No Bugles, No Drums: An Oral History of the Korean War

Thirty-one Korean War veterans talk about their experiences between 1950 and 1953 in this wide-ranging collection of reminiscences. They participated, variously, in the initial delaying action against the North Koreans, the defense of the Pusan Perimeter, the Inchon landing, the recapture of Seoul, China's entry into the conflict, the heroic withdrawal of the Marines from the Chosin Reservoir, the United Nations counteroffensive that drove the North Koreans and Chinese back across the 38th parallel (Operation Killer) and the static trench warfare that lasted until the armistice in July of 1953. Tomedi, a veteran of the Vietnam war, tries to cover as much ground as possible. He includes recollections by a fighter pilot, a bomber pilot, a screening officer at a POW camp and a machinist's mate on a destroyer, but these are far less interesting than the memories of those who met the enemy in face-to-face combat. Nevertheless, the oral testimonies here clearly convey what the war in Korea was like and how it differed from WW II and Vietnam. Photos. (Aug.)