quotes about the korean war by famous people

Compiled by Christine Stevens DeLorenzo

“I remember the Korean War very well. And I remember the soldiers who were POWs who supposedly were "brainwashed," quote, unquote, who gave in, so to speak. And when they came back, they were treated like pariahs and traitors.” - Martin Scorsese, Italian-American film director, screenwriter, producer, and actor.

“A military situation at its worst can inspire fighting men to perform at their best.” ― Marguerite Higgins Hall, American War Correspondent/Journalist. (September 3, 1920 – January 3, 1966) Author of War in Korea: The Report of a Woman Combat Correspondent.

I have one criticism about the Negro troops who fought under my command in the Korean War. They didn't send me enough of them.” - Douglas MacArthur, Five-star American general. (January 26, 1880 – April 5, 1964)

“I was drafted during the Korean War. None of us wanted to go... It was only a couple of years after World War II had ended. We said, 'Wait a second? Didn't we just get through with that?” - Clint Eastwood, American actor, filmmaker, musician, and politician.

“The U.S. military was segregated ‘til the Korean War, and the blacks in World War Two were totally segregated.” – Clint Eastwood

“Remember this about the Korean War: The men were drafted; the women volunteered. – Loretta Swit, American stage and television actress. Best known for her portrayal of Major Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan on M*A*S*H.

“As a Korean War veteran, I know firsthand and understand the sacrifices made by our men and women in uniform.” - Charles Rangel, American politician.

“With a book called 'Keeping Score,' I really did want to write a book about the Korean War, because I felt that it is the least understood war in the American cultural imagination. So I set out with the idea that Americans didn't know much about the Korean War and that I was going to try to fix a tiny bit of that.” - Linda Sue Park, New York Times best-selling author and 2002 Newbery Medal Winner.

"As a child growing up during the Korean War, I knew poverty. I studied by candlelight." Ban Ki-moon, South Korean diplomat and politician, who served as the eighth secretary-general of the United Nations 2007 - 2016.

“I went home one night and told my dad that an older kid was picking on me. My Dad, a Korean War vet and a Chicago cop for 30 years, told me, ‘You better pick up a brick and hit him in the head.’ That’s when I thought, ‘Wow, I’m going to have to start dealing with things in a different way.’” – Steve Wilkos, U.S. Marine Corps veteran, retired Chicago, IL police officer, American television personality.

Photos courtesy of: newsday.com, Scorsese. Manlihood.com, MacArthur. allpapersdsc.net., Eastwood. thefamouspeople.com, Swit. nbcnews.com, Rangel. tedxbeaconstreet.com, Park. cnn.com, Ki-moon. quotationof.com, Wilkos.

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