N.Korea, U.S. to Discuss Recovery of War Dead

This is very good news.

North Korea said Friday it will discuss with the United States resuming the recovery of American soldiers killed during the Korean War. A foreign ministry spokesman told the North's official Korean Central News Agency that Pyongyang had accepted the United States' proposal on humanitarian grounds and work is already underway to arrange talks between the two militaries.

You can read the rest of the story here.

Until They Are Home.

It's not a "forgotten war"

If we never forget.

Welcome Home Soldier

Service for US soldier killed in Korean War set this week  

WASHINGTON (Yonhap) -- The U.S. state of West Virginia said Friday it plans to hold a special service this week for an American soldier killed in the Korean War six decades ago.

The remains of Cpl. James S. Murray were returned to his hometown from North Korea in the 1990s, but final identification was made only last December through investigation and DNA testing.

He was captured by North Korean troops while serving in the 1950-53 Korean War.

Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin issued a proclamation ordering all U.S. and state flags displayed at state facilities be lowered to half-staff from dawn to dusk on the occasion of the funeral service on Saturday.

"Today we remember Cpl. James Samuel Murray and the sacrifice he made for his country so long ago," said Tomblin. "It is an important reminder that our servicemen and women work diligently to protect the freedom we enjoy each day. It is my hope that the family of Corporal Murray will take comfort knowing he is now in his proper and final resting place."

The upcoming service comes as the U.S. seeks to resume talks with North Korea on the recovery of remains of American troops killed in the Korean War.

The U.S. recently sent a letter requesting a meeting with Pyongyang on the issue, according to the Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO), affiliated with the Department of Defense.

The North has not replied yet, DPMO officials said.

Nearly 8,000 U.S. servicemembers are listed as missing from the war and the remains of more than half of them are estimated to be buried in the communist nation.

Joint recovery efforts between the Cold War foes were suspended in 2005, with Washington concerned about the safety and security of its workers.

War Remains

In 2001, I went to the first of three "repatriation ceremonies" at Knight Field on the Yongsan Military Garrison in Seoul for the remains of UN personnel killed during the Korean War. 

When I look at these metal caskets covered with the blue UNC flag, I think about the two service members who were finally going home. For over 50 years, the remains of these two service members, missing in action since the Korean War, had only been known to God who had called them home. 

I think about the peace of mind and closure two families would soon have when their grandfather, father, uncle, brother, husband, and son finally came home.

It's been over ten years since I took this photo on a rainy, cool May afternoon. I hope these two men have finally made it home to their loved ones.

And when I wrote War Remains, I made sure to include a scene of this ceremony, not just for the story, but also to remind readers of all those grandfathers, fathers, uncles, brothers, husbands, and sons--still waiting to come home.

Until They Are Home

Motto of the Joint Prisoners of War Missing in Action Accounting Command

War Remains Nominated for two MWSA Book Awards

My Korean War novel, War Remains has been nominated for two awards by MWSA, the Military Writers Society of America: Special Korean War Book Award for 2011 and the Military-Army Award for 2011.

Winners will be announced on October 1st at the MWSA National Conference in Pittsburgh, PA.

I am honored and humbled to be among the list of nominees this year.

Glowing Praise for War Remains

Today I received advanced notice of a book review of War Remains for MWSA (Military Writer's Society of America), which will appear in their monthly journal within the next 2-3 months.

All I can say is, wow.

War Remains by Jeffrey Miller is an excellent read.  Never having been a history buff due to teachers and professors who made it less than enjoyable for me, I am truly grateful for authors like Mr. Miller who can take me through the Korean War days in a way that attaches it to people and emotions and the reality of how it affected families.

When I think about the title War Remains I asked myself as I was reading it, just what the author had in mind.  The title can certainly have multiple meanings.  The obvious seems to be that many of our military were left behind in Korea and families were told they were MIA and unless their remains were to be found and identified, that would continue to be their classification.  From my research, it appears that we have MIA status for approximately 10,000 of our military.  One fifth of those are from Vietnam, and the other four-fifths from the Korean War. Have I ever once given thought about the family members that have been affected in this way? I’m ashamed to say that I don’t think so.  War Remains has touched me in a very special way.

This book led me to research what has been happening for these families.  Hence, to me, the title can also mean that this war remains in the hearts of the survivors.  Jeffrey Miller’s book will open the hearts and the eyes of those who have lived their lives unaffected by the Korean War.  I thank him for that gift.  It should also prove as a source of hope for families still waiting to have closure.

Mr. Miller begins his book with the discovery of a trunk in an attic.  This trunk then finds its way to the son of Sgt. First Class Robert (Bobby) Francis Washkowiak, Ronnie Washkowiak.  The trunk contains many letters from Bobby to his wife, Mary, and their infant son, Ronnie.  When Bobby heads off to war, it is his small beloved family that keeps him going through his time in Korea.  The book uses his many letters, which are then read by Ronnie, and his son, Michael to take us to the time and place when Bobby is writing the letters to his beloved wife.  In this way, we see the side of war from the Korean War happenings which the author does a superb job of writing, telling readers about what the GIs in Korea were facing and about the many battles and the fact that the Korean War is called a “forgotten war.”  Then we move back to present day, when Bobby’s family is always wondering what happened to their father, grandfather, and husband. Just how long should a young woman with a young son hold out hope for her loved one to return?  How long should one wait to accept that your husband has probably been killed?  Mr. Miller does a superb job of transitioning back and forth between time frames.

Mr. Miller has very successfully written a story that shines light onto what many American families have experienced.  It is a beautiful love story, shown through the many letters from Bobby to Mary.  It is a war story, in that we see the Korean War up close and personal, through Bobby and his GI buddies.  We see our military heroes returning to the States never knowing what happened to buddies that they had gotten close to during their service to our country.  It is not always easy reading when you encounter the Chinese in the rice paddies in the deep of night.  But it is encouraging to know that some families have received closure when DNA has been matched to the remains of their loved one. 

I highly recommend War Remains to readers…this book has touched me deeply and is sticking with me both in my mind and my heart days after completing it.  War Remains is a very impressive first novel for Jeffrey Miller.

June 25, 1950

When news of the Korean War hit the streets across America in the summer of 1950, there wasn’t the rush to run down to your local recruitment station to sign up—not like the great patriotic appeal that had occurred just nine years earlier when Pearl Harbor had been attacked. 

 

Korea? Where’s that?

America had just gotten over a war and had settled into a peri­od of prosperity; now another war, this one in some far-off Asian country was about to threaten that prosperity and equilibrium.

And when people began to follow the news from another front, it wasn’t good. From the moment the first troops were sent to Korea from Japan, the once mighty military machine that had defeated Germany and Japan just five years before now found it­self literally on the run after being unable to halt the North Korean advance. 

 

First Osan, then Pyongtaek and Ch’onan fell. Names and places on a map that most Americans could not find but where American blood had been shed. The Inmin Gun juggernaut kept on advancing and rolling over everything in its way. It hadn’t even been called a war yet; Truman had called it a “police action” and the name stuck.

An excerpt from War Remains.

Today is the 61st anniversary of the start of the Korean War.

Remember, "Freedom is not Free."





 

Buy My Book...

And remember a forgotten war.

This Saturday, marks the 61st anniversary of the start of the Korean War. One of the reasons why I wrote this novel was that I wanted to remember this forgotten war (a theme which runs through the book) as well as honor all those who fought in the conflict and those who did not come back home.

War Remains is more than just a story about the Korean War, though. It could be about any war and the longing that service members have for home and their loved ones. What makes this story significant is that it is about how one young man, Michael Washkowiak learns about the war and what his grandfather went through during the opening months of the war. 

I wonder how many of us have also come across war mementos from an uncle, older brother, father, or grandfather and wondered what they did and how they survived, or if they died on some foreign battlefield, perhaps some sense of closure.

That's why I believe this story is a good one.

From now until June 30th, get 20% off the list price by entering the coupon code SUMMERBOOK11 when ordering through Lulu.

A mean little fighter

On display at the War Memorial Museum in Seoul is this simple, yet nasty-looking jet plane, which terrorized the skies over the Korean peninsula during the Korean War.

Yeah, it's a MiG by golly.

Looks just as menacing here.

For the story about the air battles over the peninsula, I recommend Crimson Sky: The Air Battle for Korea by John R. Bruning.

For the story about one man from the US Second Infantry Division who battles his way through the bitter first winter of the Korean War, longing for home, his wife, and newborn son, there is of course War Remains.

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A Great Deal From Lulu!

From now until the end of the month, Lulu is offering a great deal on my novel War Remains and other books.

How great is the deal from the folks at Lulu? How does a 25% discount sound? Just enter the code, CYBERMAY when checking out.


And just in time for my birthday, I might also add.


Thanks Lulu!

UN Monuments in Daejeon

Located on Mt. Bomun in Daejeon are two Korean War monuments. One of them is a UN monument for the 24th Infantry Division and the other is a battle monument for the Battle of Daejeon.

I first visited Mt. Bomun (or Bomunsan as it is referred to in Korean) last summer a few days before the 60th anniversary of the fall of Daejeon as the North Korean juggernaut continued to push US and ROK forces further south.

I mention this battle in War Remains.

Looking closely at the monument and the soldiers, the soldier in the middle is Gen. William Dean who was captured at Daejeon and spent the remainder of the war in a POW camp.



How did he end up a POW?

His driver took a wrong turn.

Welcome Home Soldier

News like this always gets to me; when a service member is finally coming home.

And, it is what my novel War Remains is all about.

Remains of US Soldier from Korean War Identified

WASHINGTON (Yonhap) -- The remains of another American soldier killed in the Korean War have been identified, the Pentagon said Wednesday.

"The remains of a serviceman, missing in action from the Korean War, have been identified and are being returned to his family for burial with full military honors," the Pentagon said in a statement. "Army Cpl. Primo C. Carnabuci of Old Saybrook, Conn., will be buried May 12 in his hometown."

The identification came after U.S. President Barack Obama last week awarded the nation's highest medal posthumously to two American soldiers who fought in the Korean War.

The awardees of the Medal of Honor are Pfc. Anthony T. Kaho'ohanohano and Pfc. Henry Svehla.

More than 36,000 American soldiers were killed and over 8,000 were captured or went missing in the 1950-53 war, in which the U.S. fought alongside South Korea against invading communist North Korean soldiers backed by Chinese.

About 28,000 American soldiers are stationed in South Korea as a legacy of the war, which ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty, which leaves the two Koreas technically at war.

"On Nov. 1, 1950, Carnabuci's unit, the 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, occupied a defensive position along the Kuryong River, near Unsan, North Korea," the Pentagon said. "Chinese units attacked the area and forced a withdrawal. Almost 600 men, including Carnabuci, were reported missing or killed in action following the battle."

His remains were among those recovered in Unsan County, south of the area known as Camel's Head, in North Korea in 2000 by a joint U.S.-North Korean team.

Forensic doctors have found his DNA matched that of his brother, the Pentagon said. "With this identification, 7,997 service members still remain missing from the conflict."

U.S. excavation operations in the communist North have been suspended since 2005 because of escalating tension over the North's nuclear ambitions. At the end of the Korean War, North Korea returned the remains of about 3,000 Americans.

North Korea has threatened to stop returning the remains of American soldiers unless Washington agrees to an early resumption of excavation operations.

Welcome Home, Primo.

155mm Howitzer -- War Memorial Museum; Seoul, South Korea

In War Remains, I describe a few scenes of artillery being used, including 105mm and 155mm howitzers.

The War Memorial Museum in Seoul has a few Korean War-era artillery pieces on display.

There is a new, updated version of War Remains available at Smashwords and a new Kindle version coming shortly.

War Remains featured on Indie Spotlight

I've been waiting for this for over four months and finally today, War Remains is the feature book on Indie Spotlight.

Hoping for some more exposure.

The thing about self-publishing is that you do spend a lot of time promoting your book in every possible way. I wish there were more sites like Indie Spotlight to promote one's book.

20% Discount from Lulu

20% off any book order from Lulu. Just add the code GIANT when checking out. Offer ends on Sunday.

Read a good book and support a good cause

For each book sold this month, hardback, paperback, eBook, or PDF, I will donate $1.00 to The March of Dimes.

Now you can read a good story as well as support a very good cause.

How to promote your book

That's what I've been trying to figure out: the best way to promote my book. I've done pretty much everything I could do with Facebook and my blog and now I'm trying to find other ways to promote the book. Frankly, I'm a bit disappointed that the book has not done as well as I thought it would in South Korea or my hometown where a lot of the drama takes place.

This could be one of the pitfalls with self-publishing. Some people might not take you as seriously as they might if you were with a more recognizable and established publisher.

It's been suggested that I make up some flyers and send them off to organizations like the VFW. I think this a good idea.

I am also looking into this site called Book Buzz, where for $99 they will do some promoting for your book.

I am still counting on "word of mouth" promotion for my book; that's why I've put a lot of stock into Facebook for spreading the word is it were.

Once Upon A War – Jeffrey Miller Looks Back

Once Upon A War – Jeffrey Miller Looks Back

Once upon a war

“When the cold, biting wind howls down from the mountains, I can almost hear their screams and cries riding upon that cold wind.”

When I’ve walk across the frozen Woosong campus here in Daejeon, South Korea (approximately two hours south of Seoul) on my way to school the past few weeks—when it has been so bitterly cold here—and have seen the snow-capped and pine-dotted mountains in the distance, I think about the war, which was fought north of here sixty-one years ago. I think about the men who had to traverse some of those mountains, trying to keep warm and dry during one of the coldest winters on the Korean peninsula. I think about the American blood spilled on the snow-covered ground of Korea, the same way that blood was spilled at Valley Forge and Bastogne. I think about the young men who died here far away from home and loved ones, who would never know warmth again.

And when the cold, biting wind howls down from the mountains, I can almost hear their screams and cries riding upon that cold wind.

Sixty-one years ago, as January came to a close; the Korean War still could have been lost for South Korea and the UN forces, which had come to Korea’s aid. Since November 1950, when the Chinese entered the war, the conflict had become, according to General MacArthur, “an entirely different war.” Those Chinese forces, an unstoppable juggernaut since Kunu-ri and Chosin, had pushed UN forces south of Seoul during the New Year’s Offensive. Poised to strike again around Wonju—a key transportation hub—men of the US Second Infantry Division, as well as French, Netherlands and other UN Forces, were about to turn the tide of the war at the Twin Tunnels and Chipyong-ni. It would not come easy and without cost, especially the casualties, which would befall the Second Infantry Division at Hoengsong February 12-13, 1951.

These were not the names of faraway places, which would become the vernacular of a nation remembering gallant stands and battles. For the generals sending men into harms way, these were names—marked by tiny flags and grease lines on crinkled, yellowed maps. For the hundreds of men who would lose their lives in “Massacre Valley” alone, they would be a cold, scribbled number written under KIA or MIA.

This is what I think about every day, when I see those cold, dark mountains shivering in the distance and the men who could have come from towns like LaSalle, Illinois; Vassar, Michigan; Waterbury Connecticut; San Antonio, Texas; St. Louis, Missouri; Charlotte, North Carolina; Indianapolis, Indiana; Cleveland, Ohio; Wheeling, West Virginia—who found themselves on those hills and mountains, in those frozen paddies and valleys of that so-called “forgotten war.”

This is why I wrote War Remains.

I haven’t forgotten.

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