Friday, June 25th, marked the sixtieth anniversary of the start of the Korean War. Coming just five years after the end of World War II, the fighting would last three years and cost the lives of 34,000 Americans, 17,000 soldiers from other UN nations, and several million Koreans and Chinese — both military and civilian.

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You would think with such serious statistics and the pain, suffering, sacrifice and drama they imply, that Hollywood would have been drawn to the Korean War as a setting for a bevy of war movies. But sadly there are only a few films that tackle the subject. Still, some notables do stand out.  So if you are looking for a way to honor the veterans of what has been called “the forgotten war” (apparently by Hollywood, as well), I hope you’ll look back at the previous chapters of this series in which I humbly presented my five favorite Korean War films, starting with the most recent one produced.

My thoughts on the war and its meaning (especially since my dad fought there) can be found at Big Government. Here at BH my interest was in Hollywood’s treatment of the subject matter as expressed through the motion picture medium.  (more…)

M*A*S*H  (1970): Robert Altman’s irreverent film adaptation of Richard Hooker’s novel is a spoof on the futility of war that was set in Korea but coming as it did while our troops were fully engaged in Southeast Asia, its anti-establishment subtext is really about  the confusion and cultural clashes during the Vietnam War.  

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Set in the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital somewhere near the stagnant Korean War front lines, the plot ambles along following several zany yet competent doctors “Hawkeye” Pierce (Donald Sutherland), “Trapper” John McIntyre (Elliott Gould) and “Duke” Forest (Tom Skerritt) as they try to adapt their markedly undisciplined lifestyles to the rigid protocols of the US military—saving lives along the way.

Featuring notable performances by Robert Duvall as the bumbling and overly-sanctimonious Frank Burns and Sally Kellerman as a career military nurse “Hot Lips” O’Houlihan who cannot get out of the way of her own sexuality, this dark comedy is as good as it gets in the genre of biting satire. (more…)

06 June 2009
Filed From Chaghcharan, Afghanistan

Overview

Until recently, Afghanistan was called “The Forgotten War.” The dramatic domestic, regional, and international politics of the Iraq war largely eclipsed the fact that our people were fighting just as hard in Afghanistan. Although we’re paying attention to AfPak now, off the radar screen an important and related fight has been unfolding in the Philippines.

At the invitation of the Philippine government, the U.S. maintains about 600 troops, including Army Green Berets, Civil Affairs, and Military Information Support teams, Navy SEALS and Seabees, along with Air Force personnel and Marines.  Our military forces are deployed in six locations: Zamboanga, Mindanao, Jolo, Basilan, Tawi Tawi, and a small number of liaison staff on Luzon. Their mission is to help the Armed Forces of the Philippines eliminate terrorist groups like Jemaah Islamiyah and the Abu Sayyaf Group and to prevent them from establishing safe havens from which to train other terrorists, both internal and external. (more…)