Episode 8 – Summer of 1950:

This episode outlines the great expansion of the US defense budget in response to a new US policy outlined in NSC-68; an expansion that made defense expenditures amount to about 20% of US GDP: Such expenditures haven’t changed since. NSC-68 also put forth a defense posture of direct military confrontation. The Korean War was the event that inaugurated this new policy. Also in this episode is are the initial summer battles of 1950 in South Korea. General Dean is captured at Taejon, after a masterful tactical victory by the NKPA (North Korean Army). Many people in the south responded positively to the North Korean land reform program, others are executed by the NKPA. The Seoul government also executes many civillians. US soldiers often cannot distinguish friend from foe in this new war. Some US units sent to Korea from Japan and Okinawa face difficulties: The entire 3d Battalion of the US 29th Infantry Regiment was wiped out only hours after arriving in Korea. Also discussed is the brutal treatment of US prisoners of war at the hands of the NKPA. The US Army goes into Korea as a racially segregated force. The defensive line soon to be known as the “Pusan Perimeter” soon forms.