"1127 Days of Death – a Korean War Chronology 1950" Topic

"The Korean War, forever known as the ‘Forgotten War' by many, lasted a total of 1127 days, from June 25th 1950 through July 27th 1953. A total of 38 months. A little over three years in length, but encompassing four years on a calendar. With a beginning that was unlike any other beginning of a ‘war' up until then, the term ‘Police Action' became its moniker for many years, with some in the United States and other countries looking to call it anything other than what it really was. It was just too short a time after the end of World War II, with the sacrifices by many, the devastation of so much, burned into people's memories all too readily. And during the war, who could have guessed there would be an ending that harkened back to the days of World War I, the war to end all wars. Trench warfare and bunkers, large amounts of artillery, and a set day and time to stop shooting. The Korean War was and is a difficult war to describe. Most of the weapons, equipment and tactics were WWII era. Yes, there were some new innovations to the art of killing another human being and to the survival from being killed. But they were far and few between. Personal body armor made its first appearance, and winter ‘Mickey Mouse' boots, and of course Korea was the first truly jet-age war. Helicopters made their debut, performing search & rescue along with speedy transportation of the wounded. But other than those and a few more, the war was fought with WWII era rifles, artillery, ships (excluding the newer carriers), and at least in the very beginning of the war, fighters, bombers and tanks. Even some of the first men to serve in combat were WWII veterans, many of whom who had already given ‘a pound of flesh' in the service to their country.

There were 14,725 U.S. servicemen killed in 190 days of combat in 1950. That's an average of 77 men per day, a staggering number compared to the likes of today's ‘standards' of what would be an acceptable death rate in modern conflicts. Remember, the numbers quoted in this article are those KILLED, not wounded. In comparison, 1968 was the deadliest year of the Vietnam War, where 16,899 were killed, for an average of 46 deaths per day. To look at it from another perspective, if the violence of the first year of the Korean War lasted 365 days, there would have been approximately 28,287 deaths during that first year alone. 1950 Korea certainly was a violent place to be…"

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