[June 22, 2015] While we’ve all heard about the recent rise in racist behavior in America and its pervasiveness throughout the world, one thing we don’t hear about is how racism can affect decisions in war. For those who study racism, one of the best areas is how it worked to the disadvantage of United Nations (UN) forces during the Korean War.
Of all the factors contributing to the disastrous events that cost so many lives of UN forces in Korea, racism can be signaled out as one of the most insidious. Two examples will illustrate how this occurred.
First, General Douglas MacArthur (who was given command of all UN forces after Communist North Korea invaded) had a very low opinion of Asian peoples, especially of the Chinese army. His decisions to push his forces north toward the Yalu River without taking into account the fighting capability of China’s army caused one of the greatest disasters in American military history.
Second, the Tenth Corps Commander, Major General “Ned” Almond, also suffered from the same racism as MacArthur. Recall the discussion on the 92nd Infantry Division’s poor performance during World War II and its commander General Almond (see link here). Almond believed in the inferiority of Chinese soldiers during the Korean War. This resulted in the entrapment and destruction of many of his soldiers north of the 38th Parallel.1
Almond’s racism did not necessarily set him apart from other senior officers in the U.S. Army at the time, but there was an intensity – a passion – that disturbed younger officers around him, not to mention the Black soldiers and officers who were the victims.2 There were serious consequences to Almond’s racism. One of the reasons he pushed his troops forward so recklessly in the Chosin Reservoir fighting in 1950 was that he did not take the Chinese seriously as an opponent. He considered them to be only good enough to be “laundrymen” for whites.
After the UN forces were defeated at Chosin, his racism prevented him from learning the right lessons and thus he failed to study Chinese military tactics. This led to additional victories for China in early 1951. During what is known as the second Battle of Wonju3, several months after the Chosin fighting, he still did not consider the Chinese army a foe worthy of study. His prejudices and racism blocked out his intelligence and thus tainted every decision he made in battle. Many allied UN soldiers were to die because of those very prejudices and his racism.
The effects of racism can have terrible consequences, more so if that racism prejudices the decisions of senior officers in war. The results can be disastrous.
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[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Almond
[2] The Coldest Winter: America and the Korean War, David Halberstam, 2007.
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_and_Second_Battles_of_Wonju