descriptions of the home front and returning to Korea years later to revisit their Korean War experience.
Testimonies of South Korean Descendants from the Korean War
Click on the link: http://www.mufilms.org/films/memory-of-forgotten-war/#.USKNN1rwKAw to see the testimonies of South Korean people talking about their past of the tragic, Korean War
Many South Korean descendants from the Korean War share their vivid remembrances of the devastations of war through "YouTube" oral histories. Many South Korean people recall the interruptions to their lives, as well as the need to secure South Korea as a Republic and not succumb to "Communism". The invisible enemy called "Communism" was difficult for both South Koreans and U.S. servicemen to comprehend at certain intervals of the war.
In a recent article entitled "Letter on Korean War Massacre Reveals Plan to Shoot Refugees", which appeared in The Washington Post dated May 30, 2006, authored by Charles J. Hanley and Martha Mendoza, "More than a half-century after hostilities ended in Korea, a document from the war's chaotic early days has come to light -- a letter from the U.S. ambassador to Seoul, informing the State Department that U.S. soldiers would shoot refugees approaching their lines. The letter -- dated the day of the Army's mass killing of South Korean refugees at No Gun Ri in 1950 -- is the strongest indication yet that such a policy existed for all U.S. forces in Korea, and the first evidence that that policy was known to upper ranks of the U.S. government. If refugees do appear from north of US lines they will receive warning shots, and if they then persist in advancing they will be shot," wrote Ambassador John J. Muccio, in his message to Assistant Secretary of State Dean Rusk." This recent discovery indicates that South Korean refugees suffered more than originally thought by the United Nations. New historical discoveries are what makes history come alive for those interested in the Korean War, as well as those who are seeking new knowledge about world history.
For more information, check the 60th annniversary of the Korean War website by the United States Department of Defense: http://www.defense.gov/home/features/2010/0610_korea60ann/