A Very Long Weekend: The Army National Guard in Korea 1950-1953

Book by Berebitsky, William

The Korean War remains the forgotten war in terms of coverage in popular military history, so this study of the National Guard in Korea is more than welcome. Based primarily on interviews and other primary sources, it highlights the actions of the 43 National Guard units (including the 40th and 45th Infantry Divisions, 9 artillery battalions, and many support units) that served in Korea. They endured lack of training, underage soldiers, the hostility of the regulars, being cannibalized for replacement equipment, using leftover equipment that should have been cannibalized, and much else. Some of the survivors made careers of the National Guard, and others became professional soldiers. Many simply became civilians again. How they served and what they did make an absorbing story, however, and a timely one, considering the present controversies over the future of the National Guard. Roland Green