In the Shadow of the Greatest Generation
The Americans Who Fought the Korean War
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- USD 23.99
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- USD 23.99
Descripción editorial
Largely overshadowed by World War II's & 'greatest generation' and the more vocal veterans of the Vietnam era, Korean War veterans remain relatively invisible in the narratives of both war and its aftermath. Yet, just as the beaches of Normandy and the jungles of Vietnam worked profound changes on conflict participants, the Korean Peninsula chipped away at the beliefs, physical and mental well-being, and fortitude of Americans completing wartime tours of duty there. Upon returning home, Korean War veterans struggled with home front attitudes toward the war, faced employment and family dilemmas, and wrestled with readjustment. Not unlike other wars, Korea proved a formative and defining influence on the men and women stationed in theater, on their loved ones, and in some measure on American culture. In the Shadow of the Greatest Generation not only gives voice to those Americans who served in the 'forgotten war' but chronicles the larger personal and collective consequences of waging war the American way.
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Just five years after the end of WWII, an exhausted but prospering America found itself gearing up for another major conflict. The Korean War, history professor Pash notes,was fought by men and women who were cut from the same cloth as those who served during WWII, but were asked to fight a very different war. The U.S. government hurried to mobilize forces comprising volunteers, draftees, and Reserves, and the process from start to finish was a difficult one, battles notwithstanding: pre-combat training was intense, but often too short; the fighting in Korea was dominated by extreme heat and cold; and homecomings tended to be a solitary and lonely process, accompanied by little of the fanfare afforded WWII vets. Folks looking for insight into military strategy will be disappointed, but Pash's focus on the individuals on the ground is illuminating; she is particularly effective at highlighting the important role of women in the war, as well as the successful battlefield-driven process of racial integration.
