Past and Present Memories

Bernd Huppauf in the very beginning of Experiences of Modern Warfare brings in the idea that "the sheer mass of historical images transmitted by today's media weakens the link between public memory and personal experience" really stays in my mind. Because I believe it's very true because we are swamped with many different images that in the end  do not show the true context, which allows for us to move farther and father away these images. We have lost out on the meaning of these images, thus, can't connect personally. This then makes me think about how the U.S. is in the group of forgetting about the Korean War because we may see the images, but we won't connect to what it means. If the U.S. had been more affected by the Korean War, maybe we would make more of an effort to remember, like the people in Korea who were greatly affected. Especially considering that their country is still divided. The images and memories of the Korean War have become "isolated from time and space" because we want to leave it in our forgotten memory (41). 

 However, how can this have happened considering that the U.S. still has military personnel in South Korea? Someone I know is in South Korea right now, she's part of the air force. She is on a "secret mission" in Korea that she's not allowed to discuss, but somehow it relates to the "official mission" of keeping the peace between North and South Korea. But what does that even means? In what ways do they keep the peace, considering that families have been divided and aren't able to see each other? Even she says that she doesn't like the mission, but she enjoys the people and culture of Korea. but it still makes me wonder what gives the U.S. the right to "achieve peace" when they seem to actually be hindering the process? 

~Melissa