Korean War began in late June, 1950.
Well — June 25, 1950 it is, then!
I still find the stats suspicious, and here’s why:
When Pearl Harbor was attacked, men who had gone AWOL returned to bases, begging to be taken back so they could fignt in the war. People were fired up a wanting to be in the middle of the action.
And 5 years after WWII — Korea?! Where the Hell is Korea??
I believe there existed little enthusiasm among Americans to go kick butts on the Asian mainland.
My dad told me that many of his fellow veterans from WWII had signed up for the Reserves, believing they would never see action again and could use the money signing up would bring. Dad was at university when his friends were called up and few, if any, were enthusiastic about going to fight for Korea.
So, what am I saying here? I suspect that whereas men were willing to fight to protect the United States after an attack, they weren’t quite so willing to go fight for Korea.
That is why I find the stats suspect. I accept that literacy degraded from about the late 1950’s onward, but IMHO not earlier.