Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, January 31, 1993 TAG: 9301310227
SECTION: HORIZON PAGE: F-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Reviewed by ROBERT I. ALOTTA
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
2 WAR BOOKS RE-EXAMINE KOREAN STRATEGY, UNIFORMS
REFIGHTING THE LAST WAR: Command and Crisis in Korea, 1950-1953. By D. Clayton James and Anne Sharp Welles. The Free Press. $24.95.\ U.S. ARMY UNIFORMS OF THE KOREAN WAR. By Shelby Stanton. Stackpole Books. $29.95.
D. Clayton James, the world-recognized authority on Douglas MacArthur, has taken on MacArthur's last hurrah, the Korean War, and dissected it into a brilliant interpretation of the conflict.
Korea was the first limited war in which the United States participated, yet the military forces used the same thinking that was used to fight - and win - World War II. Unfortunately, as James points out, there is a military mindset that requires that the lessons of the last engagement be employed in the newest - even if they don't apply.
In meticulous fashion, James looks at the key American figures in the conflict: from Truman to MacArthur and Gens. Matthew Ridgeway and Mark Clark to Adm. C. Turner Joy. He analyzes their personalities and prejudices, and how those contributed in some manner to the waging of the war. He looks at Truman's unilateral decision - without congressional approval - to commit American forces for combat in Korea; MacArthur's dangerous plan to assault Inchon - in similar manner to his "island-hopping" of the Pacific War; and the final decision to meet the North Koreans at the bargaining table.
James also presents scenarios that might have occurred if the principal players had taken different actions. He brings up, perhaps for the first time, the fact that the British had a great role in the development of American strategy - far in excess of their own representation in the military forces there.
"Refighting the Last War" is an excellent work, but who could expect less from James, the John Biggs Chair of Military History at Virginia Military Institute.
Shelby Stanton continues the excellent work on the Korean War with his "U.S. Army Uniforms of the Korean War." This book is the third in Stanton's series on U.S. Army uniforms. Previous volumes covered World War II and Vietnam.
Stanton's approach provides us with a unique approach to the study of war. He notes that the uniforms used by the troops in the early days were left over from World War II and were inadequate for the frigid winter temperatures and sultry summer heat and humidity of Korea.
As a result, the fighting men suffered greatly from frostbite and dehydration. Distribution systems were poor at the beginning of the war, and proper clothing was in short supply for front-line troops. The government attempted at the start of the war to improve the situation, but the development of clothing and equipment did not reach the men at the front until the war was almost over.
A great deal can be learned from Stanton's work. It is surprising that so few historians have looked into this area of study.
Robert I. Alotta is a Harrisonburg writer.