The Fatherland Liberation War, aka, the 6–2–5 Upheaval (June 25, 1950 – July 27, 1953)
This year of 2020 marks the 70th anniversary of the beginning of the Korean War. Often called the “Forgotten War” or “Unknown War,” that included the participation of over 55 nations and five million veterans deployed worldwide by the United States, the Korean War actually began on June 25, 1950 between North and South Korea. In the US, the war was initially described by President Harry S. Truman as a “police action” as the United States never formally declared war on its opponents and the operation was conducted under the auspices of the United Nations. It has been sometimes referred to in the English-speaking world as “The Forgotten War” or “The Unknown War” because of the lack of public attention it received both during and after the war, relative to the global scale of World War II, which preceded it, and the subsequent angst of the Vietnam War, which succeeded it. The Korean War is not forgotten! Nor are all who served, fought and died during the three years it ensued. We remember and shall never forget.
It also marked the first US War that Blacks were integrated with all troops after President Harry S. Truman signed the Executive Order 9981 to desegregate the Military in 1948, a move against the Jim Crow era. In World War II, Blacks were limited to 5.8% of the force, and there were to be no African-American combat units – virtually the same restrictions as in World War I. The military later changed its policy, and units such as the Tuskegee Airmen saw combat. [*] The Korean War marked the first time Truman’s policy was enacted.
My late Uncle Edward Inouye (US born Japanese-American) also fought alongside the integrated US Army, fighting for the South Koreans. Ironically my uncle endured the racism that spread throughout the US in the years of World War II when he and his mother were sent to Internment Camps in Arkansas. Edward is a nephew of the late Senator from Hawaii, Daniel Inouye . Ed still valiantly and loyally fought for the cause of the United Nations, to challenge Communist China. The war was known as The Fatherland Liberation War to the North Koreans, and the 6–2–5 Upheaval to the South Koreans. The fighting ended on 27 July 1953 when the Korean Armistice Agreement was signed.
We Salute Korean War veterans!
* – Lewis, David Levering (1993). W. E. B. Du Bois: Biography of a Race 1868–1919. New York City: Henry Holt and Co. ISBN 9781466841512.
Shawn Patrick Greene 