[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 107 (Monday, August 3, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1513]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

[[Page E1513]]



                       REMEMBERING THE KOREAN WAR

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                            HON. BOB INGLIS

                           of south carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, July 31, 1998

  Mr. INGLIS of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, today, I would like to 
remember the anniversary of a very important, and yet somber event, 
which took place forty-eight years ago this month. An American soldier 
died fighting for his country. This American soldier was the assistant 
gunner on a machine gun. He and his fellow soldiers were fighting 
against Russian built T-34 tanks without adequate anti-armor weapons. 
No matter how bravely he and his fellow soldiers fought, they were 
unprepared for this combat.
  Only twelve days before, this soldier had no idea he would be in 
combat. Although he was stationed in a foreign land, his mission was 
really a peacekeeping mission. Land and money to conduct tough, hard 
training were not available, and besides, very few of his military 
leaders thought there would be any combat in the foreseeable future. 
Certainly the politicians in Washington had no idea about any threat. 
The U.S. President and Congress had been cutting the size of the armed 
forces and defense spending.
  The event I am talking about took place eleven days after the North 
Korean People's Army launched a massive surprise invasion of South 
Korea. This assistant machine gunner had been on occupation duty in 
Japan, now he was on a wet hillside north of Osan, Korea.
  July 5, 1998 is the 48th anniversary of the first combat death of an 
American soldier in the Korean War. Very soon this soldier would be 
joined by many of his comrades. He was the first out of the 
approximately 54,000 Americans (34,000 killed in action and 20,000 from 
accidents/disease) who would give their lives for our country.
  I want to use this anniversary not only to recognize the Korean War 
veterans, but also to bring attention to the similarity between our 
warfighting capabilities then and today.
  My source for this information is ``This Kind of War: A Study in 
Unpreparedness'' by T.R. Fehrenbach, first published in 1963. It is a 
great and disturbing book on the Korean War. This book points out the 
incredible sacrifices our fighting men had to endure, in part because 
of the unpreparedness of the armed forces. This unpreparedness was 
caused by political leaders and, in some cases, military leaders who 
had soldiers concentrating on missions other than preparing for war and 
an inadequately funded defense budget.
  I believe that we must guard against a similar situation today. We 
hear much discussion in the press and even from this administration 
that the military needs to conform more with the cultural standards of 
today's civilian society. Also, with the end of the Cold War, many seem 
to believe that we should operate with a significantly smaller military 
budget and that the armed forces should focus on non-traditional 
missions such as foreign peacekeeping operations, civic actions, etc.
  I quote Mr. Fehrenbach from his book, ``The civilian liberal and the 
soldier unfortunately are eyeing two different things: the civilian 
sociologists are concerned with men living together in peace and 
amiability and justice; the soldier's task is to teach them to suffer 
and fight, kill and die. Ironically, even in the twentieth century, 
American society demands both of its citizenry.'' I believe many 
Americans, including political leaders, do not understand this simple 
fact whether or not they have had military service.
  There are many similarities between the world situation prior to the 
Korean War and our situation today. In both cases, the United States 
was and is the undisputed greatest military power. Many believe now, as 
then, that we would never have to fight a ``conventional type'' war 
again, that the size of the defense budget can be cut and cut again, 
and that the military should play a major role outside of its 
warfighting responsibilities. I believe that thinking such as this is a 
recipe for disaster. Congress has a vital, constitutional 
responsibility to insure that some future assistant machine gunner does 
not have to die for America in a similar set of circumstances.
  Finally, we must honor the sacrifice of the gallant soldiers, 
Marines, airmen and sailors who fought and in many cases died in the 
Korean War. In many ways, the Korean War has become the forgotten war, 
and therefore, the Korean veterans have become the forgotten veterans. 
After the decisive victories of World War I and World War II, the 
American people were not sure what to think about this less than 
conclusive war.
  The fact is that the Korean War was the first of numerous conflicts 
that were fought during the four decade long Cold War. What all 
Americans need to remember is that those who fought in Korea played a 
vital role in our final victory. As Ronald Reagan said, ``We will 
always remember. We will always be proud. We will always be prepared, 
so we may always be free.''

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