In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

introduction Forgotten Soldiers of a Misunderstood War When the conventional forces of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea attacked across the 38th north parallel on June 25, 1950, the war for Korea had been in progress already for nearly four years. in many respects, this conventional attack across the imaginary line of demarcation between the two Korean zones—along with the intervention of United nations and Chinese military forces—was simply an extension of a basic fraternal conflict that extended back to 1945, when liberation from the Japanese empire at the close of World War Two resulted in division and political conflict. Almost immediately, separate regimes backed by the United states and the soviet Union emerged, laying the foundation for a civil war. on both sides of the parallel regime building was not uncontested,but it was in the southern American zone that the war before the international war, pitting two irreconcilable visions of a future Korea in a mortal struggle,played out most decisively, culminating in the more familiar north Korean invasion. south Korean security and military forces, along with their American patrons, had been locked in combat from the beginning of the post-liberation period , with the first shots being fired as early as september 1945.This underappreciated fact is a crucial aspect of the Korean War. how the south Korean forces performed in battle during the prewar years directly influenced the north Korean decision for invasion. how these same forces survived the Communist assault to reform, retrain, and rearm contributed in a decisive manner to the negotiated termination of fighting in Korea. Although no longer forgotten in the historical sense,the causes,conduct, and issues surrounding the war’s termination remain misunderstood by most english-speaking audiences.This book—primarily a biography of the officers and soldiers who made up the United states Military Advisory Group to the Republic of Korea (known as “KMAG”and pronounced kay-mag)— is an attempt to restore perspective and balance to the standard english language narratives of the war. As a small organization, never counting more 2 / introduction than 2,000 official personnel, American advisors played a critical, perhaps decisive, role in building, defending, and ensuring the livelihood of the southern Republic of Korea (RoK). These advisors carried great responsibilities to organize, train, mentor, and at times lead the military forces of south Korea prior to June 1950. following the north Korean invasion, KMAG took on additional tasks to ensure that the Republic of Korea Army (RoKA) would survive until it could be remade into a larger and formidable fighting force. Although most histories of the Korean War begin with the north Korean invasion of the southern Republic of Korea in June 1950, it was in the preceding four years of civil conflict that American advisors established the moral foundation and organizational framework for a Korean army.These years, with all their turbulence in the social and economic dislocations following liberation, need to be understood to make sense of the Korean army’s performance between 1950 and 1953.1 Most histories of the war either ignore or downplay the Koreans’ commitment to their own defense, tending to focus more on the U.s. struggle with Communist China and the frustrations of fighting a limited war in the nuclear age.2 however, during the international conflict following the north Korean invasion, the military power of the United nations Command (UnC),a coalition of seventeen nations,hinged upon the combat capabilities of its ground component, which consisted of the eighth United states Army in Korea and its allied attachments. What has been generally neglected is the fact that for much of the war,the military fortunes of eighth Army relied to a large degree on the capability of the Republic of Korea Army—its largest and longest-serving co-belligerent. on the day of the north Korean invasion, the RoKA numbered slightly fewer than 100,000 men, whereas the official American military presence in Korea amounted to 492. Within two weeks battle losses reduced the south Korean army to the point of collapse. fewer than 50,000 soldiers remained under arms and under control.yet,by the time of the armistice agreement on July 27,1953,the U.s. eighth Army and its coalition components boasted just over 300,000 men in the field,while the manpower contribution of the Republic of Korea had soared to nearly 600,000 men under arms or in various states of training .3 More important,the...

Share