As it becomes increasingly apparent during the reading of the book, the miracle of the book The Bridge at No Gun Ri: a Hidden Nightmare from the Korean War (2001, ISBN 0-8050-6658-6) is that it got published at all. Authors Charles J. Hanley, Sang-Hun Choe, and Martha Mendoza won a Pulitzer Prize for their investigative work associated with this book, and were assisted by investigative  reporter Randy Herschaft.

The book unfolds the sad and compelling tale of the murder of an estimated 400 South Korean civilians by the U.S. 7^th Cavalry in July, 1950. The story, along with another describing the dynamiting of another bridge, and killing a number of other civilians in the process, had been buried for decades, but was doggedly pursued by Chung Eun-yong, who lost a number of friends and family members at No Gun Ri. Starting with Chung’s voluminous notes, the authors not only interviewed survivors, but also were able to track down a number of U.S. war veterans who were involved in the shooting, many of whom had suffered from Post-war Stress Disorder ever since the event. They fix the blame not on the soldiers that carried out the order, but rather on the military command that forced the refugees from their homes on a march to their doom, then issued orders to kill them, fearing that North Korean infiltrators were in their midst.

Ultimately, the book suggests that such military massacres of civilians are more common than we’d like to think, and events such as Wounded Knee and My Lai are perhaps rare in the sense that they were reported at all. The book is a fascinating read, especially considering the life stories of some of the survivors and soldiers, which bring a human element to a cultural tragedy that encompasses one of the more moving books we here at WoWasis have ever read.