Not all wars are won or lost—some just linger.
Sixty-eight years ago this week, the two Koreas and the United Nations Command pressed the pause button on the Korean War when they signed an armistice on 27 July 1953. This agreement brought a cessation of hostilities, but the conflict still technically goes on.
Some pundits have called Korea the “Forgotten War,” but here at the AUSA Book Program we remember.
Most recently, the book program recognized a posthumous Korean War hero with the release of Medal of Honor: Mitchell Red Cloud Jr.. A member of the Ho-Chunk Nation, Red Cloud is one of only ten Native American Soldiers to receive the honor since the start of the 20th Century.
The graphic novel series has featured one other Korean War story to date: Medal of Honor: Tibor Rubin. As a teenager, the Hungarian-born Rubin was liberated from a concentration camp at the end of WWII by Americans. In gratitude, he moved to the U.S. and joined the Army. While fighting in Korea, Rubin singlehandedly fought off a North Korean assault, then later risked his life while a POW by collecting food for his fellow prisoners from the guards’ stores.
The AUSA Book Program has also featured several traditional biographies of Army leaders who served in the Korean War as part of their notable careers. These include Edward M. Almond and the US Army: From the 92nd Infantry Division to the X Corps by Michael Lynch; Maxwell Taylor’s Cold War: From Berlin to Vietnam by Ingo Trauschweizer; and Fighting the Cold War: A Soldier’s Memoir by General John R. Galvin.
For those looking for a wider history, Army colonel William T. Bowers produced a three-volume series called Combat in Korea to cover the crucial turning points of the war. In the books, Bowers uses firsthand accounts to offer readers an intimate look at the heroism and horror of the battlefront. The focus on ground-level combat ensures that the sacrifices of those courageous soldiers will not be lost to history.
For free copies of the Medal of Honor graphic novels, or to order copies of the Korean War biographies and histories, please visit www.ausa.org/books.