Their War for Korea: American, Asian, and European Combatants and Civilians, 1945-1953 (review)

Over the last few years the trickle of Korean War literature quickened slightly, an acceleration precipitated by overdue recognition of the conflict's significance and encouraged by fiftieth anniversary observances. Happily, the scope of new work on the war kept pace, encompassing serious scholarly enquiry, such as William M. Donnelly's fine work on the Army National Guard and Xiaoming Zhang's impressive study of Chinese and Soviet airpower, as well as personal accounts and oral histories. William D. Dannenmaier's memoir of his Korean War service is already a classic, while Louis Baldovi's oral history of Hawaiian veterans of Korea helps fill a need for the history of minority participation in the war. Clearly, Korean War scholarship reflects the increasing inclusiveness in historical investigation generally, and, specifically, a maturer understanding of the war's international dimensions.

Allan R. Millett's most recent book combines all the characteristics of what might be called the "new" Korean War history. Gleaned from his decade-long research for an eagerly anticipated international history of the war, Their War for Korea is a collection of what the author calls "war stories" (p. xxi), rather than strictly soldier stories, aimed at conveying the "uncompromising and bitter" (p. xvi) nature of the war for Koreans, and illuminating the "meaning of the Korean War through the experience" (p. xxii) of the people who lived it. Stories of South Koreans and Americans dominate, comprising thirty-seven of the forty-six vignettes (sixteen Koreans and twenty-one Americans) as they were the largest groups of participants and are subject to fewer official restrictions. The remaining nine are given over to "The Allies" of both North and South Korea.

Each vignette offers interesting, often poignant, sometimes amusing, and frequently contrasting detail about the men and one woman whose stories appear in the book. For example, Bryan Choi, a North Korean refugee and successful Dayton, Ohio, architect, recalling the hunger he endured during the war sometimes still feels he will never have enough to eat. In contrast, retired Royal Engineer Colonel Dan Raschen remembers the good pheasant hunting, and hors d'oeuvres and champagne in the officers' mess. Engaging as the stories of these exceptional people are, however, this is more than a collection of reminiscences bound by a common theme, because the author sets each in the context of the war's ebb and flow, allowing percipient readers a good harvest of Korean War history.

Targeted primarily at a general audience, the book includes modified notes, a glossary of military terms and most of the non-English phrases sprinkled throughout the text (also a useful tool for non-Korean speaking historians). Other appendixes provide basic statistics, such as the number of casualties and POWs, a chronology, and suggestions for further reading. Ultimately, Their War For Korea eases us toward the war's meaning, but full understanding will likely prove illusive until individual participants and the nations they served have come to terms with their own role in this pivotal, complex event.