Overview

"On June 25, 1950, as he was flying back to Washington D.C. to deal with the outbreak of war in Korea, US President Harry Truman thought, “In my generation, this was not the first occasion when the strong had attacked the weak. I recalled some earlier instances: Manchuria, Ethiopia, Austria. I remembered how each time that the democracies failed to act it had encouraged the aggressor to keep going ahead. Communism was acting in Korea just as Hitler, Mussolini, and the Japanese had acted, ten, fifteen, and twenty years earlier… If this was allowed to go unchallenged it would mean a third world war.” In response to North Korea's invasion of South Korea, the United Nations sent an urgent plea to its members for military assistance. Sixteen nations answered the call by contributing combat troops. Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie, a stalwart advocate of collective security, dispatched an infantry battalion composed of his Imperial Bodyguard to affirm this principle which had been abandoned in favour of appeasement when the League of Nations (the predecessor to the United Nations) gave Fascist Italy a free-hand to invade Ethiopia in 1935. The unit designated ""Kagnew Battalion"" was actually successive battalions which rotated yearly and fought as part of the US 32nd Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. When they arrived, these warriors from an ancient empire were viewed with suspicion by their American allies as they were untested in modern warfare. Their arrival in Korea also coincided with the de-segregation of the US Army. However, the Ethiopians eventually earned the respect of their comrades after countless bloody, often hand-to hand battles, with all three battalions which served during the war earning US Presidential Unit Citations. Remarkably, Kagnew was the only UN contingent which did not lose a single man as prisoner of war or missing in action. Until now, few have heard the story of their stand for collective security and against aggression. The Emperor's Own provides insight into who these men and women were as well as what became of them after the war. AUTHOR: Dagmawi Abebe was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. His father was a naval officer and his mother was a nurse. He moved to the US as a teenager and later earned a bachelor's degree in Criminology. He currently works as a criminal investigator and has experience both in the private and public sectors. His interest in military history of the obscure nature ranges from the Barbary Wars to 20th Century Imperial Ethiopia. He is an antiquarian and avid traveller. 88 b/w photos, 8pp colour section, 6 maps, 7 diagrams, 1 table"

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9781912866311

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If you never heard of this force, you'll be impressed with the detail, which seems taken mostly from official reports, but accentuated with interviews by the participants. --Historical Miniatures Gaming Society

"""The photographs show images I've not seen elsewhere, and I especially appreciated the color plates showing Ethiopian military uniforms. This book serves two functions: it teaches the reader about the Korean War, but more importantly it tells the story of how a proud people and a proud nation rose to meet the call to protect democracy and joined the world in squelching the aggression of the North Koreans.""-- ""IPMS/USA"" ""...a useful work for anyone interested in the Korean War or the role of smaller nations in collective defense. ""-- ""The NYMAS Review"" ""...an excellent addition to the library of The Forgotten War.""-- ""Model Kits Review"" ""If you never heard of this force, you'll be impressed with the detail, which seems taken mostly from official reports, but accentuated with interviews by the participants.""-- ""Historical Miniatures Gaming Society"""

...a useful work for anyone interested in the Korean War or the role of smaller nations in collective defense. -- The NYMAS Review ...an excellent addition to the library of The Forgotten War. -- Model Kits Review If you never heard of this force, you'll be impressed with the detail, which seems taken mostly from official reports, but accentuated with interviews by the participants. -- Historical Miniatures Gaming Society

Author Information

Dagmawi Abebe was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. His father was a naval officer and his mother was a nurse. He moved to the US as a teenager and later earned a bachelor’s degree in Criminology. He currently works as a criminal investigator and has experience both in the private and public sectors. His interest in military history of the obscure nature ranges from the Barbary Wars to 20th Century Imperial Ethiopia. He is an antiquarian and avid traveller.

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