Eyewitness Korea (Hardback)
The Experience of British and American Soldiers in the Korean War 1950-1953
Imprint: Pen & Sword Military
Pages: 259
Illustrations: 20
ISBN: 9781473870901
Published: 5th November 2018
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Today the Korean War of 1950-1953 is overshadowed by later twentieth-century conflicts in Vietnam and the Middle East, yet at the time it was the focus of international attention. It threatened to lead to a third world war, and although fought on a limited scale, it still involved over a million men under UN command and even more on the Communist side. It left the American and British troops who took part with a range of intense recollections that often marked them for the rest of their lives, and it is these experiences that James Goulty draws on in this eyewitness history of the conflict. He uses official documents, letters, diaries, regimental histories, memoirs, oral histories and correspondence to show what the war was like for those who took part. Their accounts vividly contrast the American and British experience as seen through the eyes of individual servicemen, and they throw fresh light on the relations between the UN forces on their different attitudes, tactics, training and equipment, and on the tensions that developed between them.
Histories and eyewitness accounts of the Korean War are remarkably rare, making this book an important addition to the available knowledge. Excellent research and presentation of the memoirs of those who were there – Very Highly Recommended
Firetrench
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Article: 'Military book explores human element of war' words by Georgia Langdon
Hexham Courant
The Armourer
Author interview as featured by
Radio Northumberland, with presenter Keith Newman 3rd March 2021
Review by John Norris
Gun Mart, April 2021
This is a thought-provoking and educational work very much worth reading.
One star for the index, another for the footnotes, a third for the bibliography, a fourth and fifth for the well-written narrative pulling everything together.
Paul Nixon
The Korean War is a largely forgotten conflict, and with the veterans now fast dwindling, it never harms to remind people what happened there more than seventy years ago. Well done to James Goulty for pulling together another important historical essay on the British and American effort.
5 stars
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Click here to read author article (page 19)
Irregular magazine, issue 14 Volume 2/Winter 2020
An insightful book that captures the horror of the fighting, the bonds formed by the troops and the secrets of their morale and motivation.
Military Heritage
I recommend this title, a really good book with authoritative and informative text.
Scale Modelling Now
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As featured by Wargames Illustrated
Wargames Illustrated, May 2019
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This is an admirable primer for those with very little knowledge of the Korean War. Who knew that the coalition of forces within Korea in addition to the South Koreans, American and British forces there were Australia, Belgium, Canada, Columbia, Ethiopia, France, Greece, India, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway the Philippines, Sweden, Thailand, Turkey and South Africa. A problem for the commanders on the ground is immediately obvious. Training, experience, language and coordination!
Robert Bartlett
The author sets out to tell the story of the first-hand experiences of American and British ground troops as part of the United Nations Command, which he achieves coherently and perceptively. The book would have benefitted from a map or maps of Korea to help follow the text, as would a glossary of military initials and terms. Though there are explanations in the text they can soon be forgotten amongst the detail. That is the only criticism of this excellent and comprehensively researched work and is probably not the responsibility of the author.
The text of this book is first-class; it is packed with information about the Korean War as seen through the eyes of those who took part and is suitable for an audience of all tastes.
Army Rumour Service (ARRSE)
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Author interview with Hexhamtv, 8th March 2019
It makes for interesting reading, and highlights the wide differences between the two sides. The treatment of POWs was poor, only improving as armistice talks made progress. Terms such as 'Bug Out' were in use and which may be familiar to many of us thanks to the long running TV series of M.A.S.H. (one of my favourites). This is a good record of the experiences of those who had to endure many hardships and hopefully will help in making it not such a 'Forgotten War'.
Military Model Scene, Robin Buckland
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As one NCO put it 'you will never be the person you were before you went to war'. Goulty's work draws from a rich resource of memoirs and interviews, and these help to make the book a compelling read. Each chapter contains useful subheadings - a godsend for academics - and there is an extensive bibliography that will be of use to anyone wishing to study the Korean war further.
Amazon Customer
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As featured 'On The Shelf'
Wargames Illustrated, November 2018
About James Goulty
James Goulty holds a masters degree and doctorate in military history from the University of Leeds, and he has a special interest in the training and combat experience of ordinary soldiers during the world wars and Korean War. His previous publications include Second World War Lives: A Guide for Family Historians, The Second World War through Soldiers’ Eyes: British Army Life 1939-45, Eyewitness Korea: The Experience of British and American Soldiers in the Korean War 1950-1953 and Eyewitness RAF: The Experience of War 1939-1945.