The Best Christmas Present Ever

Seventy years ago, US Navy demolition teams, Army engineers, and hundreds of other American servicemen, all part of a UN force that weeks earlier had numbered over 100,000, watched as a massive explosion – the largest since World War II – erupted over a small port in North Korea. With docks, warehouses, and wharfs bursting…

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Listening to Our Better Angels

Civilians evacuating at Hungnam

“I have always thought of Christmas as a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time.” – Fred, the nephew of Ebenezer Scrooge in Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol With the holiday season once again upon us, Americans from all walks of life – and every race, creed, and religion – become observers, and in many cases, active…

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What’s in a Name?

War Memorial of Korea- Gallery of names of UN soldiers

We all have one, and although we have no choice in deciding what it’ll be, it’s permanent, staying with us from cradle to grave. It becomes a defining feature of our human character, and long after we’re gone, a memorial to what we did or didn’t do during our time on earth. Whether it’s chiseled…

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Hungnam Evacuation – A Christmas Miracle

In December 1950, dramatic events unfolding in the rugged mountains of North Korea captivated the world’s attention. The Battle of Chosin, one of the fiercest engagements in U.S. history, was taking place in sub-zero temperatures and knee-deep snow. After days of horrific fighting, U.N. troops, surrounded by overwhelming Chinese forces and suffering heavy casualties, began an…

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Twenty and Counting

North Korean propaganda poster depicting destruction of US capitol

North Korea has launched 20 (yes, twenty) missiles this year. And we still have a month to go. Tensions on the Korean peninsula are at an all-time high, and as we look back on the Trump administration’s response to Kim Jong-un’s reckless and relentless pursuit of a nuclear-armed ICBM arsenal capable of hitting the US,…

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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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