Lost to Public Commemoration: American Veterans of the "Forgotten" Korean War

Although the Korean War is an important part of contemporary history, the American veterans of that conflict, until recently, have been rendered invisible in the national pantheon of war commemoration. This analysis identifies the conjunction of factors that caused those who supported the memorialization of the contribution of American veterans in other foreign conflicts to remain silent when confronted with the war in Korea. This essay argues that experience of these Korean War veterans offers a case study that can shed an important light on the paradigms that underpin current memory studies.