Don't Know Much About History, Anniversary Edition: Everything You Need to Know About American History but Never Learned (Don't Know Much About®) (66 page)
Authors: Kenneth C. Davis
The media also turned on him. CBS’s legendary reporter Edward R. Murrow (1908–65), the man who had brought the Blitz of London live to America on radio during the war, took aim at McCarthy on his TV program
See It Now
, a predecessor to
60 Minutes.
By simply showing clips of McCarthy without editorializing, Murrow allowed the senator’s bluster to undermine him, exposing McCarthy for the charlatan he was.
During the thirty-six days of the Army-McCarthy hearings, McCarthy finally came undone, his cudgel-like attacks, remorseless crudeness, and unfounded accusations being revealed in an unpleasant light. The daily televised hearings dissolved as Joseph Welch, the respected lawyer representing the Army, turned the tables on McCarthy and routed him in public. The hearings ended inconclusively, but the rest of the Senate smelled blood. By the end of 1954, McCarthy was condemned by his peers, and his public support eroded. His hold on the Senate and the public gone, McCarthy spiraled downward in a pathetic drunken tailspin. He died in May 1957 of health problems brought on by his alcoholism.
Must Read:
The Great Fear: The Anti-Communist Purge Under Truman and Eisenhower
by David Caute.
A
MERICAN
V
OICES
JOSEPH N. WELCH
(1890–1960), special counsel for the Army at the 1954 Army-McCarthy hearings, in response to an attack by McCarthy on a young associate in Welch’s law firm:
Until this moment, Senator, I think I never really gauged your cruelty or your recklessness. . . . Have you no decency, sir, at long last? Have you left no sense of decency?
As if Hiss and the Rosenbergs, Mao’s millions and McCarthyism, and the Soviet bomb weren’t enough to strike fear into 1950s America, 90,000 North Koreans did the trick. In June 1950, after a large-scale artillery barrage, the sound of bugles signaled the massed charge of North Koreans who came down out of the mountains to roll over an American-sponsored government in South Korea. Armed and trained by the Soviets, this was the most efficient fighting force in Asia after the Soviet Red Army.
This was the onset of the Korean War, a “hot war” in the midst of the Cold War maneuvering, and one that cost more than 2 million Korean lives as well as 100,000 American casualties. As political strife in South Korea continues even today to move through successive phases of protests and militaristic repression, it is still not really over.
Most contemporary American perceptions of the Korean War come from the TV series
M*A*S*H
. The Korean conflict remains something of an ambiguity, unlike the “people’s war” that preceded it or the unpopular war that followed it. For Americans at home in the 1950s, Korea wasn’t the “good war.” Korea was a far-off mystery, and fighting for containment lacked the moral urgency that had been behind the crusade against the Nazi scourge and the “murderers” of Pearl Harbor and Bataan. But American boys were being soundly whipped by the Korean invaders. President Truman and General MacArthur said we should fight, and in 1950, that was good enough for most Americans.
Americans still relied on radio and newsreels for their news, rather than the television that would bring Vietnam into the living room with such astonishing immediacy. But there are some clear parallels between Korea and America’s tragedy in Vietnam. (Moreover, the first American involvement in Vietnam actually came during the Korean War, in the form of aid to the French anti-Communist effort in Indochina.) In both wars, an American-supported right-wing government was under attack by Communist insurgents supported by the Soviet Union and China. Both wars were fought to “contain” Asian Communism in nations split by postwar agreements with the Soviets. The Asian Communists were assumed in 1950 to be part of a worldwide Communist conspiracy that reached right into the heart of America’s government—as Senator McCarthy was “proving.”
While the rebels in both places were fighting a civil war for reunification under their control, the stakes were high in Washington and Moscow, which poured in the military support to keep the wars going. While the United States provided the bulk of the troops and funds in Korea and Vietnam, both wars were ostensibly fought by an alliance of nations. But although the United States actually fought in Korea under a United Nations flag, it held no such pretensions in Vietnam. There is one other significant difference. In Vietnam, the United States fought against a mainly Vietnamese force of both guerrillas and North Vietnamese regulars. In Korea, the fighting started out against the North Koreans, but it quickly escalated into a much deadlier and more dangerous war against the massive armies of Red China.
At home, both wars produced “hawks” who supported total commitment to the effort. In the Korean period, they were led by General MacArthur and the powerful “China lobby” of senators and media moguls like Henry Luce who wanted all-out war against Communism—including an assault on Mao’s China. Although Korea never produced the broad social divisions that came later with Vietnam, the American people had little heart for the fighting in Korea.
As with Vietnam, the war in Korea helped end the presidency of a Democratic President—Harry S Truman, in this case—and opened the way for a Republican—Dwight D. Eisenhower. (The Twenty-second Amendment, ratified in 1947, limits a president to two terms or to a single elected term for a president who has served more than two years of his predecessor’s term, as Truman had. Truman was exempt from these provisions, however, and could have run again in 1952, but chose not to.)
1950
June 25
Trained and equipped by the Soviet Union, 90,000 North Korean troops pour over the 38th parallel border and invade the Republic of Korea. The following day, President Truman authorizes the U.S. Navy and Air Force to assist South Korean armies in defending against the invasion. Within three days, North Korean troops, encountering token resistance from what is essentially a South Korean military police force, capture the capital, Seoul, located only forty miles south of the border.
June 27
The United Nations Security Council first adopts a cease-fire resolution. The Soviet Union’s envoy to the UN is not present, as he is boycotting the Security Council because it recognizes Nationalist China instead of Communist China. The resolution passes the Security Council, nine to zero. In a few weeks, a second resolution will commit a UN force to support the South Korean government.
June 30
General Douglas MacArthur visits the collapsing South Korean front lines and calls for U.S. troops. President Truman commits U.S. ground troops to South Korea, announces a naval blockade of the Korean coast, and extends the draft for another year. He also increases aid to the French fight against Communist rebels in Indochina.
July 8
A third UN resolution acknowledges American leadership of UN forces, and General Douglas MacArthur is placed in command of UN troops in South Korea. Although U.S. and South Korean troops will form the bulk of the UN forces, soldiers from sixteen nations, including Australia, Great Britain, and the Philippines, also see action. Initially, U.S. troops prove woefully unprepared for combat. Pulled from soft occupation duty in Japan, they lack training and are out of shape and ill armed. American military strength is at its lowest state of readiness since Pearl Harbor. In the first weeks of fighting, U.S. forces are pushed back to a defensive perimeter at Pusan. American air power, which controls the skies over Korea and harasses North Korean supply routes, is the only reason North Korea fails to overwhelm the South.
July 20
Three all-black units of the 25th Infantry Division recapture the town of Yechon with light casualties. It is the first sizable American ground victory in the Korean War. Poorly trained and equipped, the segregated 25th proved its ability to fight in the face of the continued widespread view within the military that “Negroes won’t fight.”
August 6
The North Korean offensive is finally stopped by the line around Pusan.
September 15
In what is usually considered the single most brilliant stroke in his long military career, General MacArthur leads an amphibious assault on the port city of Inchon, deep behind North Korean lines. The invasion force encounters light resistance and moves quickly toward Seoul. With dangerously overextended supply lines, the North Koreans are trapped between MacArthur’s landing force and the defenders at Pusan. They begin an immediate retreat back across the border. Two weeks after the landing at Inchon, Seoul is recaptured by UN troops, who meet unexpectedly stiff resistance from remaining North Korean troops in the capital.
September 29
The UN forces reach the 38th parallel, marking the boundary separating North and South. Presumably, the aims of the war have been accomplished with the North driven back across its border. But Korean president Syngman Rhee announces his intention to continue the war by uniting Korea under his rule and punishing the North for its aggression. This plan is fully supported by MacArthur, a staunch anti-Communist, and the American military command in Washington, but any action against China is expressly ruled out.
October 7
Shifting from the containment policy to a goal of overthrowing a Communist government, MacArthur’s UN forces invade North Korea. The move is denounced by the Communist government of China, which says it will not stand idly by. The Chinese threat is ignored as a bluff. The United States has no relations with China, and only recognizes the Nationalist government of Chiang Kai-shek on Taiwan (Formosa). Nearly one million Chinese troops had been massed in Manchuria.
October 15
President Truman and General MacArthur meet on Wake Island. Truman wants to rein in the headstrong soldier who has spent his career countering presidential orders. Truman leaves Wake thinking that MacArthur is resolved to abide by his general orders.
October 20
UN troops capture the North Korean capital of Pyongyang and continue to advance north toward the Yalu River, the border with Manchuria.
November 1
Massing under the cover of smoke from huge forest fires, Chinese troops attack South Korean troops in the North, destroying one army.
November 2
General MacArthur announces that the Chinese constitute a serious threat. Under attack by the Chinese, the U.S. Eighth Army retreats south.
November 4
A massive Chinese counteroffensive begins. MacArthur reports that the Chinese are in Korea in such numbers that they threaten his command, and demands reinforcements.
November 6
Abandoning their concealment tactics, a million Chinese move into Korea. U.S. pilots watch a steady stream of Chinese troops cross the Yalu River separating Korea from Manchuria. MacArthur announces a plan to bomb the Yalu bridges, but it is overruled by Washington. MacArthur begins a political offensive in favor of all-out war against the Chinese that will not only reunite Korea but topple the Communist government in China, allowing Chiang Kai-shek to retake the mainland. In his worst strategic maneuver, MacArthur has split his armies, and the Chinese easily drive through the center of the UN forces.
December 5
In the face of enormous Chinese manpower willing to accept huge casualties, UN troops abandon Pyongyang and are eventually pushed out of the North. The Chinese continue their offensive, promising to drive the Americans into the sea. MacArthur reports to Truman, “We face an entirely new war.”
December 8
President Truman announces an embargo on U.S. goods shipped to China.
December 16
President Truman declares a national emergency and calls for an army buildup to 3.5 million men. Three days later, Dwight Eisenhower, who is serving as president of Columbia University, is named supreme commander of Western European defense forces.
December 29
General MacArthur announces that the United States should attack China, and advocates atomic attacks on China and the use of half a million Nationalist Chinese troops to overthrow the Communist government in China.
1951
January 4
Chinese troops capture Seoul. MacArthur complains about being hampered by Truman’s decision not to bomb Chinese supply dumps in China. UN troops eventually regroup and halt the Chinese offensive.
March 14
UN forces recapture Seoul and eventually push Chinese troops back across the border.
April 5
In the United States, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg are sentenced to death after being convicted of passing atomic secrets to the Soviet Union. The execution will be carried out in June 1953.
April 11
President Truman removes General MacArthur as commander in Korea after MacArthur openly defies Truman’s plan to negotiate a Korean peace. In March, General Matthew B. Ridgway takes command of forces in Korea. Returning to the United States as a national hero and greeted by huge crowds (some reports put New York crowds welcoming MacArthur in a ticker-tape parade at 7 million), MacArthur later addresses a joint session of Congress with a speech urging an expanded war against China. There is a huge popular outcry against Truman, and thousands of letters calling for his impeachment descend on the White House and Congress.
