Introduction 8

Chapter 1: Precursors to the Korean War 17

Korea Occupied and Divided, 1910–50 18

Chapter 2: Korea at War, 1950–53 26Preparations for War 26Invasion and Counterinvasion, 1950–51 27Talking and Fighting, 1951–53 38

Chapter 3: Political Leaders of the Korean War 52

North Korea 52South Korea 55United States 66Soviet Union and China 71

Chapter 4: Military Commanders of the Korean War 74

Chung Il Kwon 74Peng Dehuai 75Douglas MacArthur 75Walton H. Walker 76Edward M. Almond 77James Alward Van Fleet 78Matthew B. Ridgway 78Mark Clark 79

Chapter 5: Korea Still Divided, 1953– 80South Korea Modernized 80North Korea Isolated 81

Chapter 6: Korea and the Cold War 91

Chapter 7: Precursors to the Vietnam War 96

Vietnam Colonized and Divided, 1897–1955 96

CONTENTS46

77

99

Chapter 8: The American War, 1955–74 105

The Diem Regime and the Viet Cong 105The U.S. Role Grows 108The Conflict Deepens 111The Gulf of Tonkin 114The United States Enters the War 116Firepower Comes to Naught 118 Tet Brings the War Home 124De-escalation, Negotiation, and

Vietnamization 129The United States Negotiates

a Withdrawal 133The Fall of South Vietnam 144

Chapter 9: Political Leaders of the Vietnam War 147

French Indochina 147North Vietnam 150South Vietnam 156Unified Vietnam 159Cambodia 160United States 163

Chapter 10: Military Commanders of the Vietnam War 183

Vo Nguyen Giap 183Van Tien Dung 185Tran Van Tra 185William Westmoreland 186Creighton Williams Abrams, Jr. 187

Chapter 11: Journalists and Antiwar Activists of the Vietnam War 188

David Halberstam 188Walter Cronkite 189Joan Baez 190Jane Fonda 190Abbie Hoffman 191

112

120

123

Chapter 12: Vietnam Unified, 1974– 192The Socialist Republic 192Problems of Modernization 195

Chapter 13: Vietnam and the Cold War 198

“America’s Suicide Attempt” 198The Conduct and Cost of the War 202Détente as Realism 203Scaling Back U.S. Commitments 205The Opening of China and Ostpolitik 206Arms-Limitation Negotiations 210End of the Vietnam War 213The Vietnam War in Perspective 214

Glossary 216Bibliography 218Index 222

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Introduction | 9

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C. honours members of the U.S. armed forces who served and died in the Vietnam War. A boy runs his fi ngers along names of soldiers in 1982, the year the monument was dedicated. Owen Franken/Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images.

Indeed, the confl ict escalated, becom-ing a battleground between communism and democracy, which many leaders, political theorists, and activists felt were in complete and irreconcilable opposi-tion to each other. The involvement of the United States as well as the Soviet Union, and later China, further compli-cated matters.

If there is one number associated with the Korean War, it is 38. The 38th parallel, bisecting Korea, became a bor-der dividing that nation into two halves, North Korea and South Korea. The cross-ing of this line by either side was considered an act of aggression. However, the existence of the parallel as a border predates the Korean War, being a result of the end of World War II. When Japan was about to lose that war, its control over colonies such as Korea was thrust to the victors, which included the United States, Britain, France, and the Soviet Union. While the Allies had been united against the Axis powers—Germany, Italy, and Japan—political and ideological con-fl ict over what the world should be like after World War II arose among them, particularly pitting Britain and the United States against the Soviet Union. This ideological standoff became known as the Cold War. While the two super-powers never fought each other directly,

The Korean War and the Vietnam War were confl icts that involved far

more than either the geographic inhabit-ants or local military personnel. Countries across the globe weighed in with pro-war and antiwar sentiments, with many nations sending aid—monetary or military—to one side or the other. Both wars involved complicated opposing issues that led to escalation rather than resolution, creating a stage for some memorable people history will never see again, nor soon forget.

The Korean War, also known as the Korean Confl ict, began on June 25, 1950. At that time in the United States, Harry S. Truman was president, The Third Man by Anton Karas was the number-one song, 17-year-old Elizabeth Taylor was on the cover of Movie Picture Magazine, and frozen pizza had just been invented. Half a globe away, North Korean forces launched an invasion into South Korea.

It was with a thunderous artillery barrage that Communist North Korean forces overran American-occupied South Korea. But a fast defeat of South Korea was not to be. Instead, Republic of Korea Army (ROKA) forces formed a strong defence that held the North Korean army at bay. Still, if the South was to stave off collapse, it would need outside help.

10 | The Korean War and the Vietnam War: People, Politics, and Power

forces during 1949, but later returned to aid in the conflict against the North. The North was known as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK); the South was known as the Republic of Korea (ROK).

Though the war lasted only three years, many North and South Koreans died, along with members of UN forces and Soviet forces. To this day, the United States has a force of over 35,000 troops stationed in South Korea. When two U.S. journalists were captured and imprisoned by the North Koreans for illegally enter-ing the country in March of 2009, it took an unannounced visit by former U.S. president Bill Clinton and a subsequent pardon by North Korean leader Kim Jong Il to secure their release.

Dramatic, complicated, and unre-solved, the schism between North and South Korea is presented for readers to consider. Among those profiled is legend-ary military leader General Douglas MacArthur, relieved of duty by Pres. Harry S. Truman in 1951 for fear of his bringing about a war with China over the Korean Conflict. Kim Dae Jung, who, passed away August 18, 2009, is also pro-filed. Though not a key figure during the Korean War itself, Kim would go on to champion democratic government, becoming South Korea’s 15th president. His so-called “sunshine” policy allowed South Koreans to visit relatives in the North. In 2000, Kim became the only Korean to receive the Nobel Prize for Peace, an award granted for his efforts to

conflicts such as that in Korea were impacted, and some say, furthered, if not altogether caused by it.

Three days before Japan’s August 15, 1945, surrender, the Soviet Union quickly advanced into Korea from the north. U.S. officials, fearing a communist takeover of the country, quickly offered a solution to keep the peace between the U.S.S.R. and the United States, proposing the 38th parallel as the military dividing line for Japanese surrender.

The Soviets agreed. In the North, the Japanese would surrender to the Soviets; in the South, to the Americans. The divi-sion was meant only as a temporary measure, with the understanding that the Korean halves would unite under a new unified government of their choosing. This, however, would not come to pass, and has remained a remnant of unful-filled peacetime promises.

During the delay of peacetime repa-rations and the establishing of a new order, North Korea elected its own communist leader, receiving support from the Soviet Union. In 1948, North Korea refused to take part in an election controlled by the United Nations, the goal of the UN having been to create and all-Korean government. Following this outright refusal to unite with the South, South Korea sought its own solution through the UN. In late 1948, the UN approved the elections that had taken place, thereby validating the new South Korean government. The United States withdrew its occupying

Introduction | 11

Vietnam’s rich cultural history spans hundreds of years across independent dynasties, beginning with the break from China in the 900s. Ancient Vietnamese society enjoyed many advances, includ-ing metalworking, plant cultivation, creation of various musical instruments, and art dating back as far as the Stone Age. This fl ourishing was supplanted by the French when they began eff orts to colonize Vietnam in 1859. By 1885, Vietnam was fully absorbed by French Indochina. The French imposed a new

restore democracy in South Korea and improve relations with North Korea.

After the Korean War, the long shadow of the Cold War would soon be cast upon another eastern country: Vietnam. Much like Korea, the end result was a country divided geographically by a parallel—and politically and philosophi-cally as a people. Lasting far longer than the Korean War—from 1955 to 1975—the Vietnam War was also subject to much more stateside criticism than the confl ict in Korea.

North Korean leader Kim Il-sung at a rally, August 1966. Kim Il-sung ruled the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) from its founding in 1948 until his death in 1994. Three Lions/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

12 | The Korean War and the Vietnam War: People, Politics, and Power

War Korea; Vietnam was divided by the 17th parallel, with communist forces on one side, non-communists on the other, and various countries involved in the future of this divided nation. National elections were to be held in 1956 to unify the country, but as with Korea, this event never came to pass because the tempo-rary government of the south refused to take part in the election. Ngo Dinh Diem, leader of the South, said national elec-tions couldn’t possibly be “free” under the communist government of the north. The government of the South was the Government of the Republic of Vietnam (GVN). The northern government was the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV).

Ngo Dinh Diem made it possible to throw anyone even suspected of being a communist into jail without proof or due process. His fear of communism led to extremes, which divided many U.S. offi -cials as to whether they should support the GVN. The Americans did support them however, lending military aid as Diem insisted that his new country was under attack by the DRV both within his own boundaries and beyond.

In 1961, Pres. John F. Kennedy sent weaponry and support to Diem, but lim-ited the number of troops. By 1963, Diem’s people, including Buddhist monks, were crying out for a leadership change. The

way of life, including large-scale changes in labour, which was welcomed by only a few. Powerful Japanese forces eventu-ally set up camp in French Indochina, where they had free reign over Vietnam’s resources.

Tired of living without their own identity, the Vietnamese started speaking out, uniting behind Ho Chi Minh. One of the most infl uential communist leaders of the 20th century, Ho’s impact on the Vietnamese people was profound. His new communist, nationalist liberation movement, Viet Minh, was rallying to gain freedom from France, and to fi ght the Japanese forces. With his power seated in the north, Ho declared his coun-try’s independence in 1946. At this time, there were those Vietnamese who sup-ported French rule, opposing the idea of a new communist regime. The French reached an agreement with Ho, that Vietnam would be a “free state”—but within the French Union. However, it was all or nothing for Viet Minh, so the agree-ment soon dissolved.

This confl ict led to the First Indochina War, lasting from 1946 until 1954. Viet Minh’s forces received support from Russia and China starting in 1950. The United States lent backing to the French and non-communist Vietnamese in the south. The ending result was another Cold

A group of U.S. Marines and U.S. Navy medics carrying a wounded American soldier near Dong Ha, Vietnam, August 1967. Bruce Axelrod/Hulton Archive/GettyImages

Introduction | 13

14 | The Korean War and the Vietnam War: People, Politics, and Power

Earlier in July of 2009, another great player in the Korean and Vietnam wars passed. Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara (1916–2009) served as America’s eighth Secretary of Defense. A master of statistical analysis, McNamara was hand picked by Pres. John F. Kennedy to run the Pentagon within his new administration. Called a “primary architect” of the Vietnam War, McNamara, in his memoir, In Retrospect: The Tragedy and Lessons of Vietnam, offered something that many propo-nents of U.S. involvement in the war never did—an admittance that he and his peers were “wrong, terribly wrong.” McNamara acknowledged that he mis-understood the Asian way in general, and that he lacked the necessary cour-age to tell Pres. Lyndon B. Johnson that the war was futile. His memoir was a sensational best seller, providing insight from a historical perspective that few experienced firsthand.

The cost of these two wars was quite high. The Korean War resulted in the deaths of approximately 2,000,000 Koreans, 600,000 Chinese, 37,000 Americans, and 3,000 Turks, Britons, and other nationals in the UN forces. The death toll in the Vietnam War was even higher. More than 3,000,000 people (including 58,000 Americans) died over the course of the war, more than half of them civilians. This book aims to help the reader understand the causes, the unfolding of events, the chemistry of the various key figures, and the aftermath.

United States supported the call to replace Diem, who was captured and assassinated on November 2, 1963. Less than three weeks later, Kennedy was assassinated as well, leaving the troubles of Vietnam to his successor, Pres. Lyndon B. Johnson. During Johnson’s presidency, America’s involve-ment in the war increased dramatically. Johnson’s successor, Richard M. Nixon, though campaigning on a policy to end the war, which he termed seeking “peace with honour,” instead expanded it into neighbouring Cambodia and Laos. Nixon’s 1972 Christmas bombings of northern cit-ies caused an international outrage, calling for him to change his country’s involve-ment. In April of 1975, Saigon fell, as did the GVN, ending the war.

As the war played out on television sets across the country, Americans were divided—often passionately so—regarding their country’s involvement in the war. Antiwar demonstrations, begun under LBJ’s presidency, became more wide-spread under that of his successor. In the spring of 1970, one such antiwar/anti-Nixon demonstration turned deadly when soldiers of the Ohio National Guard fired into a crowd of approxi-mately 2,000 people at Kent State, killing four college students.

Reporting on this event, as he did so many others, was journalist Walter Cronkite (1916–2009). “The most trusted man in America” died on July 17, 2009, at the age of 92. A CBS News anchorman for 19 years, Cronkite kept countless Americans abreast of events at home and abroad.