They Stood Proud and Strong

Marines begin the long, cold trek to Hungnam, many would not survive.

“We grunts never knew, one day from the next, where we were or what we were accomplishing. The mountains, valleys, stinking rice paddies, and frozen mountains all seemed the same to us. We were living and dying in our own violent little world.” – Marine serving during the Korean War with 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines The…

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The High Cost of Freedom

Civilians fleeing in Seoul, 1950

Riding the metro through Seoul last Thursday, I crossed the Han River and was treated to a spectacular view of the city. A seemingly endless array of high-rise offices, apartments, department stores, and eclectic smaller buildings – mom and pop restaurants, local coffee shops, schools, churches, and convenience stores – stretched for miles. I was…

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Armistice Day – 64 Years Later

After three years and one month, the guns stopped firing, the bombs stopped dropping, and the people stopped dying. The fighting was over. But the war wasn’t. On July 27, 1953, now remembered as Armistice Day, an agreement was signed, bringing a ceasefire to the ravaged Korean peninsula.  Wars end with a peace treaty, not…

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