The Korean War: The Untold Truth

Chapter 126 Sources and Acknowledgments

The manuscript of the first draft of this book exceeds 2 pages. Even if the length is cut by about half, it is still a daunting masterpiece.In order to avoid the continued increase in volume, I tried to keep the comments to a minimum.Where the sources in the text are obvious, or come from the reports of today's news circles on events that are basically public, I will not repeat them in the notes.This includes the public statements of both Presidents Truman and Eisenhower, which can be found in the Public Papers series published by the Government Publishing Office, as well as comments from members of Congress included in the Congressional Papers.

Archival collections that have proved invaluable are: Harry S. Truman Library, Independence, Missouri; Dwight D. Eisenhower Library, Abilene, Kansas; Army War College, Kalisle, Pennsylvania; Maryland Nimitz Library, United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, State; History and Museums Division, United States Marine Corps Headquarters, Washington Naval Shipyard, Washington, DC; Modern Military Documents Division, National Archives and Archives, Washington, DC.Numerous cables cited in this book are available at the National Archives, many of which have been declassified over the past few years by myself and other researchers using the Freedom of Information Act.

The official histories of the various services are also of great and continuing value, since in many cases they use internal documents and sources beyond the reach of the most diligent civilian researcher.Until mid-1981, the U.S. Army published books: Roy Appleman's "South to the Naktong, North to the Yalu" (South to the Naktong, North to the Yalu), James Schnabel's "Policy and Direction: Policy and Direction: The First Year, Walter Helms's Truce Tent and Fighting Front, Robert Sawyer's Military Advisors in North Korea Korea).The Marine Corps series consists of five volumes by: Lynn Montrose, Nicholas Canonza, Pat Meade, James Inling, Hubart Coca, Norman Hicks.I use less information about the Navy and Air Force.

Unfortunately, the declassification process in military and foreign affairs involves unexpected difficulties that are inevitable in any bureaucratic operation.For example, an application under the Freedom of Information Act to declassify a cable or a memo of a conversation involves declassification of other documents.Or, even more absurdly, it is discovered that a document that remains classified in one collection has been made public in another archive.Fortunately, the information on the Korean War is lenient.The History Division of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is producing a lengthy history of the Joint Chiefs of Staff's influence on national policy.The third volume, The Korea War (dated April 1978, 4), edited by James Schnabel and Robert Watson, was declassified in 2.At over 1979 pages in typescript, the document is a substantial collection of documents to be found and perused.Both authors are trained military historians, and their narrative techniques add much to the understanding of the original documents.What's more, the authors had access to diplomatic cables that the State Department was in the process of declassifying for inclusion in the State Department's long-overdue Foreign Relations of the United States, Korea 1 volume. ) in the literature.Its 200 volume had been published in 1951; the 1951 volume was originally scheduled to be published in 1950, but by mid-1976 no one at the State Department seemed to know exactly when it would be published.Schnabel and Watson are thus invaluable, allowing you to read parts of documents that are still classified or top secret by a brother government.

For the sake of clarity, I have translated the military telegram into plain English, added proper articles and punctuation marks, and spelled out the full text of the abbreviated terms in the original message.The commanders of the United States in the Far East (first MacArthur, then Ridgway and Clark) have two titles: Commander-in-Chief of U.S. Forces in the Far East and Commander-in-Chief of the United Nations Forces.They almost always use the two titles interchangeably in their cables to the Joint Chiefs of Staff.Two other frequent ones are: Oral History; Far East Command's Daily Intelligence Roundup. "Princeton Seminars" refers to a series of conversations Dean Acheson had with his former State Department colleagues while writing his memoirs. "Post-Presidential Interviews" refers to the transcripts of President Truman's conversations with David Noyce and William Hillman, who wrote Truman's two-volume memoir.The most frequently mentioned volume in this book is the second volume, "Years of Trial and Hope" (Garden City: Doubleday Press, 2).

Many people have assisted me in writing this book by conducting interviews or providing information.I would like to especially thank: Lynn Eaton, University of Michigan; Elizabeth Sporkin; Tom Kelly; Dr. Ray Klein; Brigadier General Eugene "Mike" Lynch; Brigadier Francis Farrell; Oliver Smith General (he was too ill to be interviewed, but allowed me to photocopy more than 800 pages of his war diary and other documents); Lieutenant General Alpha Bowser; Hans Toft; Robert Edson; Eileen King ; Christian Heddle; Lucille Cohen; Thomas Michelin; Kayon King; Harold and Doris Swenson; Colonel George Chase; Elizabeth Saffrey; Dennis Birger ; Irving Mueller; Pauline Testerman and Dr. Benedict Zobrist at the Harry Truman Library; John Wickman at the Dwight Eisenhower Library; Nimitz Books, U.S. Naval Academy Alice Clayton, Museum; Brigadier General Edwin Simmons, Sgt. William J. Jager, Ben Frank, History and Museums Division, U.S. Marine Corps Headquarters; Richard Sommer, U.S. Army Institute of Military History Dr. Sands, Colonel Donald Shaw, Phyllis Kassler; Carlisle Baraks; Paul Nietzsche, Charles Burton Marshall, Day Anna Gostin; Paul Dixon, William Hickman, Robert Heinl, Jr., Edward Rees, Military Documents Division, National Archives and Archives, Modern Military Division; Karl Massey; Pat Ho Walter; Frances Wilcox; Schnapper; Tom Heyman; Edward Chase, Gene Purhoryles, Pam Lines of The New York Times Books , Hugh Howard, Pearl Haniger; Carl Blunt; and Dr. Robert Ryan, Arlington, Virginia, for his ample medical guidance and textual and other assistance.

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