The Korean War US Massacre - A Personal View
Mr. Coyner,
Thank you very much for using your discretion to circulate the recent article on the US GI killing of civilians during the Korean War. As I read the article, I found myself being just as outraged by the atrocities mentioned as I was disappointed in the way we as a society are handling these revelations.
Born in South Korea in 1975, my knowledge of the Korean War is limited. I do not even know if there are openly available books in Korea that discuss the American mass-killings. My elementary school education in Korea certainly did not cover the topic.
It is clear, however, from the testimony of the generation that experienced the Korean war, that mass-killings such as described in the article did in fact occur during the war.
That mass-killings can occur in a war should hardly surprise anyone, even though it should always stir indignation and outrage. Such monstrous means have often appeared inevitable and even justifiable in the urgency and de-sensitizing effects of war. Believe it or not, even the "good" guys commit war crimes.
However, finding out exactly who was responsible for them would be an impossible and futile task. Perhaps certain American soldiers did indeed refuse to fire as ordered. Perhaps certain South Korean soldiers participated in the shooting. We will never know.
What must be recognized is rather that we as a society regard it as our duty to humanity and our children to confront and investigate revelations regarding such atrocities. And the objective should not be so much as to arrive at a verdict on who is to be blamed, as to have the facts out, to speak for themselves.
Or, as the article indicates, we as a society may simply attempt to find consolation in the bliss of ignorance. It is certainly a practical way of dealing with it. But since when have we accepted practicality as an excuse for avoiding addressing crimes against humanity?
from:
Justin Im
justin_powers97@yahoo.comSeptember 30, 1999
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