On Saturday, the Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum will celebrate the achievements of Dwight D. Eisenhower, the nation’s 34th president, who brought an end to hostilities in July 1953, and recognize the efforts of those who fought in the Korean War and have helped maintained the peace.
The Saturday programs, most of which are free and open to the public, are designed to help explain the challenges faced by the Cold War and why an armistice under Eisenhower’s watch was important to the world’s stability, said Tim Rives, deputy director of the Eisenhower Presidential Library.
Recently declassified information from experts will help provide new insight into the struggles and what led to peace between the North and South. For those who attend 10:30 a.m. to noon seminar in the Eisenhower Visitors Center there will be a limited number of Baptism by Fire: CIA Analysis of the Korean War.
Panels will discuss how the Korean War impacted the lives of those who served. Veterans of the Korean War should be proud of their service. Equally proud should be those served to maintain peace. An Eisenhower presidential coin has been designed to give out Saturday to those who served. The coin on one side has a photo of Ike taken in 1952 with the words “Eisenhower Peacemaker” inscribed on it. The inscription on the reverse side states “Keeping the Peace in Korea Since 1953.”
More than 30,000 Americans are stationed in the region today. Four million Americans have served in Korea over the past 60 years, Rives said.
The war started June 25, 1950. North Korea dominated the start of the war, Rives said. Allied forces and South Korea troops were able to battle back and at one point China became active and the Soviet Union also watched with great attention. Rives said the Korean War was the headline grabber of the Cold War. The war’s headlines were also dominated by the disagreement that President Harry Truman had with Gen. Douglas MacArthur, who eventually was fired by Truman.
Eisenhower in all likelihood made the difference in ending the war so that it would not drag on for many years, Rives said. While campaigning in October 1952, he promised to personally visit Korea before becoming president. During the campaign, Ike called the Korean conflict the most urgent issue America faced.
As president-elect, Eisenhower went over to Korea and flew over the lines, ate with the troops and talked to military leaders. He traveled during bitterly cold temperatures. Ike understood that combat fighting was going to be difficult because of the terrain.
“He thought the stalemate was unacceptable,” Rives said.
Rives said Eisenhower used his credibility on the world stage to press China for an armistice.
“Eisenhower thought everything should be on the table,” Rives said, Ike reasoned that with the proliferation of nuclear weapons he did not want to see World War III and found common ground existed with Russians and China.
The World War II general, understanding the terrain in Korea, knew that sending infantrymen to fight in mountainous regions was going to be unpopular in a protracted war, Rives said.
“There is a lesson today for presidents and future presidents to have the courage to say their policy is not working,” Rives said.
Ike decided the strategy should be to restore the 38th parallel and reinforce the defensive lines.
“The long term political goal was to have a unified Korea,” Rives said, noting it was a belief of Ike’s but realized that the most important goal was to re-establish the 38th parallel as the separation point of the North and South. “He declared victory and declared an end to all hostilities.”
Eisenhower was supportive of Gen. Matthew Ridgway who was able to reach the 38th parallel and hold onto it. The Soviet Union and China were able to accept the boundary, Rives said and Ike had a victory in 1953.
“The commemoration recognizes Eisenhower’s role to ring an end of the war and to recognize those who served then and up until the present time,” Rives said. “The Korean War has an undeserved reputation as the forgotten war. It is nice to recognize Korean veterans of which more than 4 million served.”
North Korea remains the last of the Soviet bloc countries. When the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991, it left North Korea as an island for communism. It is most tied to Iran in the media and political. America still pays attention to North Korea, Rives said, noting that it periodically remains in the news for missile tests.
Rives is spearheading the organization of Saturday’s program -- Korea 60: Eisenhower the Peacemaker Honoring Those Who Served in Korea. The first program is Eisenhower, Intelligence, and Korea from 10:30 a.m to noon in the Visitors Center Auditorium. The presentation will include Clayton Laurie, who wrote Baptism by Fire: CIA Analysis of the Korean War and David Hatch, a National Security Agency historian, DDE and COMINT: Astute Consumer and Agent of Change. The Korean War was the agency’s first role in an international conflict. The opening of classified material as featured in the Baptism By Fire book will contribute significantly to the historic record of the Korean War, making possible new research and great understanding of early Cold War history.
A Korean War and Service Veterans panel discussion will be from 1 to 2:45 pm. in the Visitors Center Auditorium. The panel will feature moderator Paul Edwards, director emeritus, Center for the Study of the Korean War. Panel members will include veterans who have served in Korea at various times from the 1950s to 1960s.
From 3 to 4:30 p.m., Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Robert Arter of the Army will present the Eisenhower peacemaker coins. Arter is a veteran of the wars in Korea and Vietnam and former commander of the U.S.’ Sixth Army. Arter is a civilian aide to the secretary of the Army and a consultant and bank director. In 2009, he received the Distinguished Civilian Service Award, the highest award a civilian can receive from the Army.
The Eisenhower peacemaker coin is available to all Korean War veterans and those who have served to keep the peace in Korea since the signing of the armistice on July 27, 1953. Coin recipients or their representatives must be present at the ceremony.
Forms are available on the www.eisenhower.archives.gov website or at the Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum. They need to be returned to Linda K. Smith, Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, 200 S.E. Fourth St., P.O. Box 339, Abilene, KS 67410. by this Wednesday.
A dinner is planned for 6 p.m. in the library courtyard with the keynote speaker Maj. Gen. John Singlaub, an expert on intelligence, particularly from World War II to the 1980s, Rives said. A veteran of World War II, Korea and Vietnam, he served one year as chief of staff, United Nations Command, U.S. Forces Korea from July 1976-June 1977. Highly decorated for his service, Singlaub’s autobiography, Hazardous Duty, was published in 1991.
Ray Marco, a veteran of the stage, television and big screen, will provide the entertainment. It was Marco who recorded the song “Abilene” used in Eisenhower’s re-election campaign in 1956. Marco is expected to give about a 15 to 20 minute show.
There is a cost to the evening program, which had a ticket deadline of this past Friday.
Rives said Korea has special meaning for him. His father served during the Korean War. He was in South Korea in 1989-90 and his son has been stationed there.
“When I was there South Korean men had a 30-month commitment to serve in the military,” Rives said. “They (the South Koreans) liked us being there. Over the years, there is always a lot of debate about whether we should be there.”
The decision to have troops stationed there has helped provided stability, he said, and met a directive by Eisenhower in the armistice agreement that America would be able to provide troops as part of a peace-keeping mission. Other countries also provide troops, Rives said. During the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s there was about 60,000 troops there.
With the American presence, the South Koreans have been able to develop a free-market economy communist rule in North Korea.
Eisenhower’s role in ending the hostilities has provided a base for lasting peace in the region, which remains in effect, Rives said.