European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - July 26, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Marines wounded in fighting on the War Eastern front trudge towards Hospital America has Learned a lot from the forgotten war7 by Robert Dvorchak the associated press Ca it the forgotten War _ a Nasty conf it swept under the Rug of history a postscript to the total Victory of world War ii and a precursor to the anguish of Vietnam. But finally 40 years after a july 27, 1953, armistice brought the fighting to an ambiguous end the korean War is being remembered. . Commanders cite it As an example of the need for military preparedness. Historians Point to it As a Bedrock chapter in the winning the cold War. And a president who was just 6 years old when the fighting ended has underscored the " War s lessons. Vulnerability invites aggression peace depends upon deterrence. We cannot forget those lessons again said president Clinton who this month became the first president to visit the demilitarized zone a 1 55-mile Long no Man s land that endures As the world s most fortified Border. When president Truman ordered . Ground troops to Korea without obtaining congressional authorization he called it a police action and told his closest advisers we be got to Stop the sons of bitches no matter  but demobilization had made the army a hollow Shell of the War machine built during world War ii. In the first . Battle 540 ill trained and ill equipped troops under it. Coir Brad Smith dug in against the soviet made tanks of the 90,000-Man North korean army. Without tanks mines Armor piercing artillery shells or effective bazookas the task Force was overwhelmed by the invaders. The soldiers who followed in their tracks were drawn from a .-led coalition of 16 nations the first time the fledgling United nations sent an army into the Field to combat aggression. The defenders were nearly pushed off the korean Peninsula then turned the tide with a Marine Landing at Inchon history s last great amphibious assault. The allies then decided to Cross the 38th parallel and unify the country under one Flag. Pyongyang was taken the Only communist capital Ever to be liberated by the West and elements of the . 7th div even made it to the Yalu River. But communist China entered the War driving the . Army Back on a 275-mile Retreat the longest in its history. The 1 St Marine div fought its Way out of a trap at the chosen Reservoir where temperatures were minus 30 degrees. Ultimately the americans rallied and drove the communists out of South Korea again before peace talks began. Despite . Air and naval superiority it took two years of stubborn talks before the bloody fighting stopped on outposts named Heartbreak Ridge pork chop Hill and other hilltops that recalled the Trench warfare of world War i. The final line was essentially at the same Point where the War began. But by that time More than 50,000 american lives were lost. Thayne military has Learned from Korea was apparent in the persian Gulf when a .-led coalition under the . Flag ejected the iraqi army from Kuwait concentrating its muscle instead of committing units piecemeal. We be Learned to go in with overwhelming Power and a game plan that s winnable said retired col. David Hackworth a military analyst who saw combat in Korea and Vietnam. Korea was a sideshow of what became Vietnam. Every mistake made there was made in Spades in Vietnam. The objective was never Clear. The strategy changed from general to general Hackworth said. The military also Learned that it must always be prepared. There will be no More task Force Smiths says Gen. Gordon r. Sullivan the . Army chief of staff who is directly responsible for having today s army prepared to fight Many Young soldiers died needlessly at the hands of a third rate  Korea remembered when japanese occupation of Korea ended after world War ii Korea was divided along the 38th parallel. The North came under the influence of the soviet Union and the South the United states. On june 25,1950, North korean troops invaded the South. Forty years after its armistice the korean War is being remembered. Manchuria nov. 26,1950-. Chinese communists Cross manchurian Borde june 25,1950,38th parallel initial North Korea attack. 540 ill equipped . Troops under u. Col. Brad Smith dug in against the soviet made tanks of the90,000-Man North korean army. Sept 5,1950, Pusa defense perimeter farthest Advance of North koreans. After breaking through along the East coast to overrun p hang North koreans  on. Although this drive threatened for a few Days to outflank Taegu and even to permit a direct attack on Pusan it was beaten Back by . Forces. North koreans were unable to launch another serious drive. Sept 15,1950,Inchon . Forces make an amphibious Landing at Seoul s port City and begin to Cut Aswath Between the North korean troops in he Pusan perimeter and communist forces farther North. . Forces Cross the 38trparallel and drive North to Valu River. Inchon Suwon Osan Ansong Chonan december 1950-april1951 withdrawal of . Forces and stabilization of defens Earea near 38th parallel. Kunsan Chunju Chin Kwangju june september 1950, Pusan defense perimeter . Makes stand at perimeter North and West of Taegu. White . Forces defend this line . Troops use the facilities at Pusan to reinforce the army divisions that bore the Brunt of the earlier fighting. Sources Colliers encyclopedia. Random House ency opera a Korea was the first time the army stopped assigning troops to units by the color of their skin de segregating what it called negro units Well before the civil rights movement achieved Progress at Home. The War also added words to the vocabulary gook a corruption of Han Guk Saram which Means korean Hooch a Village or hut and Mash which stands for Mobile army surgical Hospital where the wounded were ferried aboard the first helicopters used in War. A hair trigger truce separates North and South Korea. The two nations have never signed a peace treaty so a state of War Sti technically exists. The United states never left Korea. About 36,000 americans serve As a tripwire against a North korean attack including the 2nd inf div. The armistice was accepted As a stalemate the first War America did t win. . Commander  the truce and later lamented he had gained the unenviable distinction of Beira Guhe first United states army commander in history to sign an armistice without  j sen. Joe Mccarthy the communist hater who waged a discredited purge against suspected spies called it a great  but the korean War has been re evaluated since the collapse of the soviet Union and the end of the cold War. The foundation for winning the cold War was Laid in Korea. Even the bungling Way we fought it we absolutely won the korean War said historian Clay Blair. The most enduring legacy of Korea was the decision to draw the line against communism and embark on a course of defense spending that built up the military and sparked the nuclear arms race the korean War showed the soviet Union it could not expand its Empire by Force of arms said retired col. Harry Summers a korean Veteran military analyst and syndicated columnist. Wars Are defined by the realization of goals set out to achieve Summers said. By any legitimate definition of the word Korea was a Victory. We realized the goals we set out to achieve. We saved South  monday july 26, 1993 the stars and stripes