This annotated bibliography is the first to cover the early phases of the Korean War, for the period from June 25 to September 22, 1950, in a comprehensive manner. This guide provides a brief history of the critial period around the Pusan perimeter, identifies important archival sources, and then describes 401 studies in English–both offical and unofficial reports, documents, surveys, monographs, and periodical articles. The bibliography is organized both by different genres of work and topically. An appendix points to the United Nations country’s forces that served in the war. Indexes by author, subject, and periodical make this short guide easy for researchers in all fields of study.

This bibliography is the most complete listing and description of primary and secondary works about the Inchon Landing, one of the most significant amphibious landings in modern history, and the turning point of the Korean War. This was the time when the war had driven United Nations troops to the tip of Korea into a defensive perimeter at Pusan when General Douglas MacArthur decided on an end-run up the west coast of Korea to cut enemy supply lines and relieve the pressure on Pusan. This phase of the war marks the last point at which it was being fought to win. The bibliography covers the entire operation from early planning to final stages, the role of different national troops, the controversies over General MacArthur’s strategies and differences among leaders, and the evaluation of the landing and campaign. This book-length bibliography, the first to deal exclusively with the Inchon Landing and Seoul Campaign, provides a brief history and chronology, and then describes archival and special collections, official and unofficial reports, books, journal articles, dissertations, films, and fiction of note. This guide is designed for students, teachers, professional researchers, and all those interested in the Korean War.

Written by a knowledgeable film critic and Korean War scholar, this is the only guide exclusively devoted to the study of Hollywood and television films based on the Korean War, 1950-1953. It opens with eight short essays, discussing the appeal of the war film genre, government and filmmaker cooperation, the isolation of Korean War films from other war films, why John Wayne didn’t make a Korean War film, the other actors who did, the plots of Korean War films, television and Korean War films, and the myths resulting from films. Eighty-four films are then discussed in alphabetically arranged entries. The entries include production unit, color status, producer, director, screenwriter, actors and actresses, movie length, and the author’s numerical rating of the film. The commentary places each film within the context of other war films, the Korean War, trends in Hollywood, and the social and political realities of the United States. The films also are listed chronologically. Producers, directors, screenwriters, actors, and actresses are indexed by responsibility and are included in the general index. The book also provides a list of 109 documentary films available for public viewing.

Historians often refer to the Korean War as "the forgotten war," but Edwards argues that in many respects it is a conflict that has been deliberately ignored for the past fifty years. This broad look at the war examines how Americans have attempted to remember and commemorate the confrontation which played such a major role in America’s Cold War experience. As a United Nations effort or Police Action, the hazy identification of the war has in part contributed to a lack of public understanding of what happened in Korea. This book considers the American response to the "loss" in Korea, and how this response played out as a failure to remember. After discussing the phenomenon of "historical absence," the essays turn to the still considerable disagreement about who started the war and why. They provide the latest information concerning the relationship between Chairman Mao, Premier Kim Il Sung, and Chairman Joseph Stalin at the outbreak of the conflict. Edwards identifies lesser known figures and comments on operations that are not generally known or discussed. He discusses the impact that revisionist historians have had on our views of the war and why it produced a cease-fire rather than a peace treaty. The study also places this still unresolved conflict in the context of multi-national forces and peacekeeping actions as we understand them today.

This reference is designed to provide brief but helpful information about all aspects of the war including units involved, the United Nations, political and military actions, significant sites and operations, and weapons used. Written to be clear and understandable, it is the perfect research tool. Unlike existing dictionaries that focus on the individuals (political and military) involved or concentrate on military units and actions, this Dictionary covers the wide range of topics necessary to inform both casual readers and scholars alike. The extensive bibliography provides leads to the best and most recent published and electronic works available.

The Korean War was the first pitched battle between the communist forces and a coalition of the United Nations. While it was not the last such war in Asia, it did stem the tide in East Asia and permitted South Korea to prosper while North Korea decayed. Dictionary entries summarize the significance of the persons, places, organizations, military operations, battles, weaponry, and other elements of the war.

In many respects, all wars are alike. All soldiers compete for position and mobility; all forces struggle for the larger territory, the greater power. Yet each war has as well its distinguishing characteristics, its unique features, its most-remembered events, its particular frustrations that haunt the dreams of its veterans. In Korea, it was the hills. The Korean hills offered observation, artillery, and mortar advantage to whichever country controlled them. On these hills, thousands of soldiers fought decisive battles for a few feet of land or for higher elevation. This reference work identifies more than 400 hills, outposts, complexes and phase lines that were key components of the Korean War, allowing researchers to relate individual battles to the larger narrative of the war. Each entry details major operations fought in the area, including the units involved, the area’s strategic value in the overall war, the type of combat, and the munitions involved. Geographic features known by both numbers and names are cross-referenced for ease of access.

Despite the American tendency to bypass it, the Korean War from 1950 to 1953 was a watershed in American history. It was in Korea, for the first time, that the United States committed its armed forces to limiting an expansion, by Communist forces, which many believed was designed to take over the world; it was also the first war that a world organization, the United Nations, played a military role. The conflict in Korea was a war that was fought in hardship and danger by the grunt, the man and woman in the field, bringing an end to the myth that possession of an atomic bomb made conventional warfare unnecessary. Training, usually with World II weapons, life on the front, care of the wounded and the dead, and coming home, are just some of the topics covered in The Korean War. In addition, a timeline of events, a helpful topically arranged bibliography of recommended sources, and illustrations, including many photos taken by the soldiers themselves, bring this period into full focus. Author Paul Edwards, himself a veteran of the Korean War, tells the story of unheralded soldiers who fought in a misunderstood war. Among the issues covered are the background leading to the war. Raising the military forces to carry out the dictates of both the U.S. government and the United Nations, often by recalling soldiers who had only recently been mustered out of World War II service. The difficulties of adjusting to life under both garrison and combat environments in an unfamiliar part of the world for most, where temperatures could range from freezing cold to unbearably hot. Recreation, religion, entertainment for the troops, and soldiers’ efforts to help Koreans hurt by the war. Treatment of the wounded, improved by advances in evacuation methods, the development of the helicopter, and the creation of the Mobile Army Surgical Unit, or MASH. The hard time that veterans had in returning to an American society that often ignored their accomplishments.

From rubber landing boats to picket boats to minesweepers, smaller support vessels did much of the work of the Korean War, and endured many of the dangers and hardships. Rarely mentioned in histories of the war, they served functions essential to keeping the United States Navy and the United Nations partners in active duty.

This volume delivers an overview of the various kinds of vessels involved, the difficulties of mobilizing the aging American fleet at a time when a significant downsizing had been expected, and the design and specification considerations of the support vessels needed for the new war effort. It lists the individual support vessels and details the degree of their involvement, often providing photographs as well as comments from men who served aboard the ships.

Dan Wolfe was a Bronx, New York, teenager whose passions were baseball, fooling around in school, and hanging out at the candy store in the 1940s. In 1951, three years out of high school, he was drafted and sent to Korea. Cold Ground’s Been My Bed is his no-holds-barred memoir of the experience, from his deployment into Company L, 15th Regt, 3rd division; a frontline infantry platoon.

The title of his book is derived from a blues song sung by his first bunker buddy. It speaks to the conditions experienced by soldiers when suddenly faced with the reality of war.

• Feeling inadequate about handling the Browning Automatic Rifle in basic training, he expressed his doubts to a cadre man, who assured him, "You don’t have to worry about it, kid. It’s given to the biggest men in the squad." The day he arrived on the front line, Dan, five-foot-seven and 133 pounds, was assigned the twenty-pound BAR.
• When his platoon was ambushed, Dan crawled over fire-swept terrain to retrieve the body of his sergeant. Under fire, with his sergeant in his arms, he skidded down a forty-foot cliff and into the Imjin River in order to wade to a friendly shore. Decades later he learned that he’d been cited for the Silver Star, but the Jeep carrying the papers was blown up by mortar rounds.
• When a GI was killed by negligent "friendly fire," the victim’s buddy carried out a revenge murder when the company was returned to the line.

In recounting his story, Dan never pretends to be more than he was, a young man being shocked and shaped by the reality of war.