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Military historian John S.D. Eisenhower on the Korean War

June 19, 2000
Web posted at: 4:19 p.m. EDT

(CNN) - The United States formally eased 50-year-old sanctions against North Korea on Monday, June 19. This move coincides with the 50th anniversary of the start of the Korean War. Significantly, the first-ever summit between the leaders of North and South Korea took place this month, concluding with an agreement to allow the reunion of family members separated during the three-year war.

John S.D. Eisenhower, military historian, author and son of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, wrote the Foreword on the Korean War for the Korean Encyclopedia. Eisenhower is a retired brigadier general in the Army Reserves who served in the Korean War. Eisenhower is the author of "The Bitter Woods: The Battle of the Bulge and "Agent of Destiny: The Life and Times of General Winfield Scott.

Chat Moderator: Welcome to CNN Korea Series Chat, John Eisenhower. We are pleased to have you with us.

John S. D. Eisenhower: I am delighted to be here. We're talking about an event that was fifty years ago, but which is very clear in my memory because it was a very important time in my life.

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Chat Moderator: Why do you believe that the Korean War has become a "forgotten episode" -- as you say in your foreword to the Korea Encyclopedia?

John S. D. Eisenhower: The Korean War was very important because it was a wake-up call of the communist threat. However, it came to an indefinite conclusion, in my opinion. We accomplished our mission and I felt good about it.

It happened between two events that tore our society apart -- World War II, in which everybody was involved, and Vietnam, which brought on tremendous domestic upheavals.

The Korean War was all encompassing to our people for a short time, but it did not destroy or damage our society. In other words, the domestic implications were not severe, and we remember what affects us domestically.

Question from What: What impact did the Korean conflict have on the nature of United Nations military activities to this day?

John S. D. Eisenhower: Well, it was fundamental. This was the first time that the United Nations worked together in a military sense. I have a list here of seven American divisions; one British Commonwealth division, which included Canada; a Turkish brigade; a regiment from Thailand and one from the Philippines; battalions of French, Belgian, Greek, Colombian and even Ethiopian armies. It was truly an international military force in contrast to Vietnam later, where we went it alone.

Strangely, this U.N. effort would not have been possible except for the fact that the Soviet member of the United Nations Security Counsel was absent. Mr. Malik of the Soviet Union was unhappy with the U.N. and was boycotting it. Therefore, the U.N. agreed to take action an extremely fortunate circumstance, almost miraculous.

Question from Councilman: A New York Times op-ed reflected on the similarity of your father and President Clinton. Do you see any at all?

John S. D. Eisenhower: Very little. I would have to see in what respect they see a resemblance. They were both blonde and tall!

Question from Genie2: John, when my brother was killed in Korea during the conflict, his body was returned wrapped in an Army blanket. Was that the standard practice during that period?

John S. D. Eisenhower: I can't say. I don't know. It doesn't sound right to me.

Question from Jeryth: Mr. Eisenhower, can you comment on whether you see the Korean War as a valid extension of George Kennan's containment thesis, given the fact that Kennan's thesis dealt primarily with industrial Europe and Japan.

John S. D. Eisenhower: Absolutely. This was in keeping with the way we perceived George Kennan's containment theory. Korea was part of our natural defense in the far East. It had been called, humorously, a dagger pointing at the middle of Japan. There was never any question in my mind that we had to defend it.

Much has been made of an unfortunate speech that Dean Acheson, secretary of state, made in January of 1950. He indicated that South Korea was not part of our natural defense perimeter. That speech has been blamed for a misunderstanding. I think its importance is over-rated. Our defense in Korea was very much part of the containment policy followed for 40 years.

Question from Chicago: So what do you think about all of the accusations that U.S. troops fired on Korean civilians and why are these accusations coming to light now?

John S. D. Eisenhower: I am not surprised that incidents like that happened. The troops that were sent to Korea at first were untrained recruits and they undoubtedly panicked. There was the mysterious circumstance that some North Korean troops were infiltrating crowds. If it happened -- and I have no reason not to believe it -- it would have been an incident like Kent State in 1970.

My guess is that it comes to light because the perpetrators have been carrying it on their consciences for all this time. And they are now old men.

Question from Twine: How is General MacArthur remembered from the Korean War?

John S. D. Eisenhower: General MacArthur was at his best, and his worst, in the Korean War. His decision to make an amphibious landing behind enemy lines at Inchon in September 1950 was a mark of genius. Everyone but MacArthur had doubts. There were only three or four days when the landing could be made because of tides for the rest of the year. But he did it with spectacular results.

Later on, when the Chinese entered the conflict, MacArthur was at his worst. He indulged in wishful thinking and told the Joint Chiefs of Staff that not more than 60,000 Chinese could have crossed the Yalu River into Korea, when there were actually 300,000! He probably should have stopped in the narrow waist of Korea and defended.

But MacArthur had led a charmed life and this was the first time that his miraculous luck ran out. He later blamed the policies of the government, specifically President Truman, for tying his hands by forbidding him to bomb targets in Manchuria. He made it inevitable for President Truman to fire him.

Chat Moderator: Did you ever meet him?

John S. D. Eisenhower: Yes, in the Philippines when my father worked under him. He was very kind to me as a young 17-year-old. He was very charming.

Question from HanShann: Mr. Eisenhower, isn't it true that none of their neighbors actually want to see the two Koreas united?

John S. D. Eisenhower: I don't know that. I am certainly hopeful that they will be united. The tragedy is that the Koreans are about as homogeneous a race of people as any that exist. The splitting up of the country has been a real tragedy. I think it is in everybody's best interest to have that hostility ended.

Question from Dag3: Did the United States contemplate using nuclear weapons, and what were the reasons they decided against it?

John S. D. Eisenhower: There was very little contemplation, as far as I know, of the use of nuclear weapons. For one thing, the terrain is not favorable. It's difficult to visualize how mountainous Korea is. Further, I believe that after Hiroshima and Nagasaki, there was a national revulsion against the use of atomic weapons. That was made worse by the fact that it was Americans bombing Asiatic people.

When President Eisenhower came into office, however, he leaked to Prime Minister Nehru of India that he might not be so restrained. Everything he said to Nehru went straight to Mao Tse-Tung in Peking. There may have been some connection between that ghint'and the Chinese willingness to talk peace seriously. We will never know if that connection was valid. And we will never know if the implied threat would ever have been carried out.

Question from Twine: Why are the Korean vets treated so poorly today with all the military bases closing and their vet hospitals going, too?

John S. D. Eisenhower: I don't believe that the Korean vets are treated any differently than any of the others. It may be because the questioner has reached the age where he has needs for VA hospitals, but I do not believe that the Korean veterans have been discriminated against. Incidentally, the Korean veterans may have suffered from lack of domestic support, enthusiastic support, but they were never castigated.

It so happens that I was in the Third Division in Korea for exactly the last year of the war and I came home feeling good about it. No brass bands, but I thought the U.N. and the United States had done a good job.

Chat Moderator: Do you have any final thoughts or observations for us today?

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John S. D. Eisenhower: My final thought is just that Korea was a real watershed. It woke us up; it turned NATO from a piece of paper into a real, meaningful alliance. And even though the sacrifice was great, I believe that the people who fought in Korea did not die in vain.

Chat Moderator: Thank you for joining us today.

John S. D. Eisenhower: It is a privilege being here. I hope you all will study it more, as a broadening experience!

John S. D. Eisenhower joined the Korea Chat by telephone. CNN provided a typist for Mr. Eisenhower. The above is an edited transcript of the chat.



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