come to be educated.” North Korea invaded its southern neighbor on June 25, 1950. American forces succeeded in preventing the spread of communism to South Korea, but the cost was high. There were 33,665 Americans killed, with another 8,176 missing in action and 7,140 made prisoners of war.

Sassorossi hopes the museum helps people realize the sacrifices and accomplishments of the war. “The victory is not in this museum, the victory lies in looking at South Korea today,” he says.

The thriving democratic republic is the world’s 15th largest economy and America’s seventh biggest trading partner, as well as a political ally. Museum staff plan to break ground on the permanent Korean War National Museum site in June 2010 to coincide with the war’s 60th anniversary. Construction will last a year or more. The project, Sassorossi says, will help make a forgotten war remembered. “Right now, history jumps straight from World War II to Vietnam, and textbooks devote just two paragraphs to Korea.

People who come to our museum will see that a significant war changed the course of history. Korea showed that democracy works. South Korea is a bastion of democracy in that part of the world.

That was achieved in the Korean War, and it is worth remembering.”

Contact Zach Baliva at [email protected].