Christmas 1951

I have been wanting to put this out on the web for years now. With this blog I think I have the correct vehicle. I have a document that came with my dad's things when he passed away. It is a poem written by his cousin, A. J. Erwin, while in Korea during the Korean War. It expresses one man's frustration over war and it just seems to me that in over 50 years, nothing has changed.

The original poem is typed on onionskin paper and is a carbon copy. It has been folded up for over 50 years and is very fragile. It would be wonderful if somehow the descendants of Mr. Erwin would see this and write to me. It would be nice to know a little bit about the man. Anyway - here are his words.


Here is an excerpt from the Truman Museum & Library -
In October, General Douglas MacArthur predicted that the war would soon end and that American troops could be going home by Christmas. He had not foreseen the entry into the war of Chinese forces that began in earnest in late November. The troops would not be home for Christmas. Instead, during the bitter cold and snow of their first Korean winter, they would be in a desperate struggle to stage an orderly withdrawal before the advancing Chinese forces. Three Christmases would pass before the fighting would end in Korea.
http://www.trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop/study_collections/korea/large/gi.htm