Re: We get smarter as we get older

Betcha got good at painting rocks.

Gene

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-KOREAN-WAR-L@raven.cc.ku.edu [mailto:owner-KOREAN-WAR-L@raven.cc.ku.edu]On Behalf Of swan
Sent: Saturday, December 21, 2002 11:09 AM
To: KOREAN-WAR-L@raven.cc.ku.edu
Subject: Re: We get smarter as we get older

Gen. Almond visited us once while we were in a rear area. Instead of getting to use this time just goofing off - and getting some badly needed sleep - we had to prepare for a field inspection. One of our officers carried two canteens. It has been that one of them was for water, and one of them was for whiskey. Of course, Gen. Almond didn't know this, but he may have seen this officer wearing two canteens , and thought the two canteen thing was a good idea. In any event, we were all issued another canteen. We had two chunks of ice on our hips when we were up near the Yalu.

Bob Dove

----- Original Message -----

From: Robert

To: korean-war-l@KU.EDU

Sent: Saturday, December 21, 2002 12:20 PM

Subject: Re: We get smarter as we get older

My criticism was not directed at MacArthur specifically, but of the Command Structure of the UN Force, in particular Gen. Almond.His ego precipited blunders that cost un-necessary casualties, and it was only the strong character of Gen. Smith that averted a complete disaster.

swan wrote:

   Here we are fighting with each other while refighting the war. I knew about as much about that war than a hog knows about Sunday when I was fighting there. I suspect this is true with the rest of you.

   I have no idea how a 30-year-old officer felt when he looked at the faces of a bunch of 19-year-old kids, and decided which of them to send out on a dangerous night patrol. Now that I am older I realize this must have been an awesome responsibility.

   And an even more awesome responsibility fell on those officers who had to decide when and where to send 5,000 or 10,000 of these 19-year-old kids. These officers were soldiers, and I know they agonized over the deaths of the other soldiers who died as a result of these decisions.

   It is easy for writers to gather a lot of information, after the fact, and criticize officers who had to make decisions without the benefit of such information.

   Read Gen. MacArthur's Farewell Address to Congress about "leaving your gallant sons in Korea," and then judge him. He said we were "splendid in every way." I think it was splendid of him to say this.