REMEMBERING KOREA

The Korean conflict, 1950–53, is called “America’s forgotten war,” although the thousands of people from several nations who were involved in it could not forget the long and bitter fighting under excruciating conditions. It took years for a truce to be declared and longer for a memorial to those who fought there to be constructed in Washington, D.C. Here, Ashabranner continues his Great American Memorials series with brief discussions of the history of Korea, and a once-over about the war itself. Unfortunately, no map of Korea is supplied and when place after place is mentioned, readers will have difficulty picturing the geography and topography without using other reference works to gain an idea of the land forms, as well as Korea’s place on the globe. Archival photographs provide portraits of the military personnel who were in Korea and the conditions under which they existed. Most of the work, however, discusses the establishment of the Memorial, its difficulties, triumphs, planning, construction, materials, and a biography of the sculptor. But the text lacks an overall idea of its scope and dimensions—mainly because the photographer didn’t supply one. In his history of the war, the author makes no mention of President Truman’s firing of Douglas MacArthur, surely an important event in modern US history. Where there is an interest in memorials, the study is adequate. (index, bibliography, including the URL for the Memorial) (Nonfiction. 5-8)