Arrival at Incheon

Here's an excerpt of a timeline from an American soldier who went from Okinawa to Korea in 1945. It might help us think about origins and other topics in our discussion of the Korean War.

"8 Sep 45 Arrived at Inchon, Korea. We were the very first troops to occupy Korea. There was still a Japanese Army presence so there were some delicate moments as we proceeded inland in a truck convoy to the capital, Seoul. As it turned out the American forces would occupy positions south of the 38th parallel and Russia would be north of the parallel thereby setting up the division of North and South Korea that still exists today. The civilian population was ecstatic that Japanese tyranny had come to an end and were wildly cheering all along the route to Seoul. I felt like I was in a Broadway ticker tape parade. Rejoined the rest of the 529th in a school building that would be our living quarters for a couple months. The 529th was assigned to operate Headquarters communications for the 24th Corp. on the top floor of the Hanto Hotel. Even though the Hanto was the best Hotel in town, it was crude by American standards. No one complained because the Hanto had real flush toilets -­a luxury we were not to see anywhere else in Korea. As soon as our installation was completed, there was little to do and we spent much time sightseeing in this strange Oriental culture."

-Ralph Lysyk, Chapter 1 "Sure, I was There"

Link- http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/vhp/bib/11072.

 This narrative interests me because my grandfather was in the 529th with Lysyk and it sounds a tad familiar.  He only describes Korean's celebrating the entrance of American troops. The third sentence of this paragraph represents a peculiarly forgetful remembrance; "As it turned out the American forces would occupy positions south of the 38th parallel" (Lysyk 3). The phrase 'as it turned out' lacks description. Mainly, who drew that line? The Potsdam Conference in August 2, 1945 is the answer of this online encyclopedia:  http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/592578/38th-parallel. In contrast, a book by David Rees called The History and Tactics of the Korean War credits Colonel Charles H. Bonesteel, the Chief of the Policy Section of the Strategy and Policy Group of the US Army Operations Division. An obscure and confusingly long title indeed. He used "the only map available... a small scale wall map" in his office on August 11th and thus "decided to use the 38th parallel as north-south demarcation" (Rees 8). Surely there are many versions has anyone heard other stories on the origin of the divide between north and south Korea?

Lysyk's blind eye regarding the origin of the 38th parallel exposes his unwillingness to pry into the intentions of the US Military. The title of the memoir, "Sure, I was There" carries this same nonchalant attitude about making meaning regarding the ramifications of American militarism. Its like if someone asks if you killed their brother and you say "Sure, I killed him", its so passive it asks "are you trying to make something of it?". In his narrative, with the Korean people "wildly cheering", they want him there more than he cares to be. But while he's there and bored he might as well have a look around.

The last sentence of this excerpt offers room to think about aspects of war apart from bloody battles. Is perhaps "sightseeing in this strange Oriental culture" an early transgression of war?