The American Minute: FREEDOM IS NOT FREE Eisenhower-“In America…religious faith is the foundation of free government.”

“FREEDOM IS NOT FREE” is the inscription on the Korean War Memorial in Washington, D.C.The Korean War started June 25, 1950.

Communist North Korea invaded South Korea, killing thousands.

Outnumbered South Korean and American troops, as part of a U.N. police action, fought courageously against the Communist Chinese and North Korean troops, who were supplied with arms and MIG fighters from the Soviet Union.

Five-star General Douglas MacArthur was Supreme U.N. Commander, leading the United Nations Command from 1950 to 1951.

MacArthur made a daring landing of troops at Inchon, deep behind North Korean lines, and recaptured the city of Seoul.

With temperatures sometimes forty degrees below zero, and Washington politicians limiting the use of air power against the Communists, there were nearly 140,000 American casualties:

-in the defense of the Pusan Perimeter and Taego;

-in the landing at Inchon and the freeing of Seoul;

-in the capture of Pyongyang;

-in the Yalu River where nearly a million Communist Chinese soldiers invaded;

-in the Battles of Changjin Reservoir, Old Baldy, White Horse Mountain, Heartbreak Ridge, Pork Chop Hill, T-Bone Hill, and Siberia Hill.

Harry S Truman compared Communism and Democracy in his Inaugural Address, January 20, 1949:

“We believe that all men are created equal because they are created in the image of God. From this faith we will not be moved…

Communism is based on the belief that man is so weak and inadequate that he is unable to govern himself, and therefore requires the rule of strong masters.

Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himself with reason and justice.

Communism subjects the individual to arrest without lawful cause, punishment without trial, and forced labor as a chattel of the state.

It decrees what information he shall receive, what art he shall produce, what leaders he shall follow, and what thoughts he shall think.

Democracy maintains that government is established for the benefit of the individual, and is charged with the responsibility of protecting the rights of the individual and his freedom…”

Truman continued:

“These differences between Communism and Democracy do not concern the United States alone.

People everywhere are coming to realize that what is involved is material well-being, human dignity, and the right to believe in and worship God.”

President Harry S Truman stated while lighting the National Christmas Tree, December 24, 1952:

“Shepherds, in a field, heard angels singing: ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.’…

We turn to the old, old story of how ‘God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’…”

Truman continued:

“Tonight, our hearts turn first of all to our brave men and women in Korea. They are fighting and suffering and even dying that we may preserve the chance of peace in the world…

And as we go about our business of trying to achieve peace in the world, let us remember always to try to act and live in the spirit of the Prince of Peace. He bore in His heart no hate and no malice – nothing but love for all mankind.

We should try as nearly as we can to follow His example. We believe that all men are truly the children of God…

As we pray for our loved ones far from home – as we pray for our men and women in Korea, and all our service men and women wherever they are – let us also pray for our enemies.

Let us pray that the spirit of God shall enter their lives and prevail in their lands…”

Truman concluded:

“Through Jesus Christ the world will yet be a better and fairer place.”

General Douglas MacArthur warned in a speech to the Salvation Army, December 12, 1951, stating:

“History fails to record a single precedent in which nations subject to moral decay have not passed into political and economic decline.

There has been either a spiritual awakening to overcome the moral lapse, or a progressive deterioration leading to ultimate national disaster.”

At the College of William and Mary, May 15, 1953, Dwight Eisenhower stated:

“It is necessary that we earnestly seek out and uproot any traces of communism.”

First Lady Mamie Geneva Doud Eisenhower stated in a conversation at the Doud home regarding their son John Sheldon Doud Eisenhower, who was serving in Korea:

“He has a mission to fulfill and God will see to it that nothing will happen to him till he fulfills it.”

Fighting in Korea was halted JULY 27, 1953, with the signing of an armistice at Panmunjom.

On December 24, 1953, Dwight Eisenhower stated at the lighting of the National Christmas Tree:

“The world still stands divided in two antagonistic parts. Prayer places freedom and communism in opposition one to the other.

The Communist can find no reserve of strength in prayer because his doctrine of materialism and statism denies the dignity of man and consequently the existence of God.

But in America…religious faith is the foundation of free government, so is prayer an indispensable part of that faith…

The founders of this, our country, came first to these shores in search of freedom…to live…beyond the yoke of tyranny.”