Posted on 12/18/2007 6:37:24 AM PST by RDTF
The Korean War has been called “the forgotten war,” and “Missing in MIG Alley,” on PBS on Tuesday night, illustrates a little-known chapter. It describes the rivalry in the sky between two types of fighter jets then on the cutting edge of military aviation: the Soviet MIG-15, used by the North Koreans, and the F-86 Sabre, flown by the Americans and the British.
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The program, an installment of the “Nova” series, reveals that Soviet airmen were actually fighting on behalf of the North Koreans, a fact concealed by the Soviet and American governments at the time for fear of inciting World War III. (This secret may prompt viewer speculation about possible clandestine maneuvers today.)
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All of this, of course, is war-hawk nectar, ’50s-style Tom Clancy, blending digital dogfights, diagrams and period footage to stoke arms-race nostalgia. Then there are the cloak-and-dagger elements: The Soviets’ urgent desire to learn about the Sabre prompted efforts to acquire one, and “MIG Alley” describes, in testimony from allied veterans, the interrogation of captured Western pilots.
The program also depicts the efforts of children of downed pilots to learn their fathers’ fates: whether they perished or survived to be imprisoned in gulags (a possibility some apparently cling to). The issue has resonance for some families of Vietnam War soldiers, and it does for three people seen on camera: a Briton, Michael Baldwin, and two Americans, Ann Bakkensen and Danny Cope. Mr. Cope learns of the discovery of the remains of his father, Capt. Troy G. Cope; the others are not so lucky.
The program leaves you with the emotional impact of people desperately seeking to connect with relatives they never knew. Their need is profound to behold.
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(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Based on what I’ve seen on Nova in the past, I’ll be amazed if this show doesn’t have a left wing slant.
ping
Yep.
“reveals that Soviet airmen were actually fighting on behalf of the North Koreans”
yep, that’s a real revelation there........Not
Pure BS! Everyone knew the Ruskies were up there. MSM wouldn't say it though. Guess why?
Yeah, this would have been a real shocker...
... if I had waited for PBS to clue me in.
Andy, we lost almost 100,000 KIA in WW III (it wasn't cold.)
How about the Russkies that were flying North Vietnamese Migs? Will the lefties reveal that someday?
All of a sudden, PBS, in a desperate quest for relevancy, is showcasing this.
Whoopie! (This is not meant to disparage the gallant US and UK Pilots who took control of Mig Alley, or their families.)
It would be neat if there were gun camera footage of Jesse Fulmar, in his F4-U Corsair shooting down the MIG-15.
That would be cool.
In my travels, I've met a few Sabre pilots who flew in Korea. Two of them were aces. I am not a name dropper but these were some of the nicest gentlemen I have ever met.
1. In 1945 the US freed S. Korea from decades of oppressive Japanese occupation
2. In 1949 the US withdrew troops from a politically and socially unstable, and militarily weak, S. Korea.
3. The US deliberately left S. Korea in a weakened condition so it could not invade the North
4. In June, 1950, N Korea invaded S. Korea
5. In July, 1950 Truman sent Americans to fight a "police action" against "bandits" in Korea
6. In the last 30 months of Truman's presidency 30,000 Americans died in Korea.
7. January 1951, the severest wartime censorship in memory was imposed. That censorship forbade dispatches which criticized the allied efforts in Korea and dispatches which could demoralize the allies. Officers could not be quoted and casualties could not be reported without authorization. Correspondents were placed under the jurisdiction of the Army and were subject to court martial
Gentlemen certainly; but, I would still want them on my side in a barroom fight (even at age 80 or so).
I don't think the Democrats want the world to know that Truman sent 30,000 Americans to their deaths in Korea in 30 months*
Democrats probably would like us to forget that many of those Americans who were killed were young draftees.
I doubt that the Democrats want to admit that severe censorship was imposed under Truman or that he threatened to use the A-bomb.
If "the Buck Stops Here" Harry Truman had fought to keep our troops in S. Korea for more than 4 years, it's likely that there would not have been a Korean War.
*Almost 14,000 Americans died in the first 6 months of the War.
Nova has some good programming, but this is obviously an attempt to copy the success of the History Channels “Dogfights” show.
Which BTW, is my 7 year old sons favorite show. :-)
Syracuse Herald-Journal December 18, 1950 Front page
Truman Will Request Extra Crisis Power
Washington (AP)
President Truman told his Congressional leaders today he needs additional powers in the fields of government contracts and organization in order to deal with the world crisis.House Speaker Rayburn (D. Tex.) said after a 90-minute White House conference that Mr. Truman indicated he would send a specific request to the Capitol as soon as the necessary papers could be drafted.
House Democratic Leader McCormack (Mass.) said he understood Mr. Truman would ask restoration of powers formerly available to the President under titles one and two of the first War Powers Act.
Title one of the World War II law allowed the pesident to "create, consolidate, transfer or abolish" bureaus and agencies in the interest of more efficient government.
Title two authorized the President to delegate to war agencies the power to enter into war contracts without regard to existing legal restrictions. This, in effect, provides for contract renegotiation.
In addition to Rayburn and McCormack, the other members of the Congressional "Big Four" -- Vice President Barkley and Senate Democratic Leader Lucas (Ill.) -- attended the conference.
They said the first hour was devoted entirely to a thorough military briefing by Secretary of Defense Marshall, the joint chiefs of staff and the secretaries of the Army, Navy and Air Force, but declined to tell reporters anything about that.
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