Compelled by the known fallacies in the Associated Press expose of the alleged American slaughter of South Korean refugees, Major Bateman presents an alternate explanation of the events through the perspective of the soldiers and their commanders. The 1948-50 South Korean civil war and the broader state of U.S. military policy surrounding it are both assessed in the light of force readiness and the impact it had on the No Gun RI incident. This is a careful, measured investigation based on official sources and eyewitness testimony. He debunks the AP allusion to a widespread massacre of civilians by U.S. forces and shows how veterans who allegedly witnessed this event and influenced others were not even present. Told concisely with extensively documented research of previously overlooked and unavailable sources, this is a valuable historical reconstruction based on fact rather than the jaundiced view of the media.