Mathew Ridgway apparently originated the sobriquet “forgotten war” in his 1967 book The Korean War, a parable intended to instruct about Vietnam. It was an apt label, for not only was the Korean War undeclared, it followed in the long shadow of national weariness from World War II, involving only a fraction of the number who fought in that war. The U.S. population and economy were never fully mobilized to support American efforts in Korea, and the ambiguous con- clusion to the conflict was less than satisfying to a nation that historically prefers black-and-white beginnings and endings in armed conflicts.
"Forgotten No Longer,"
Naval War College Review: Vol. 56
, Article 12.
Available at: https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/nwc-review/vol56/iss1/12