President Truman pretends he doesn't hate Gen. MacArthur just long enough to pin him with The Distinguished Service Medal - Oct. 14, 1950, Wake Island. More than a half-century after hostilities ended in Korea, a document from the war's chaotic early days has come to light — a letter from the U.S. ambassador to Seoul, informing the State Department that American soldiers would shoot refugees approaching their lines.
“If refugees do appear from north of US lines they will receive warning shots, and if they then persist in advancing they will be shot," wrote Ambassador John J. Muccio, in his message to Assistant Secretary of State Dean Rusk.Source
This is the first I've heard of this story, and I don't think the Korean War would have lasted beyond its second year if it had been scrutinized as the war in Iraq is today. What chance will open societies have in future wars with the minute-by-minute coverage of combat now available to anyone with a TV or a computer? The Vietnam and Iraq wars are two good examples of how the toughest opponent a democratic nation's army can face is the one back home.
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