If you went to public schools in the 40s, it was more in line with Current Events. If you went to public schools in the 50s, the history books dealt more with World history or U.S. history from events that happened 50 years prior and just touched on newer historical events such as the Great Depression. Even if not taught in schools, adults passed down the stories if you live in E. TN (no where comparable to Middle TN or West TN). Public schools in Tennessee used to teach a class of Tennessee history in the high schools.
I went to public high school in the ‘00s, and the words “Korean War” were not once mentioned in my history classes (if you could call them that). Not to lob conspiracies willy-nilly, but I suspect that has something to do with which side the communists were on.