Overview

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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9780814767696

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Reviews

Through prodigious research in archives and oral histories, Melinda Pash has given voice to the American veterans of the Korean War, men and women she calls the 'silent generation' of the 'forgotten war.' Her absorbing narrative and analytical account is filled with fascinating details about their growing up in the shadow of the World War Two Generation, their hasty mobilization and training, and tortuous combat against North Korean and Chinese forces, as well as the disappointing neglect most of them confronted upon their return home. In highly readable, flowing prose, Pash provides the authentic voices of the veterans as they recall and apprize their experiences, and with masterly skill, she imbeds their stories within historical scholarship on the Korean War and current understanding of the physical and emotional impact of war upon those who fight it. -John Whiteclay Chambers II, editor-in-chief, The Oxford Companion to American Military History

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. Publishers Weekly, October 2012 [P]rovides a wealth of source material for future historians. Kirkus Reviews, September 2012 No one ever referred to our Korean War soldiers as part of the Greatest Generation; yet, their war began just five years after V-J Day, and more than 36,000 of them died in service to their country. These were truly forgotten combatants of a forgotten war, but Melinda Pash has done a brilliant job of recounting the experiences of these ordinary men and women who spent three years fighting and dying on a peninsula that most Americans could not locate on a world map and soon forgot. Lewis H. Carlson, author of Remembered Prisoners of a Forgotten War Through prodigious research in archives and oral histories, Melinda Pash has given voice to the American veterans of the Korean War, men and women she calls the 'silent generation' of the 'forgotten war.' Her absorbing narrative and analytical account is filled with fascinating details about their growing up in the shadow of the World War Two Generation, their hasty mobilization and training, and tortuous combat against North Korean and Chinese forces, as well as the disappointing neglect most of them confronted upon their return home. In highly readable, flowing prose, Pash provides the authentic voices of the veterans as they recall and apprize their experiences, and with masterly skill, she imbeds their stories within historical scholarship on the Korean War and current understanding of the physical and emotional impact of war upon those who fight it. John Whiteclay Chambers II, editor-in-chief, The Oxford Companion to American Military History Through obviously superb scholarship and imaginative analysis Melinda Pash has managed to capture the essential essence of that largely unheralded generation that fought the Korean War. Paul M. Edwards, Executive Director, The Center for the Study of the Korean War Military History Roundup in the 10/15 issue of LJ, She presents fine descriptive analysis that's especially strong when discussing veterans' experiences during and after the war. Recommended for those with an interest in the war and its human dimensions, or for those new to the subject. Library Journal, October 2012 In this well-written and comprehensive study, she presents a much greater sense than has been heretofore available of what the soldiers who fought this conflict experienced. Pash has filled a major gap in American military history, and performed a singular service concerning the lot of the Korean veteran, who today is passing from the American scene almost as quickly as the greatest generation veterans... The book is recommended to anyone who seeks further information on Korea and the lot of the American soldier. - Terry Shoptaugh, Minnesota State University, H-War

Author Information

Melinda L. Pash received her Ph.D. in history from the University of Tennessee in 2008 and teaches at Fayetteville Technical Community College in Fayetteville, North Carolina.

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