Voices from the Korean War: Personal Accounts of Those Who Served

by Douglas Rice

Voices from the Korean War presents a collection of first-person accounts of those who served in the Korean War. The Korean War is often dubbed the "Forgotten War," although more than 36,000 soldiers died in this three-year conflict. In Voices from the Korean War, author Douglas Rice makes certain the men who served are not forgotten as he shares first-person accounts from seventy-nine soldiers who fought in the war from June of 1950 through July of 1953. Voices from the Korean War follows the soldiers as they trek and fly over the mountainous terrain of the Korean peninsula. Through these eyewitness accounts, hear a soldier describe what happened to a small group of North Korean villagers who refused to divulge their location. Listen in as a wounded soldier tells a flight nurse the story of how he was rescued by American soldiers as he lay wounded in a North Korean home. Learn how some prisoners of war walked their imaginary dogs to irritate their captors. This compilation of different soldiers' perspectives conveys what it must have been like to be directly involved in the conflict. It serves as a reminder of the challenges and the sacrifices the soldiers made in the name of war.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Ebooks, Military Fiction, War

572 pages, Paperback

First published January 10, 2011

Reviews

[Kindra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book the only why I didn't give it five stars was because it was a bit dry in some places .

[Ian · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book does not contain any details on the origins and course of the war - for that you will need to refer to other texts. Note also that this book only covers accounts from those serving in the US forces, and does not include any North Korean, South Korean or UN participants.

There are accounts from Army, Air Force, Marine and Navy services, which gives a variety of viewpoints that really help understand the war from the perspective of those who served in Korea. There are accounts from Marines and Army troops in the foxholes; doctors and nurses in MASH hospitals and hospital ships; an MP guarding prisoners; POWs; Navy gunners on battleships proving fire support for ground troops; a Navy pilot proving Close Air Support; a fighter pilot; and tank troops to name a few. There are very few accounts from the higher level ranks.

Some very moving stories of incredible hardship and bravery; almost every story begins with a young man being drafted at seventeen or eighteen and ends with a serious wound and eventual discharge from the service.

This book gave me a good feeling of what it must have been like to serve in Korea, and the pride and comradeship that the soldiers felt. It also put in context the current geopolitical difficulties with China and North Korea.

[Neil · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a long book and took me almost a year to complete. The reason is because there is very little variation between different peoples story. I know this is written by the people about their experiences and it is very well documented butt... After 10 stories I had enough but I needed to finish this to see if I could get anything out of this book. Alas no. More repeats and while the stories are true and very believable it is a tough ask to get through them all. Still glad I did it.

[Violet · Rating 5 out of 5]

The 'forgotten war' indeed. I loved that so many different stories and perspectives were covered - reluctant soldiers, excited teenagers running off to join the Army, career military people.. It was a great balance. Some of the stories were sad and, surprisingly, some parts even made me laugh.