Re: Race Relations and Korea

["Joe & Mary Brown" <jbrown3@stny.lrun.com>]

Must add my two cents. While a USN Corpsman with the 5th Marines we had
several house boys. I give those kids, who are grown men now if still
living, much credit. Many of them didn't know where their family was or even
if they were safe.
    November of 1999 I was able to visit the Korean Memorial in Washington,
D.C. For my first visit there it was suggested I see it at night. While
looking into the reflecting pool a lady came up to me and said, "God Bless
you". To say the least it gave me chills. As my friend and I were walking
along the picture wall I over heard a young women speak in Korean. I asked
if she were from Korea and in perfect English she told me no but pointed to
a young man nearby. The young man approached me and I said friend in
Japanese, in broken English he said Japanese and I repeated it again. He
gave a king size hug, backed away with his hands on my shoulders and told me
he is a Major in the ROK Army and said, "thank you for saving my country".
    While in Korea I never experienced any prejudice among our troops or
towards the South Koreans. Feelings were somewhat different towards the
North Koreans and Red Chinese.
Joe
----- Original Message -----
From: "Young Kim" <y_s_k@worldnet.att.net>
To: <KOREAN-WAR-L@raven.cc.ukans.edu>
Sent: Wednesday, April 05, 2000 7:15 PM
Subject: Re: Race Relations and Korea


> The History Channel footage (I forgot its title) showed Mac' G2 chief
(Gen.
> Willowsby sp?) who had Gen. Franco's (of Spain) portrait hung in his
office.
>
> On June 25 (5 pm), 1950: MacArther said: "This is probably only a
> reconnaissance in force.  If those asses back in Washington only will not
> hobble me, I can handle it with one arm tied behind my back".
>
> Gen. Ridgeway said: "The Chinese and Koreans are in appearance but a shade
> above the human beast".
>
> On July 2, 1950, Gen. Church said: "A few white soldiers will scare the
shit
> out of the gooks and the war would be over in no time at all.."
>
> I don't fault the poor GIs who machine-gunned Korean women and children,
> because the top commanders, who had created the 'hate-all-gooks'
atmosphere,
> were the guilty ones.
>
> I must hasten to say that not all commanders and GIs were extreme racists
> (in 1950, probably all white officers and soldiers were racists of varying
> shade and intensity).   There were notable exceptions: for example, Donald
> Nichols married a Korean girl and adopted two Korean kids and there were
> many GIs (how many? I don't know) who fed and sheltered homeless Korean
> 'house boys'.
>
>
>
> ysk
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Marc James Small <msmall@roanoke.infi.net>
> To: <KOREAN-WAR-L@raven.cc.ukans.edu>
> Sent: Wednesday, April 05, 2000 9:39 AM
> Subject: Race Relations and Korea
>
>
> At 09:01 AM 4/5/2000 -0700, Young Kim wrote:
> >According to the History
> >Channel, Big Mac's 2nd in command was a fascist Franco's follower.
> >
>
> This is typical of the twaddle served up on television.
>
> I suspect the reference was to then-MG Ned Almond, who was GEN MacArthur's
> chief of staff and, also, X Corps Commander.  He was never MacArthur's
"2nd
> in command".  Nor, for that matter, was he a "fascist Franco's follower",
> whatever that might mean.
>
>
>