A Very Long Weekend: The Army National Guard in Korea 1950-1953 [Hardcover]

William Berebitsky (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

The Korean War remains the forgotten war in terms of coverage in popular military history, so this study of the National Guard in Korea is more than welcome. Based primarily on interviews and other primary sources, it highlights the actions of the 43 National Guard units (including the 40th and 45th Infantry Divisions, 9 artillery battalions, and many support units) that served in Korea. They endured lack of training, underage soldiers, the hostility of the regulars, being cannibalized for replacement equipment, using leftover equipment that should have been cannibalized, and much else. Some of the survivors made careers of the National Guard, and others became professional soldiers. Many simply became civilians again. How they served and what they did make an absorbing story, however, and a timely one, considering the present controversies over the future of the National Guard. Roland Green

Product Details

• Hardcover: 293 pages
• Publisher: White Mane Pub; First edition (December 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1572490225
• ISBN-13: 978-1572490222
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,128,198 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent history of the 40th & 45th Divisions, June 16, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: A Very Long Weekend: The Army National Guard in Korea 1950-1953 (Hardcover)

As a former member of the 45th Division I found this book an excellent source of information about our Division. It gives a history of the 40th and 45th reactivation by Congress and a chronicle of events from that point to all that transpired in Korea.

It is a hard cover book, consisting of 300 pages, 28 illustrations and 9 maps that brings back long lost memories of what happened to me some 48 years ago...

For anyone who was a member of a National Guard outfit during these years, it is well worth reading.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Guard comes through again., February 12, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: A Very Long Weekend: The Army National Guard in Korea 1950-1953 (Hardcover)

The National Guard, for the whole of the twentieth century, has been a vital component of American military efforts in times of crisis. This is nowhere better illustrated than in the Korean War, where individuals and units were rushed in to plug holes in Allied lines from the start, often with little notice and sometimes woefully untrained and under-equipped. Their presence may well have been the decisive element in preventing total Red success.
Their story, from truck drivers to infantrymen, is thoroughly researched and well told here with oral histories, good maps, useful appendices, and a generous index.. The only flaw noted is the oddly popular error misnaming the National Guard facility as "Fort Robinson, Arkansas". It was, and remains, Camp Robinson. This does not detract seriously from this highly valuable work, which fills a gap in the history of the Korean War and the essential role of the citizen-soldier.

(The "score" rating is an ineradicable feature of the page. This reviewer does not "score" books.)

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A compelling and accurate picture of the 40th Div in Korea, September 18, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Berkeley Heights NJ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Very Long Weekend: The Army National Guard in Korea 1950-1953 (Hardcover)

As a member of the 578th Engr(C) Bn of the 40th Div from the time it was activated thru Korea It brought back a lot of memories . The author is to be congratulated on his accurate story of the National Guard units in the "Forgotten War" It makes one that much more prouder to have served in a Guard outfit......