Off the wall war question

I found military records that had my dad fighting in WWII so I assume that to be true. As with all the old timers he never hardly talked about it but I do remember his purple heart from when he got shot in Korea? To the gist of the question; I was just reading an article that said WE annihilated North Korea during the "Police Action" But I remember my dad saying we got our ass kicked mostly by the chinese Because they didn't like the idea of a bunch of Americans running toward them fully armed. This was over fifty years ago so I could be way off in my memory. Anybody have any general info on the Korean war? Were the Chinese fighting in NK? I've read about their border being heavily protected during the war.

Mike, NARA is one place to start...All declassified records which have also been digitized are available for view...Like many government resources they're understaffed by budget constraints, and there are jillions of records they have not digitized yet...As his direct descendant, you can access your Dad's records if they are available, and you can also receive any medals and citations he earned...I tried to get my Uncle's records for my Mom before she died since he was her brother, but I was denied because I'm not his direct descendant...I did get lucky enough to find the War Diaries for his ship from the day it was commissioned until the day it was scrapped...

Look around the site and see what you can find about Korea and any specific units or actions...I found NARA to be a little clunky to navigate for specific records, but I got help through Fold3, a subsidiary of Ancestry...It's a pay site just like Ancestry, however many public libraries maintain a membership...I went to my local library branch and did some research, and I found I could use my library card to access NARA records through Fold3 right from home...It's a lot easier to navigate, and you can download and save all digitized records right at home...Give it a try...:usa:...Ben

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Originally Posted by Truckman

Mike, NARA is one place to start...All declassified records which have also been digitized are available for view...Like many government resources they're understaffed by budget constraints, and there are jillions of records they have not digitized yet...As his direct descendant, you can access your Dad's records if they are available, and you can also receive any medals and citations he earned...I tried to get my Uncle's records for my Mom before she died since he was her brother, but I was denied because I'm not his direct descendant...I did get lucky enough to find the War Diaries for his ship from the day it was commissioned until the day it was scrapped...

Look around the site and see what you can find about Korea and any specific units or actions...I found NARA to be a little clunky to navigate for specific records, but I got help through Fold3, a subsidiary of Ancestry...It's a pay site just like Ancestry, however many public libraries maintain a membership...I went to my local library branch and did some research, and I found I could use my library card to access NARA records through Fold3 right from home...It's a lot easier to navigate, and you can download and save all digitized records right at home...Give it a try...:usa:...Ben

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Thanks for the information.
My dad pass away when I was 7 so i don't have much to go on. There was a trunk that contained several German flags and swords along with a collection of hat emblems and belt buckles and other items. She sold the hand guns while I still was a kid. Silly me I left the trunk behind when I moved to Colorado. I got a call one day that she had sold everything in the trunk. I do remember stories about his company taking several of Hitler's chateaus. One of the flags with gold fringe had been signed by the men in his company. All of the photos he had taken where also lost.

So now that I'm almost retired I want to do more research on the family tree and areas where he served. This is something I found in with what are left of the family photos.

I don't really care about info on my dad, I was collateral damage most nights. I was just wondering about the Chinese and the general consensus of who won. I was just making small talk. I knew all that stuff at one time but remember none of it and didn't want to go through fifty pages of reading to find out again so nothing gained nothing lost.
Good luck on your search!

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Originally Posted by mgrist

I don't really care about info on my dad, I was collateral damage most nights. I was just wondering about the Chinese and the general consensus of who won. I was just making small talk. I knew all that stuff at one time but remember none of it and didn't want to go through fifty pages of reading to find out again so nothing gained nothing lost.
Good luck on your search!

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Mine too. But history has always been an interest of mine.

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Originally Posted by Blue74

Mine too. But history has always been an interest of mine.

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In NARA you get to read from the people who were actually there...Other sources may only be opinions and analyses...:2cents:...Ben