I had been planning a column for today to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the beginning of the Korean War, but a family illness postponed my plan; the column will still run within the next couple of weeks.
Still, it seems imperative to take a moment to remember everyone - Korean and American - who fought and died in what is called "The Forgotten War." Our Korean War vets are now deep into their 70s - some into their 80s - and there is a tendency to write off their sacrifice as another tragic regional war that made little difference.
For anyone who believes that, I provide a NASA image that shows South and North Korea at night, a stark representation of the difference between a thriving society and the 21st century alternative. More than 50,000 Americans died in the war, and their monument is every light in this photograph.
I also suggest reading this piece from 1996; for the Central New York families suffering through the uncertainty, absolutely nothing has changed 14 years later.
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