Office Hours with Victor Davis Hanson: Korean War / Matthew Ridgway 

Victor Davis Hanson - one of the smartest, wisest men in America. We need to learn from him. He is one of the great thinkers of our time.

Victor Davis Hanson is a rare individual, poised and brilliant, humble and unflappable. He is a national treasure to be cherished and celebrated.

My IQ inches up a bit every time I listen to such densely informative and interesting conversations

Victor Davis Hanson is a national treasure.

I could listen to victor for hours

Thank you for the history lesson, Dr. Hanson. My dad served in the Air Force in Korea, refueling aircraft.

Whenever I run across something involving VDH, I know it’s something I can learn from.

I'm fairly well educated, ex-military, but I am a working class guy, perhaps out of foolishness. It's a treat to sit back and listen to a conversation with Dr. Hanson. His references and insights that create connections in my mind sometime make me sit up in astonishment. All the best, Thomas

I enjoy VDH historical recollections and commentary. Whenever he is interviewed I am extremely interested in what he has to say. I wish his lectures could be used in High Schools and undergraduate education to offer students a perspective that I would bet they are not getting.

Amazing historian, his books provide a wealth of knowledge. Thanks so much for this series of seminars.

What a great thinker! America saluts you, Victor Davis Hanson.

VDH is the Best, Whenever I get a Notification of a new Video Interview that He has made, I'm there!

So truly enjoyed listening to Professor Hanson discuss his class. A behind the scenes exposition. It's been an honor. Thank you!

Truly an honor to hear insights on the Korean war era and its great leaders. Thank you for sharing and being great leaders yourselves.

A movie should be made about Matthew Ridgeway. Historical figure who lived to a very old age.. Great series

Intelligent Ireland likes to listen to intelligent America. May VDH have a very long life so that we have somebody worth listening to, that we believe and trust.

A fantastic way to spend an hour of my evening. Thank you.

I just love to hear what VDH has to say on so many topics. I've enjoyed his books and lectures for years and his knowledge in so many areas. If you've not read his books, please do so, they're very good!

This has been an excellent series with Victor Davis Hanson. I've thoroughly enjoyed all the videos in this series. Hopefully there will be more like these in future.

I’ve really enjoyed the four parts of this series. I plan to buy some of VDH’s books. Much appreciated!

What a national treasure. Please stay well Dr. H.

What a great series, thank you Pepperdine.

Excellent

Excellent series. Thank you for making it accessible.

thank you Victor Davis Hanson. and Peterdine.

Thank you for these, they're a treasure!

Amazing insight.

Wonderful. What we get in 52 minutes would im sure take me years to read around the subject .. VDH is quite something.

Thank you for sharing this story of a Great General ❤

Excellent Series!!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!

Loves me some Hanson.

These episodes are superb

Thank you very much!

Respect....

Thanks again, Pepperdine and VDH for this. Dean, I hope there are more to come in time. The point made at 33:29 that effective leaders understand that great victories [aren't necessarily the end of the chapter] brought to mind a quotation by a Japanese general in the 1300's: "When the battle is over, tighten your chin strap". On a larger note, we could use Rideway's voice on Gaza and Iran, where there appear to be no good choices, only hard choices, in a volatile region rife with strategic implications.

Terrific. Thank you.

The man knows so much inside information I just love listening to him, he is one in a couple billon 👏👏👏👏👏🙏🏼🇺🇸👮‍♀️🇺🇸🙏🏼🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇮🇱🇺🇸

Great Interview 👏👏👏

Loved this. My father served in the Korean War. Interesting facts

Most enjoyable. VDH an American Treasure

An absolute American treasure. Full Stop

Excellent as always! The Luftwaffe officer mentioned at 49:08 was Johannes Steinhoff, a very interesting person to study in his own right.

A very informative and engaging series. Kudos to both of you. I would suggest that Pepperdine replicate this kind of discussion with other lecturers on other topics. Again, well done!

VDH is so incredible!… he’s a thought god

Great Stuff! Lets do more..

My father-in law (RIP) fought at the Chosin reservoir 8th Marine Division. The stories he told me about what the Marines had to endure there were horrific. MacArthur was a pompous ass IMHO. Ridgeway, on the other hand was an outstanding leader. He turned that war around with his outstanding leadership

Great Information

Great man VDH

I'm to sick and old for this. So, Here's the thing! I have a 17 year old granddaughter who is a real leader. I'll pass on the 4 Parts to her for Xmas New Year's break.

Great guest!

VDH discusses Old Iron Tits. This should be a good one.

Unfortunately, someday, this history will be completely lost and forgotten, because there are no subsequent generations that care number one, or number two are even being taught about the sacrifices made by our soldiers. They may not have to agree with war. But at least support those that have served.

General Matt Ridgeway was an outstanding leader.

The Korean War never gets the respect it deserves. As a former marine I am well aware of how brutal it was.

FINALLY 🎉

Love VDH, but…no mention of Truman firing MacArthur?

VDH likes Ridgway ... and now so do I .

This video is quintessential VDH.

Gen. Ridgeway was great . I think Harry S Truman was a great president

Dr. Hanson didn't Ho Chi Minh draft a Declaration of Independence similar to ours and ask our help in creating a free Vietnam? Didn't we then ignore him and support the French in reestablishing their colonial rule?

What would’ve happened in Korea if Patton was still alive?

Korea was really the only successful war of containment but of course policy makers learned all the wrong lessons and applied them to Vietnam in the short-run and places like Afghanistan later on. Ridgway did save the day in Korea. MacArthur had made a mess of things but Truman bears as much blame as anyone. The Chinese had said they would come in if UN forces pushed north. They had passed this warning along through the Indian government on more than one occasion. But Truman was still considering a third crack at the presidency and he had just got the crap kicked out of him over the "who lost China" issue. If he had had the stones and better judgment he would have stopped at the 38th Parallel and worked on building up an actual democracy in the South. He went with MacArthur way past his sell-by-date and as Dr. Hanson points out, the Chiefs went along with it. After Inchon they were afraid of making any move against the guy. Bradley was a decent enough fellow but he was in over his head as CJS and his post-war support of the budget cuts that resulted in the military being a shell of what it had been five years earlier also played a key role in the debacle the war started out as. If you're going to take on world leadership and act as the police you better have enough firepower to do it. Still, the Korean War did ensure millions of people would be given a chance to live in freedom and for that reason alone it was more than just a tie. It's sad that so many people died but as the video points out a whole lot more of them would have died if Truman had just let the commies have their way in 1950. It was as much a test of resolve as anything else and Stalin saw that Americans wouldn't retreat into their typical post-war isolationist shell when push came to shove. The sad part is, the war allowed the French to tie their colonial war to the Cold War and Eisenhower compounded the mistake by telling Diem to ignore the Geneva accords and not hold elections in South Vietnam. From that moment on the U.S. assumed ownership of that cluster f*ck. Surprisingly, Ridgway wasn't the only former general from the Korean War telling presidents to get out. MacArthur told Kennedy basically the same thing. He told him wars of containment don't work and to not try it in Vietnam. But Kennedy had to try it in Vietnam because after the Bay of Pigs and the Cuban Missile Crisis he couldn't be an overt tough guy south of his own border. But that is a discussion for another day. Always nice listening to Dr. Hanson. His books are okay but his talks totally rock.

In my opinion, MacArthur should of ben fired, court marshaled for the his actions in the Bonus March, 1934 . His splitting of the north bound invasion force for the Phillipines and his ego cast twice the losses at Okinawa and Iwo Jima. Then he crossed the 38th parallel to the Chinese border when Truman ordered him not to. I am suprised VDH has not addressed MacArthurs failures and promoted as some Hero.