A Book by Stanley Weintraub

I was going through my grandfather’s keepsake suitcase a few weeks ago, which is a metal box full of things like his Korean War papers and some photographs from the 1950s. He enlisted in the army in 1952 and did a tour of Korea during the Korean War until the conflict ended. It always saddens me how little people know about the Korean War, as it is perhaps only seconded by the War of 1812 as the most forgotten American war. Of course, both of those are wars the USA lost, and high school history courses are tailored to instill a sense of patriotism, not make the country look bad.

I never got to talk to my grandfather too much about his military service as I was only seven years old when he passed, so I have decided to try to learn a lot more on my own. A Christmas Far from Home: An Epic Tale of Courage and Survival During the Korean War is the first in what will be a handful of books on the subject I plan to read in the next few months. Considering how eye-opening this book was, it will be an interesting time for sure.

“The day after Thanksgiving, five months into the Korean War, General Douglas MacArthur flew to American positions in the north and grandly announced an end-the-war-by-Christmas offensive, despite recent evidence of intervention by Mao’s Chinese troops. Marching north in plunging temperatures, General Edward Almond’s X Corps, which included a Marine division under the able leadership of General Oliver Smith, encountered little resistance. But thousands of Chinese, who had infiltrated across the frozen Yalu River, were lying in wait and would soon trap tens of thousands of US troops. Led by the Marines, an overwhelmed X Corps evacuated the frigid, mountainous Chosin Reservoir vastness and fought a swarming enemy and treacherous snow and ice to reach the coast. Weather, terrain, Chinese firepower, and a 4,000-foot chasm made escape seem impossible in the face of a vanishing Christmas. But endurance and sacrifice prevailed, and the last troopships weighed anchor on Christmas Eve.”

This book is a look at the Korean War at the tail end of 1950, and specifically the debacle that happened during the Battle of Chosin Reservoir and the following evacuations thereof. Amidst endless promises of “we’ll all be back home for Christmas”, many corners were cut when North Korea seemed on the back foot. Why waste resources when we’re assured victory? This lead to the United States government being utterly unprepared for the onslaught that was the Chinese Army spilling across the border en masse.

My biggest takeaway reading this book was just how “over-rated” General Douglas MacArthur was. Granted, I have a feeling that most famous military generals largely had their moments when their entire careers fell flat on their faces, but MacArthur did so much in that regard it’s hard to look back at his successes and assume they were the “flukes”. His biggest disasters were in the Philippines and Korea, and one common flaw with both blunders was underestimating his opponents. At times, he blatantly ignored intelligence and analysis, refusing to listen to staffers in critical areas. In my opinion, he seemed to be more about cultivating his own public image and building power, then blaming The President when he fell flat on his face. Yes, he did a masterful job of rebuilding Japan after World War II, but managing troops when the heat was on was not his forte. Perhaps my assumption is based on the opinions of the authors I’ve read, but so far – I’m not a fan.

This book is not perfect, I’d even consider it a bit meandering at times, but it helped me get a better understanding of what topics I should seek out when looking into information on this initial period of the war. Stanley Weintraub writes from the vantage point of relating the war to what was going on at the home front, sometimes forgetting to explain the geopolitical situation in Korea itself very well. That said, this book is a good entry point for information on this topic and has led me to find books more detailed on the actual battles themselves.