The Korean War
The Korean War started between North Korea (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea, ROK) on 25 June 1950 and paused with an armistice signed 27 July, 1953. To date, the war has not been officially ended through treaty.
The United States and the United Nations intervened on the side of the South. After a rapid UN counteroffensive reversed the initial North Korean invasion, the People's Republic of China (PRC) intervened on the side of the North. The fighting ended with the armistice, creating a Demilitarized Zone, a 2.5 mile wide buffer zone between the two Koreas. North Korea unilaterally withdrew from the armistice on 27 May 2009.
Once the shooting stopped, the numbers were tallied. Over 8,000 American servicemen were missing. Many were believed dead and left behind in overrun battlefields, lost in prisoner-of-war camps, perished in air losses scattered across the North Korean countryside, or interred on American soil as unknowns. Too many others were simply missing. The undeniable conclusion was that the regimes in China, the former Soviet Union, and North Korea had credible knowledge regarding the fate of many of these missing men. Our enemies remained our enemies for decades, however, and denied any knowledge of missing American soldiers.
Initially, the U.S. government demanded answers, but the cold shoulder of the Cold War only produced blanket denials. Incensed families of the missing men demanded that more be done. Congressional hearings were convened. The issue was brought to light at home, and the media followed. The Iron Curtain proved to be formidable, however. Interest waned, and the missing men, alive or not, were written off by their government and their nation as casualties of war. Their families were left to reconcile their loved one’s official death with an ever-present hope that he might walk through the front door any day.
During the decades that followed, live sighting reports placed unnamed American prisoners from the war in all three Communist countries. Official demands and short-lived press coverage flared up, but blanket denials and complete lack of access to these nations quieted each storm. No one knew the course the missing men's lives took.
Change In Policy
The end of the Cold War brought a change of view. The Berlin Wall came down. The Iron Curtain became transparent. Russia’s President Yeltsin admitted American prisoners-of-war had been taken to the now former Soviet Union. Families of the Korean and Cold War missing men organized and called upon the government’s long standing promise to resolve the fate of their missing loved ones.
Congress formed an agency and appropriated funds dedicated to the accounting mission. A comprehensive list of the missing men was compiled. The official status of many of these men changed from killed to missing-in-action or prisoner-of-war. Agreements made with foreign nations allowed new access to their wartime archives. Remains recovery and oral history operations began in countries around the world. Advancements in DNA technology made it possible to identify remains that had long rested in anonymity. Genealogy experts located disconnected family members. America's accounting effort became unparalleled throughout the world.
The Great Step Backward
Over time, however, this humanitarian commitment became increasingly politicized. Joint U.S./North Korean search and recovery efforts were suspended in an effort to pressure North Korea to return to Six Party Talks. Access to Russian archives was allowed to wither and virtually fade away. Despite Presidential executive orders calling for transparency, classified files, half a century old, remained cloaked in mystery. Live sighting reports continued to haunt the families, as if the men themselves, ephemeral, walk among us. Our nation's humanitarian promise for the fullest possible accounting of its missing soldiers became, instead, an opportunity lost to political agendas.
Looking Ahead
At present, the mission to learn the fate of missing Korean and Cold War American servicemen is at a political standstill. The issues, however, are becoming increasingly time sensitive. Family members and foreign eyewitnesses to many missing men's fate are aging. Too many stories are in danger of passing on without closure. A return to the mission’s humanitarian focus and consistency in its resolve are needed to move forward.
The promise to bring home our missing servicemen is made to today’s soldiers and their families, just as it was made to those who served in past wars. If this promise is to hold credibility for the nation’s present day servicemen and women, it must first be honored to completion for those who have gone before. Please join us in this mission.
During the decades that followed, live sighting reports placed unnamed American prisoners from the war in all three Communist countries. Official demands and short-lived press coverage flared up, but blanket denials and complete lack of access to these nations quieted each storm. No one knew the course the missing men's lives took.
Change In Policy
The end of the Cold War brought a change of view. The Berlin Wall came down. The Iron Curtain became transparent. Russia’s President Yeltsin admitted American prisoners-of-war had been taken to the now former Soviet Union. Families of the Korean and Cold War missing men organized and called upon the government’s long standing promise to resolve the fate of their missing loved ones.
Congress formed an agency and appropriated funds dedicated to the accounting mission. A comprehensive list of the missing men was compiled. The official status of many of these men changed from killed to missing-in-action or prisoner-of-war. Agreements made with foreign nations allowed new access to their wartime archives. Remains recovery and oral history operations began in countries around the world. Advancements in DNA technology made it possible to identify remains that had long rested in anonymity. Genealogy experts located disconnected family members. America's accounting effort became unparalleled throughout the world.
The Great Step Backward
Over time, however, this humanitarian commitment became increasingly politicized. Joint U.S./North Korean search and recovery efforts were suspended in an effort to pressure North Korea to return to Six Party Talks. Access to Russian archives was allowed to wither and virtually fade away. Despite Presidential executive orders calling for transparency, classified files, half a century old, remained cloaked in mystery. Live sighting reports continued to haunt the families, as if the men themselves, ephemeral, walk among us. Our nation's humanitarian promise for the fullest possible accounting of its missing soldiers became, instead, an opportunity lost to political agendas.
Looking Ahead
At present, the mission to learn the fate of missing Korean and Cold War American servicemen is at a political standstill. The issues, however, are becoming increasingly time sensitive. Family members and foreign eyewitnesses to many missing men's fate are aging. Too many stories are in danger of passing on without closure. A return to the mission’s humanitarian focus and consistency in its resolve are needed to move forward.
The promise to bring home our missing servicemen is made to today’s soldiers and their families, just as it was made to those who served in past wars. If this promise is to hold credibility for the nation’s present day servicemen and women, it must first be honored to completion for those who have gone before. Please join us in this mission.
