THE KOREAN WAR (FORGOTTEN WAR)

Japan colonized the Korean peninsula in 1910, but after the end of World War II in 1945, the peninsula was split in half with the Soviet Union in control of the northern half and the United States in control of the southern half. The new South Korean president, Syngman Rhee, was intent upon reuniting the entire peninsula by force if necessary. This idea was distasteful to the Americans so Rhee’s army was not allowed to have the weaponry that would have made it possible for them to fulfill this promise.

Fighting along the border continued until June 25, 1950 when North Korea invaded South Korea. The United Nations declared North Korea as an aggressor and troops were mobilized and sent to fight on the South’s side. The allies managed to push the North Koreans all the way to the border with China; this provoked a response from China which pushed the allies all the way past Seoul, South Korea. In turn, the allies regained ground and fighting remained in the vicinity of the 38th parallel. The allies gained the upper hand with superior air power and a naval blockade of the North; this lead to a stalemate.

From 1951 to 1953, both sides agreed to retreat behind border lines and to cease fire. This is how it has been until March 26 of this year when North Korea torpedoed a South Korean ship which killed 46. This is not the only act of aggression from the North against the South; in 1987, for example, the North shot an airplane down which killed 115 people. There are several examples of this type of aggression over the years and the South Koreans have had enough. The sinking of the warship, Cheonan, may be a violation of the truce; it will be decided by the U.N. Armistice Commission. In the meantime discussions will continue between the United States and China over this matter. It remains to be seen how this will end.

THE MEXICAN-AMERICAN WAR

Texas territory used to be Mexico in the 1820s and 1830s. It was a relatively unpopulated area which Mexico wanted help settling. In came American settlers who were more than willing to take Mexico up on their offer. All they would have to do is pledge their allegiance to Mexico and convert to Catholicism. This was not too high a price to pay so many Americans moved to Texas. Difficulties began when the settlers became increasingly dissatisfied with Mexican rule. Because people in America had begun to believe that it was their manifest destiny to settle the land from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean, the Texans had the support of the American government against the Mexican government.

This became important in 1835 when the unhappy Texans took up arms against the Mexican government which signed a treaty to end the hostilities in 1836. This did not work because some Mexicans were unhappy with the treaty and kept the fighting going with battles along the border against the newly independent Texans. The Texans decided that becoming a state in the American union would be a good idea and since the United States were eager to support this idea, Congress officially approved the annexation of Texas into the union on July 4, 1845. This did not please Mexico which believed that its territory contained land farther north than the Texans believed was the border so border fighting continued. After the annexation the Mexican-American war began in 1846.

It was a tough war with the Mexican army fighting their hardest to stave off the American soldiers, but the Americans were too hard a foe to defeat. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo on February 2, 1848 was signed ending the two-year conflict. The United States received exactly what it wanted in this deal, land from Ocean to Ocean. In exchange for $15 million the United States took possession of the territory that is now California, Utah, New Mexico, Nevada and Arizona. This land was won in the Mexican-American War and Mexico was compensated for the loss of this land, so if you hear that California and other states really still belong to Mexico, you might want to point the person who says this to a history book.

The War of 1812

A war that is not discussed very often that the new country of the United States was involved in is called the War of 1812. The new Americans had many irritations to deal with which preceded the beginning of this war and some of them started in Europe between France and Britain. France and Britain were making it difficult for each other to trade their goods in Europe. France, which had supremacy over the continent of Europe prevented British goods from being sold there. In their turn, Britain, which was dominant over the seas, sought to blockade Europe.

To get around the French, the British declared that neutral ships should go through Britain before going to Europe to sell their goods. The French, who were unhappy with this act, denounced all neutral ships which went along with the British embargo. The United States felt aggrieved by the actions of both France and Britain, but it was more upset with Britain. On top of dominating the seas, Britain was also removing British sailors from American ships and also would kidnap American sailors. The United States was not happy with any of these actions.

To combat the actions of the British, the Embargo Act was enacted and American ships were forbidden to engage in foreign trade. This did not force France and Britain to open up trade to them, but severely weakened New England’s shipping industry. The next answer, to some people, was to declare war and invade Canada. The war was so unpopular in New England that in 1814 they considered seceding from the union.

The war was fought along the Canadian border, Washington D.C. and New Orleans, with some gains won by Britain and some won by the U.S., but the war ended with the signing of the Treaty of Ghent. The differences between Britain and the United States were not resolved with this treaty, but it did end the fighting.

WHAT IS MEMORIAL DAY ABOUT? THE LAST LIVING WORLD WAR I VETERAN

We have been introduced to Frank Buckles, the last surviving American veteran of World War I. This is the type of person that we are honoring on Memorial Day. He currently lives in West Virginia.

One interesting thing about this veteran is that he is currently active in memorializing World War I veterans and something is coming up in the future with reference to this veteran. For the past three years Buckles has been recounting his story to a filmmaker who is in the process of making a film about Buckles. Not only will World War I veterans be honored with Memorial Day, but a film coming directly from the memory of someone who lived it will be released for public consumption.

Buckles joined the army in 1917 when he was 16 years old; the war had already been going on for three years. During his two years of service in England and France Buckles was an ambulance driver and also transported prisoners of war after the war ended. But it doesn’t matter what veterans did during the war, they had important roles to play during the war and deserve to be honored during Memorial Day.

Buckles was not in a combat situation during the first world war and was discharged in 1919, but he had a much harder time during World War II when he was not even a soldier. During this time he was taken as a prisoner by the Japanese when he was working in the Philippines and spent 3 ½ years in a prison camp beginning in 1942. This experience, even though he was not a soldier at the time also qualifies him to be honored on Memorial Day.

Buckles has been honored with awards several times for his service during World War I. First he received both the Victory Medal and the Army of Occupation of Germany Medal from the United States. The country of France also awarded him their Legion d’honneur. Much later, in 2008, he was awarded with the Veterans of Foreign Wars’ Gold Medal of Merit. All these medals were well deserved, but the yearly honor of Memorial Day will never be too much for these veterans.

WHAT IS MEMORIAL DAY ABOUT?

Memorial Day is always the last Monday of the month of May; this year it will be May 31. You may have an opportunity to go to a picnic or some other type of celebration and have a nice day off, but it is also an occasion to remember what this holiday is about. The holiday of Memorial Day was to honor all the veterans past and present of the wars of the United States; there have been several.

This country needs a holiday like Memorial Day because there have been so many wars throughout its history. This country began with a war, the Revolutionary War. This war was fought to become independent from the British Empire. When the war was won a new country was born. Not long after that it was necessary to fight the war of 1812 also against the British; once this war was ended it was definite at that point that the United States would remain independent from the United Kingdom.

After the War of 1812, the British were no longer a problem for the Americans. They could turn their attention to other areas of the land. The Southwest was where the Mexican-American War was fought which brought a large part of the Southwest into the United States. Then in the 1860s the Civil War was fought between the northern states and the southern states; the result of this war was that the union was not broken up and slavery was abolished.

The Spanish-American War was fought at the end of the 19th century and this is when the United States gained control of several islands in the Caribbean and the Pacific. World War I, the first war of the 20th century, was fought in Europe. Most of the veterans of these wars are obviously no longer living. The only verified American veteran of World War I, Frank Woodruff Buckles, is 109.

The veterans of these wars are the people that we are to honor on Memorial Day. When you are enjoying your holiday, be sure to take the time out to think of the people who fought in these wars because they sacrificed so much for the country. There will be Memorial Day sales and it is okay to partake in them as long as you take time out to remember the veterans.

FLOWERS ARE HERE TO STAY

With Mother’s Day there are flowers. There are several different online flower services that are advertising specifically for Mother’s Day because it is a given that you will be giving your mother flowers tomorrow. It makes sense because women like flowers; it doesn’t matter why you are giving them they are always appreciated. And having flowers delivered to her work where everyone can see is a great way for her to show off the fact that someone loves her. Even if you are sending them to her home they will be displayed and enjoyed for as long as they last.

Over our examination of the history of this day we have learned that the ancients were no different than we modern humans in giving flowers to mothers. Even in the 1600s mothers were being given flowers for England’s Mothering Day. It would be tough to fight the flower invasion that is associated with Mother’s Day, but surprisingly, someone was unhappy with the association of flowers and Mother’s Day and fought to separate the two.

The woman who managed to have Mother’s Day declared a nationally observed holiday, Anna M. Jarvis, despised the commercialization that the florists appeared to be adding to the holiday. She fought against this in many ways including successfully having the words “Mother’s Day” removed from a stamp which featured her mother with a vase of white carnations.

It is not just the fact that women like flowers that makes it logical for mothers to receive them on any occasion; carnations have been associated with this holiday and Anna M. Jarvis is the one who added them to the mix. On Jarvis’ first celebration of mothers in 1908, she arranged to have her mother’s favorite flowers, white carnations, to be given to all the mothers who attended the event. In the present day white carnations honor a deceased mother and red or pink honor a living one. Needless to say, flowers are here to stay.

ANCIENT CELEBRATIONS OF MOTHER’S DAY

Honoring mothers has such a long history that it is not surprising that it is practiced in several countries throughout the world. As we have learned from an earlier post, Mother’s Day was celebrated as a feast for the Egyptian goddess, Isis. The Romans had their own goddess, Cybele, also known as the Great Mother to glorify. The Greeks were known to celebrate mothers by way of their mother of the gods, known as Rhea.

Europe was not to be left out of the celebrations. In the beginning, Mother’s Day was about the Mother Church and early Christians took the opportunity to honor their church by offering jewels and flowers much like what happens on modern Mother’s Day. The day was celebrated during the season of Lent on the fourth Sunday and honored mothers through honoring the church.

But the English added all mothers to the honor in the 1600s and the new name that was given to it was Mothering Day. It became a day off for the workers of England when all families would have a chance to get together and feast, giving them one day of break from the fasting of Lent. It was known as mother’s holiday and children would bring gifts to their mothers on this day in the form of flowers.