Photograph of Hugh Scott and Rear Admiral John Hoskins evaluating the report of a pilot aboard the U.S.S. Valley Forge. ca. August 1950.

Congressman Hugh D. Scott, Jr., a 1922 graduate of the law school, was on a special intelligence-gathering tour of duty as a U.S. Navy Reserve Commander during the Korean War in August 1950. Scott recorded his impressions and contacts with U.S. and South Korean military personnel during the bitter early stages of the fighting that began on June 25, 1950, with Communist North Korea's surprise and massive invasion across the 38th parallel.

August 25, 1950

The embattled United Nations force had valiantly fought a bloody and costly delaying action that served to contain the threat of being forced off the peninsula while awaiting reinforcements from the United States. On August 25, 1950, Scott met with the U.N. Commander, General Douglas MacArthur, who discussed the improving battlefield situation and was quoted in Scott's diary as saying: "We will utterly destroy their forces and we will beat them before they get back to the 38th parallel. The tide has turned--definitely." Three weeks later, MacArthur launched his highly successful amphibious landing behind enemy lines at Inchon Harbor.