"'Fire on everything! Fire on everything! Kill 'em all!' I shot too, I shot at the people. I didn't know if they was soldiers or what. Kids, there were kids out there. It didn't matter what it was: eight, eighty, blind, crippled or crazy. They shot them. Joe Jackman (Kill 'em All 21:03-21:29)
This is an excerpt from one of the testimonies
that really stuck out to me. As select lines from this excerpt are repeated
more than once in this short film, there is clearly some significance that can
be placed on them. Above all else, what these lines prove to me is the evident
indiscretion that was exercised in handling these refugees. According to Jackman,
the exact words of his lieutenant were "Fire on everything" and
"Kill them all." With the language choice of everything and all,
one can conclude that this lieutenant was not concerned with weeding out
refugees from potential North Korean soldiers but instead chose the easier
though tactless route of firing on all and everything. And
as for the testimonies of the higher-ups in our readings this week
(who defended their commands by stating that a group of refugees without women and
children meant North Korean soldiers in disguise), they are plainly contradict by Jackman's testament
that there were in fact "kids out there." But just in case there was need for clarification as to who fell into the category of all and everything, Jackman elaborates on all and everything to include individuals that were between eight or eighty or who were "blind, crippled or crazy." North Korea, South Korea, communist, refugee, "It didn't matter what it was."
"You can't forget, no matter how much you try, no matter how much medication you take. It's there, it just eats you alive... We were in hell and we only made it half way back."
Buddy Wenzel (Kill 'em All 45:42-46:02)
I feel incredibly insensitive saying this but this is my favorite excerpt from this documentary. I find this statement so powerful, raw, and honest. It strikes me at my core and brings out the sheer empathy that I feel for not only Wenzel but for all of the other veterans of this war. This, for me, challenges the idea that The Korean War is "The Forgotten War" because there are clearly veterans out there like Wenzel that simply cannot forget. "No matter how much [they] try, no matter how much medication [they] take." Undoubtedly Wenzel is speaking from experience, surely he has tried to forget and has even taken medication to forget but he remains haunted. How many more must be eaten alive by the guilt that they feel and, like Wenzel, have only made it "half way back" from the hell they were in? This is something that I plan to discuss in my final paper.
- Patricia Ledezna
"You can't forget, no matter how much you try, no matter how much medication you take. It's there, it just eats you alive... We were in hell and we only made it half way back."
Buddy Wenzel (Kill 'em All 45:42-46:02)
I feel incredibly insensitive saying this but this is my favorite excerpt from this documentary. I find this statement so powerful, raw, and honest. It strikes me at my core and brings out the sheer empathy that I feel for not only Wenzel but for all of the other veterans of this war. This, for me, challenges the idea that The Korean War is "The Forgotten War" because there are clearly veterans out there like Wenzel that simply cannot forget. "No matter how much [they] try, no matter how much medication [they] take." Undoubtedly Wenzel is speaking from experience, surely he has tried to forget and has even taken medication to forget but he remains haunted. How many more must be eaten alive by the guilt that they feel and, like Wenzel, have only made it "half way back" from the hell they were in? This is something that I plan to discuss in my final paper.
- Patricia Ledezna
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