December 28, 2012
Over the Holiday period, I am reminded by VFP Members I speak to of two major military events that took place during the cold of Winter.
One was the Battle of the Bulge (16 Dec 1944-25 Jan 1945); I never neglect to call one Texas vet in particular whose twin brother died in that struggle. The other event that always comes to mind is the Battle around the Chosen Reservoir in Korea.
This year, a "Frozen Chosen" veteran recommended A Little Pond, a 1999 Korean movie available on Netflix. A Little Pond is as true a story as can be told about the deliberate murder of Korean civilians by United States military. We get to know the children, the pre-pubescent boy who constantly teases the girls, the girl who resists and insists on being treated with dignity, the young Lovers, the Mothers and Grandmothers, Fathers and Sons, the beautiful choir made up of mostly young girls, the architecture of their homes, fields and pathways. We are not let off the hook by the usual anonymity, when we hear that "some" civilians might have died "unnecessarily" .
This movie, this story ...wounds .. Blessed Be. It is way past time. Everyone's suffering, everybody's children, everybody's village must be(come) our own if we are to one day move away from War.