Schrc

Sheboygan County's Unforgotten Schrc

Sometimes called the Forgotten War, the Korean War wears a number of curious monikers; North Korea calls it the Fatherland Liberation War, in South Korea, it's called Six-Two-Five, after the day it started, and China's duplicitous name for the conflict is the War to Resist U. S. Aggression and Aid Korea. It is an event known to most of us only from episodes of M*A*S*H. Though it lasted for three years - from June 25, 1950 to July 27, 1953- it received little media attention in the United States. The "war" formally began when 75,000 North Korean soldiers poured across the border between the Soviet-backed North Korea and the pro-Western South Korea seeking land and resources. Within a month, American troops were on the ground to defend South Korea. The United States jumped in because Korea was a part of the Japanese empire, and after World War II it fell to the Americans and the Soviets to decide how to handle Japanese colonies. Also, the spread of Communism by the Russians was a real threat. Initially described by President Harry S. Truman as a "police action", the Korean War was an undeclared military action, conducted under the auspices of the United Nations, although the U. S. provided most of the fire power. Fighting was brutal, but after some early back-and-forth land gains across the 38th parallel, progress stalled. Little was gained on either side. Casualties were dreadful. Peace talks began in July 1951 at Panmunjom. Both sides were willing to accept a ceasefire, but they couldn't agree on what to do with POWs. It took two miserable years to craft an agreement, finally signed on July 27, 1953. The treaty allowed the POWs to stay where they liked; drew a new boundary near the 38th parallel; and created a 2-mile-wide "demilitarized zone- DMZ" that still exists today. Sheboygan County, Wisconsin lost two dozen young men in the Korean War. A number are still missing. The Unforgotten is a way to memorialize the sons of Sheboygan County who served and suffered.