U.S. veterans visiting S. Korea to mark 68th anniversary of Korean War
- 6 years ago
Staying with the SIXTY EIGHTH anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War.
As is customary on this date every year,... some veterans from the allied countries that fought alongside the South are here in the country... to attend a variety of commemorative events.
Park Ji-won reports.
This is the War Memorial of Korea, located in central Seoul,... and dozens of Korean War veterans and their families,... mostly from the U.S.,... are here to pay tribute to their comrades who lost their lives six decades ago.
This is the first leg of their six-day visit to South Korea,... which will end when they leave the country on Thursday.
They placed flowers in front of a memorial to the fallen... where the names of tens of thousands of UN troops are engraved.
Troops from 16 countries including the U.K., Canada, Australia and Turkey... fought under UN command in the Korean War,... and six countries, including India, Norway and Sweden provided support for medical operations.
All together, nearly two million people from foreign countries helped defend South Korea,... and more than 150-thousand of them died, were wounded, or are considered missing.
After holding a moment of silence for the war heroes,... they moved into the war museum for a brief tour.
The exhibitions took the veterans down memory lane.
"(This is) My first visit to Korea, since 1954. In fact the last time I've seen Seoul. When we flew out of here, it was almost leveled. Now it's full of cars. (....) I'm honored to come back. Very pleased that I am still able to move. I'm 85 years old. I'm proud that people see you and they thank you."
"I think we were here a little over a year. Our ship was in the Korean waters during the war. It was a little over a year. It is a kind of different feeling, coming back, I feel proud and happy for the people, for people. I think this is great."
The visits for veterans from outside of Korea were started back in 1975 by a private organization,... but they're now run by South Korea's Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs.
So far,... about 32-thousand veterans and their family members from UN forces have participated.
Park Ji-won, Arirang News.
As is customary on this date every year,... some veterans from the allied countries that fought alongside the South are here in the country... to attend a variety of commemorative events.
Park Ji-won reports.
This is the War Memorial of Korea, located in central Seoul,... and dozens of Korean War veterans and their families,... mostly from the U.S.,... are here to pay tribute to their comrades who lost their lives six decades ago.
This is the first leg of their six-day visit to South Korea,... which will end when they leave the country on Thursday.
They placed flowers in front of a memorial to the fallen... where the names of tens of thousands of UN troops are engraved.
Troops from 16 countries including the U.K., Canada, Australia and Turkey... fought under UN command in the Korean War,... and six countries, including India, Norway and Sweden provided support for medical operations.
All together, nearly two million people from foreign countries helped defend South Korea,... and more than 150-thousand of them died, were wounded, or are considered missing.
After holding a moment of silence for the war heroes,... they moved into the war museum for a brief tour.
The exhibitions took the veterans down memory lane.
"(This is) My first visit to Korea, since 1954. In fact the last time I've seen Seoul. When we flew out of here, it was almost leveled. Now it's full of cars. (....) I'm honored to come back. Very pleased that I am still able to move. I'm 85 years old. I'm proud that people see you and they thank you."
"I think we were here a little over a year. Our ship was in the Korean waters during the war. It was a little over a year. It is a kind of different feeling, coming back, I feel proud and happy for the people, for people. I think this is great."
The visits for veterans from outside of Korea were started back in 1975 by a private organization,... but they're now run by South Korea's Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs.
So far,... about 32-thousand veterans and their family members from UN forces have participated.
Park Ji-won, Arirang News.