Praise for War Remains

The following essay was written by Dr. John Endicott, President of Woosong University. This article appeared translated into Korean for a Korean newspaper.

John E. Endicott, Ph.D.

President, Woosong University

SolBridge, International School of Business

Daejeon, Republic of Korea

Chung Cheong Today 7 September 2011

Something of Value To Both Koreans and Americans

          I am often asked what I like to read, and do I read much in this era of television, Internet, CVDs and countless other distractions that are part of modern life in Korea or America. When asked, I usually respond that I always have some kind of reading material handy to fill any undesignated time. Usually you will find me reading autobiographies, biographies, histories that focus on the rich heritage of the states in Northeast Asia, economic-fiscal- or business-related materials, but hardly ever do I read a novel. No offense to those who write novels, I just want to spend my time enhancing the data that I can use as I go through the life of a very busy university president.

          However, there are exceptions, and today I would like to discuss that exception. Most of my readers know that I teach one course per semester at the University. Many wonder why with all the other things that have to be done by a president that I should

be teaching – my answer is why not? This is the most wonderful way to interact with the leaders of the next generation and perhaps leave a little bit of me with them.

          The reason I bring teaching up is my colleague who teaches with me and makes sure the students stay on schedule when I’m called away. His name is Jeffrey Miller and he has been in Asia for the last two decades. He has been a reporter for the Korea Times, in fact, for six-years, and has also been a university lecturer. But, most of all he is a student of the Korean War. Recently he put his love of history, his exposure to numerous Korean and American veterans of the Korean War, and his advanced skill as a writer of the English language together and completed and published his first novel called War Remains.

          When I saw his book, I was immediately taken by the picture of a soldier on the front cover – it is quite impressive –actually a photo of one of the statues in the Korean War Memorial in Washington, D.C-- but I had no idea the story that he unfolds within the covers would be so powerful. Remember, I am a retired Colonel and have seen some very sad things, but I was an Air Force Officer, so my experience is not the experience of a soldier on the ground. It is here that I realized Jeffrey had done his work. His graphic depiction of the intensity and futility of the battles as the Chinese announce their presence on the battle fields with full-blown human wave tactics had an impact I personally was not prepared for. In fact, as I read the book flying back to Georgia for ten days home leave I could not put it down. The only times I stopped were when I could no longer make out the page. My eyes were full of tears.

          Let me give you a slight introduction to the book, but I do not want to ruin it for those who also read it. The story focuses on a soldier, Robert “Bobby” Washkowiak from Illinois, who enters the Army at the time of the Korean War just after he marries the girl of his dreams and ends up struggling to survive the North Koreans, the Chinese and the winter. Which one was worse in 1950 is a good question, but it was the Chinese who finally took his life.

          Of course, in the confusion of war, he could only be identified as “Missing In Action.” This is almost worse than being declared dead as the family has no way to put closure to the event. This is the story of his wife adapting to missing and finally receiving the official word that since seven years had passed her husband was now considered dead -- Dead, but no remains, no funeral, and no final good-byes.

          The rest of the story is one of discovery. Son and grandson find his love letters from Korea and begin to intensify the effort to resolve the terms of his passing. Ultimately, word is received and the cold February night of 1951 in a place called Hoengsong is related through a series of fateful encounters with a surviving military buddy. It is a story that unfortunately is one that over 7,000 families of missing veterans relive on a daily basis, but especially at birthdays, Christmas, anniversaries, and other special events.

Jeffrey Miller has done a wonderful service to those families, and to all of us who intellectually handle the war, but need to understand how the military from two great nations came to know each other and came to bond in a way unknown to most. It is a restatement of the special bond that exists between America and the people of Korea. And it makes the point that this relationship did not end in 1953 but continues, and continues – unlike any other in the world.

           

Glowing praise from a satisfied reader

I am deeply grateful and moved by the following commentary as it was written by the son of a Korean War veteran who fought in the same battles I describe in my novel.

Jeffrey Miller has constructed an insightful novel that explores the devastation that war, even forgotten battles in forgotten wars, can visit upon generations of an American family. The first year of the Korean War saw great victories and devastating defeats for both sides. Miller has the humility to know the horror of battle cannot be adequately described, but still conveys the emotional highs and lows felt by soldiers, veterans, widows, and children. Miller explores the emotional needs of the soldiers and their families to understand the unfathomable and how those needs can be met despite the collective reluctance of veterans and society to confront these stories and the psychological scars they’ve left, even after half a century. This is an impressive, well-researched first novel.

Honored

Today I was honored with the comments left by the son of a Korean War veteran who discovered my post about the US Second Infantry Division monument at Hoengsong and the battle that was fought there in February 1951.

His father served with the 38th Infantry Regiment and fought in the battle that I described in my novel.

He wanted to know the exact location of the monument because he is planning to visit Korea on the 60th anniversary of some of the battles his father fought in during the war.

I am honored because that was one of my original intentions all along, when I first started writing War Remains, was that I wanted to honor all Korean War veterans and their loved ones and especially, those who served with the US Second Infantry Division and the 38th Infantry Regiment.

How I discovered a "forgotten war"

I confess, when I came to Korea 20 years ago, I didn't know much about the Korean War. I knew of the war, but not much. Even though I minored in history, my knowledge of the conflict was severely and sadly limited.

Most of what I knew, like most Americans from my generation, was from what I gleaned from watching M*A*S*H. Two of my uncles fought in the war, but I never recalled them at any time, when the family got together for holidays or birthdays, regaling us with any "war stories."

What I knew and what I didn't know would all change that cold day in February 2000 when I bought Retrieving Bones.

If there is any penance for my ignorance, or autobiographical underpinnings in War Remains, look no further than the character of Michael. Much of what Michael does to learn about the Korean War was what I did after I read Retrieving Bones and the other books I read and reviewed for the Korea Times, as well as the articles that I would eventually write about the Korean War Commemorative events in Korea.

I knew when I started writing my novel that I could never really accurately describe combat or know what it was like because I have never been in combat. But what I could do, and what I knew I could do well in the novel was write about what it would be like for an ordinary person to learn about a war the way that I did and the way that Michael does in the novel.

I saw a movie and wrote a book

Well, not exactly.

What I mean is that when I sat down and started to write War Remains in September 2009, I saw or envisioned the story as a movie. I knew how the book would begin and how it would end, and I saw these two scenes as scenes in a movie, kind of like bookends. Having never written a novel before, seeing the book as a movie made it easier to write.

Other than a few short stories and some feature articles for the Korea Times, I had never attempted anything quite as ambitious, so seeing the novel as a movie helped me in terms of how I would move the story along, especially with some of the flashbacks.

Maybe those two semesters of film classes at SIU (Southern Illinois University) finally paid off, as well as being a film buff my whole life.

Oh, one more thing: I thought about writing a screenplay of the story while I was writing the novel.

You know, I can see a Steven Spielberg/Tom Hanks Korean War movie collaboration once they finish WWII. The Second Infantry Division and 38th Infantry Regiment would be very good units and subject matter for Spielberg and Hanks to cover.