1953-1964
This period, immediately post Korean War, was a period where the countries involved were calculating their casualties and consolidating their gains, or losses, that they had sustained during the conflict. The period was dominated by political ideology where an imminent threat of communism and invasion was consistently forced onto the American people. Many Americans who may have supported left-wing political thought were branded as “unAmerican” and were immediately under suspicion by national government agencies.
After the war, there was little effort to remember the veterans, nor the men and women who had died during the conflict. This is perhaps the first signs of the war being “forgotten” in general American society. We can argue that it was initially forgotten because it wasn’t a clear victory for the Western powers. The war ended in military stalemate and was unpopular with the American population. So, in an effort to avoid answering for the waste of life during the war, the government completely diverted from turning the war into a propaganda campaign. Which was it’s original intention, in an effort to discredit communism and the U.S.S.R.
Overall, many of the sources from this period are statistical in nature. As previously mentioned, the information that was found gives us some insight into the total battle deaths and costs of the war. We also have some material referencing foreign relations after the war with communist states, eventually leading to American involvement in Vietnam and the French withdrawal from the country. 1953-1964 is the initial phase in the process of the American people forgetting about the Korean War and ignoring it’s impact on future relations and conflicts.