ABSTRACT
The Korean War was one of the most significant geopolitical events of the twentieth century. It was the first significant military engagement of the Cold War, 1 and had profound social implications. In this essay I focus upon the important role the war played in the formation of a particular type of citizen-soldier: the hegemonic soldiercitizen, and the related necessary construction of a militarized society. The Korean War was used as a rhetorical device to put the United States on a war footing that rallied schoolteachers, the clergy, and other elements of civil society to arms. The language of the call to arms sowed the seeds of neoliberal ideology that was so important in creating the All Volunteer Force in the wake of the Vietnam War (Cowen 2005, 2006).
