Korean War

by Ringo Sat 26 May 2018, 1:42 pm

65th Anniversary of the Korean War Armistice (1953-2018)

https://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/history/korean-war/korea65

by **Rockarm** Tue 10 Nov 2020, 8:53 am

Seventy years on, Canadian veterans keep memories of 'forgotten' Korean War alive

Published Tuesday, November 10, 2020

People visit Parliament Hill as poppies are projected on the Peace Tower in Ottawa, Monday, Nov. 9, 2020. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld)

https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/seventy-years-on-canadian-veterans-keep-memories-of-forgotten-korean-war-alive-1.5182077

by Stealth Mon 22 Feb 2021, 8:49 pm

Cape Bretoners can apply to program open to descendants of Korean War vets

Published: Feb 22. 2021

SYDNEY, N.S. — The Korean War may have been fought seven decades ago but South Korea has never forgotten those who served, even after the armistice treaty ending open warfare was signed in July 1953.
With about 27,000 Canadians serving, 516 lost their lives including 35 Nova Scotians (12 from Cape Breton). Another 1,200 Canadians were wounded.

Many more veterans have died since then but the South Korean government has extended several programs allowing the soldiers’ descendants to take advantage.

The most notable of these programs is the medical support program for descendants of Korean War veterans. This plan provides free health benefits and treatments to the descendants of UN Korean War vets by inviting them to South Korea for free medical treatment.

Although introduced in 2020, no one from Canada has yet taken advantage of it and that's something Korean War vet, author and advocate Vincent Courtenay would like to see change.

“I think it could benefit anyone in Nova Scotia or the other Atlantic provinces, who is a descendant of a Korean War veteran and cannot get needed medical service because of the two criteria, cost and availability,” said Courtenay from his home in Windsor, Ont.

“The ministry has genuine, heartfelt concern for the well-being of family members and other descendants of the veterans who helped to save South Korea during the war years. This is already evidenced in the bereaved family revisit program in which they fly descendants of soldiers who fell in the war to Korea to visit the graves of their loved ones.”

If you are a descendent of a UN Korean War veteran facing health problems due to economic difficulties or unavailability to receive needed medical treatment in your community, you are eligible to apply, according to reference materials from the consulate general of the Republic of Korea in Montreal.

The program is open until October of this year with successful applicants identified and invited for their treatment by November.

If a person is accepted, the patient and one other person designated as a caregiver will be flown to South Korea. Accommodations and meals will be provided for up to 12 weeks depending on the diagnosis and treatment course and all medical and hospital care, doctor’s fees, drugs, medications, dressings and whatever else is required, is covered.

Travel expenses are covered by the Korea Health Industry Development Institute while all medical expenses are paid by the medical institute.

Courtenay, who has received treatment himself from South Korean hospitals, said Canadians seeking treatment have nothing to worry about.

“When I went on an emergency basis to a hospital in Busan, I was up to my armpits in doctors when I entered the ER,” he said. “I was seen immediately; many tests were performed right away. I had complete results within two hours.

“When I took a veteran with a broken hip to a hospital in Seoul, no less than five doctors attended him within the first hour. Several Canadian veterans who have fallen and broken a hip or who have come down with chronic problems while in Korea, have been treated at these superb hospitals.”

To find out more about whether you qualify, check out this website: http://overseas.mofa.go.kr/ca-montreal-ko/index.do.

Elizabeth Patterson is a culture and health reporter at the Cape Breton Post.

https://www.thechronicleherald.ca/lifestyles/regional-lifestyles/cape-bretoners-can-apply-to-program-open-to-descendants-of-korean-war-vets-555325/

by **Accer** Thu 04 Mar 2021, 12:39 pm

Government staffers fretted about the 'optics' of N95 mask donation for Korean War veterans: documents

John Paul Tasker · CBC News · Posted: Mar 04, 2021

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/korean-war-veterans-masks-1.5934856

by Covert Fri 23 Apr 2021, 7:24 am

Seventy years ago, our brothers from PPCLI held back a major enemy offensive during the Battle of Kapyong, earning a hard-fought victory for Canadian and @UN troops during the Korean War. #Kapyong70 #CanadaRemembers pic.twitter.com/N7QbJEDfEz
— Canadian Armed Forces (@CanadianForces) April 22, 2021

by **Spider** Fri 14 May 2021, 10:12 am

Public’s help sought in designing Korean War Memorial

By Brock Weir, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter The Auroran
Fri., May 14, 2021

It has been a passion project for local historians and veterans, and now the public’s help is being sought to make the dream a reality.

The Town of Aurora, in conjunction with the Aurora branch of the Royal Canadian Legion, is looking for the public’s feedback on a memorial to the Korean War, one which will be placed at the Aurora Peace Park alongside the Cenotaph honouring the residents of Aurora, King, and Whitchurch who fell in the First World War, the Altar of Sacrifice commemorating local men who lost their lives in the Second World War, and the decommissioned LAV placed there to remember the men and women who served in Afghanistan.

“We are asking the public to submit their design ideas for a fitting monument to honour the soldiers from Aurora, King and Whitchurch-Stouffville who fought in the Korean War,” said the Town of Aurora in a statement. “The winning design will be submitted as part of a grant application to Veterans Affairs Canada’s Commemorative Partnership Program for Community War Memorial funding to cover some of the costs.

“Amateur artists are welcome to submit. This design call-out is open to any resident of Aurora, King or Whitchurch-Stouffville. We are looking for concept drawings that can be as simple as a pencil sketch to provide the inspiration and general idea for a suitable memorial rather than formal design drawings and specifications. The memorial should not contain any names of soldiers who fought in the war and must be in both English and French.”

The top three memorial designs submitted by the deadline of May 28 will be placed on the Town’s online communications platform, Engage Aurora, for public input and voting on the preferred design. The designer behind the winning submission will be invited to unveil the monument once it is completed and receive a gift card of $250.

“Remembrances of Canada’s contribution to the Korean War effort can be found in many municipalities across this country,” said the Town. “Aurora’s War Memorial Peace Park solemnly pays tribute to those… who served and were lost in the two World Wars and the Afghan war. There is, however, no similar recognition of the Korean War.”

A Korean War memorial was first pitched to Aurora Council this past winter by local historian Bill Newman, who was inspired to pursue the project after a visit to Seoul in 2016.

While there, he toured the demilitarized zone (DMZ) and took in memorials recognizing the conflict, including a memorial to Canada’s contributions at the Korean War Memorial and Museum. When he came back home, he realized there wasn’t that same recognition in his hometown and began his research with an assist from the Aurora Museum & Archives.

Today, memorials to Canada’s contributions to the Korean War can be found at monuments from coast to coast, but Aurora is one of the exceptions. Although no Aurorans are known to have lost their lives in the conflict, Mr. Newman says it is “timely and fitting” to recognize what they did to fend off “yet another threat to the freedom and right of self-determination of the world’s peoples.”

“We are requesting through this presentation the involvement of the Town and its staff to design and locate a fitting memorial at the Peace Park to our Korean War veterans,” he said. “We understand the funding for the memorial may be obtainable through Veterans Affairs Canada’s commemorative partnership program for a community war memorial funding. Your favourable consideration of this request would provide overdue recognition to those from our community and surrounding area who served in what is being termed as ‘Canada’s forgotten war.’

“When one of the Legion members heard about this proposal to Council, he remarked with almost a tear in his eye, ‘This is for you, dad.’ May we always remember them.”

For more information on the project, visit engageaurora.ca/koreanwarmemorial.

https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2021/05/14/publics-help-sought-in-designing-korean-war-memorial.html

by **Forcell** Tue 29 Jun 2021, 11:20 am

Veterans Affairs Canada June 29. 2021

Help us return the names to those who died in service to Canada. https://www.canada.ca/…/seeking-the-families-of-canadian-ar…

The #CAF Casualty ID Program invites family members of Canadian soldiers missing in action in Korea to register here: www.canada.ca/…/casua…/register-missing-military-family.html.

Personal information will be protected.

by **Luxray** Tue 01 Feb 2022, 4:49 pm

Critical but little-known piece of Canada's military history is the focus of garden planned for Langley

Liam Britten · CBC News · Posted: Feb 01, 2022

Korean War Princess-patricia-s-canadian-light-infantry

CBC News

by Rocko Sun 23 Oct 2022, 5:09 pm

Remembering Hill 355 — a forgotten battle in an almost forgotten war

Murray Brewster · CBC News · Posted: Oct 23, 2022

CBC News

by Monsfool Mon 26 Jun 2023, 6:49 am

Korean War veterans fight for their legacy 75 years after the armistice. Seventy-five years after the end of the Korean War, surviving Canadian veterans worry their sacrifice and the legacy of that war will be forgotten once they're gone.

June 25, 2023

CBC News

by **Luxray** Thu 20 Jul 2023, 3:13 pm

Canadian Veterans return once more to Korea 70 years
after the Korean War Armistice Agreement

20 JUL 2023 . From: Veterans Affairs Canada

20 July 2023 – Ottawa, Ontario – Veterans Affairs Canada

More than 26,000 Canadians served in the Korean War, bravely fighting for peace. Long seen as a “forgotten war,” it is an important chapter in Canada’s proud military history.

Later this month, a group of Canadian Korean War Veterans will participate in the Revisit Korea Program at the invitation of the Republic of Korea’s Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs. While in Korea, they will attend ceremonies and events to recognize those who served in uniform during the Korean War and mark the 70th anniversary of the signing of the Korean Armistice Agreement (July 27).

Prior to their departure, the Veterans will head to Burnaby, British Columbia, where they will participate in a commemorative ceremony and events with the Korean Consulate in Vancouver.

In Korea, the Veterans will be accompanied by a Government of Canada delegation, led by the Honourable Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence. The delegation will also include other Members of Parliament, a Veteran representing the Assembly of First Nations, and a historian from the Canadian War Museum.

While in Korea, the delegation will participate in commemorative ceremonies in Gapyeong and the United Nations Memorial Cemetery, as well as the Republic of Korea’s signature ceremony for the 70th anniversary of the Korean War Armistice Agreement.

Join the conversation on social media by using the hashtags #CanadaRemembers and #Korea70, or visit veterans.gc.ca.

News release

by Cool~Way Sun 23 Jul 2023, 8:21 am

Veterans honoured in Burnaby, B.C., on 70th anniversary of Korean War

CBC News · Posted: Jul 22, 2023

Korean War Burnaby-korean-war-vet-memorial

CBC News

by RevForce Mon 24 Jul 2023, 7:41 am

‘We take pride in what we accomplished’: Canadian veterans remember the Korean War

Jul 24, 2023

Bill Black still gets letters and cards thanking him and other Canadian veterans for their service in the Korean War.

Quite a few of those notes from South Koreans have arrived lately at the Korea Veterans Association, where Black is president of an Ottawa chapter, as the 70th anniversary of the armistice in that conflict approaches.

More than 26,000 Canadian Armed Forces were deployed to assist South Korea after it was invaded by North Korea in 1950 and 7,000 more followed to help with peacekeeping after the armistice was signed on July 27, 1953.

Black was part of the peacekeeping contingent. He worked on a navy destroyer assigned to patrol South Korean waters and says it remains an honour to have served.

“We take pride in what we accomplished there, all of our Canadian veterans who served in Korea take pride,” the 89-year-old Canadian veteran says.

“We sort of slap ourselves on the back that we were there to contribute, to aid them.”

Canada lost 516 soldiers in the Korean War, according to figures from the federal government, making it the third deadliest conflict fought by the country.

Black was deployed to South Korea in 1954, about six months after the armistice was signed. The war – which is still technically ongoing – had devastated the country, he recalls.

“It was appalling,” he says, recalling seeing “starving” residents and many whose lives had been completely upended by the conflict.

“We saw the orphans in the streets … I felt very sad.”

Black says he hoped the contribution of U.S.-led troops, including himself, could bring relief to the war-weary country. Decades later, and after making two visits back to the country, he says he’s proud of how far South Korea has come.

The war began after the North Korean army conducted a large-scale offensive operation to gain control of South Korea on the morning of June 25, 1950.

Three days after crossing the 38th parallel – which divided the Korean Peninsula into two countries after the Second World War – the invading army seized control of the South Korean capital of Seoul.

South Korean forces then regrouped and built a defensive line south of the Han River, waiting for the U.S. military and other forces to come to their aid.

In response to the invasion, the United Nations founded a military command, led by the U.S., which included the forces of 15 other countries, including Canada. Five additional countries provided military medical assistance. The command aimed to push the North Koreans, who were backed by the Soviet Union and China, out of the south.

The bloody conflict, which lasted for three years, reduced Korean cities to rubble and took millions of lives, according to some estimates.

Eung Bum Choi, a retired South Korean colonel who now lives in Canada, remembers waking up to loud calls on the streets asking South Korea military personnel, many of whom were on weekend leave, to go back to their units when North Korean forces crossed the border into the south early on a Sunday.

“(North Koreans) secretly prepared for invasion into the south for quite some time,” Choi, now 92, says in an interview at his residence in Mississauga, Ont., where he and his wife live.

“South Korea was very poorly equipped and not prepared for any such all-out war.”

The war entirely altered the course of Choi’s life, he says. He was training to become a teacher, but was enlisted in the army after the invasion – he stayed on in the military even after the fighting ended.

While in the military, Choi says he heard stories of the Kapyong Valley battle during the war when Canadian forces, despite being outnumbered and outgunned, averted a massive attack by thousands of enemy soldiers.

The battle, which took place in April 1951, saw 10 Canadian soldiers killed and 23 wounded, while casualties on the opposing side were far higher, according to the Canadian government.

“Korean people remember how bravely Canadian troops fought against North Korea,” Choi says.

Claude Charland, who was a lieutenant when he was deployed to South Korea from Canada in 1951, says the sacrifices made by the Canadian forces were worth it.

South Korea’s postwar reconstruction efforts transformed the country intoan economic and military power in east Asia and around the world, he says.

“They were one of the few countries who have received a lot of support to reconstruct their country and have not misused the funds,” Charland, a retired colonel, says.

Charland, who has returned to Korea three times as part of a South Korean government program inviting foreign veterans to visit, says he volunteered to go to Korea as a young officer despite his mother’s initial opposition.

His platoon was ambushed in his first mission, he says, and five of his fellow soldiers were wounded. But the time served in the country was invaluable, he says.

“My experience in Korea, made me grow from a young man to a much wiser man.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 24, 2023.

Sharif Hassan, The Canadian Press

Lethbridge News Now

by Garrison Thu 27 Jul 2023, 4:36 pm

A Korean War vet looks back

Very few veterans of the conflict are left to mark its 70th anniversary, but Gaston Delisle was there.

Thursday, Jul. 27, 2023

CTV News

by Glideon Wed 09 Aug 2023, 11:42 am

Korean photographer travels the world to honour the service of last few remaining Korean War vets

Veteran says fellow Korean War vets had to fund their own memorial wall

RCI
Posted: August 8, 2023

It's been 70 years since the armistice that ended the Korean War, and the number of Canadian soldiers still with us who fought in "The Forgotten War" is fewer and fewer each year.

That's why Rami Hyun is on a mission to tell the stories, through interviews and photos, of these remaining few soldiers.

In Canada, the Korean War has been known, sadly, as the Forgotten War, he said. It's not a forgotten war—it's a forgotten victory.

Since 2017, Hyun has interviewed thousands of veterans from all over the world and taken their photos as part of Project Soldier.

He said he's been taking photos of Korean War veterans for almost 10 years — a project he says is meant to honour their service.

We owe a lot, he said, adding that veterans from the Korean War have had to fight for recognition.

Hyun, who lives in South Korea, spent last year travelling the United States, taking photos and conducting interviews. He said each place he visits provides a different country, different feeling, different story about the Korean War.

Last week, Hyun visited some of the few remaining Canadian veterans. He said out of almost 27,000 veterans, only six per cent are still living in Canada.

One of those veterans is Romeo Daley, president of the Korea Veterans Association (new window), in Fort Erie, Ont.

Daley said he didn't want to be part of Project Soldier at first, because he was concerned revisiting stories about his past would trigger nightmares, but said he decided participating was important.

Korean War veterans are dying faster than any other war veteran, Daley said.

He said there were around 151 Korean War veterans living in the Niagara area in 2019 — now Daley is one of four remaining veterans.

I'm one of the youngest and I'm 91, he said. How much longer do we have?

'We ended up being peacemakers'
Daley said he turned 18 the month before the Korean War began on June 25, 1950 — the day 75,000 North Korean troops under dictator Kim Il-sung, grandfather of current leader Kim Jong-un, swept across the border.

He said he joined the Canadian Army two months later, in August 1950, and was deployed to Korea almost a year later, in June 1951.

At the time, it was a one year term. Every Canadian that signed to go, signed to go for one year and as it was they couldn't find a replacement for me, so I had to stay a little longer, he said.

He said he was sent as a peacekeeper, not as an active soldier, even though he had been to hell and back during his time in the war. He said for a long time, the Canadian government saw the soldiers returning from the Korean War as peace officers, not as war veterans.

We went to Korea as peacekeepers, but we ended up being peacemakers, he said.

Veterans fighting to remember their legacy 70 years after war
There is a memorial wall for the fallen soldiers (new window) who fought in the Korean War in Brampton, at Meadowvale Cemetery. It was built in 1997 and has the names of the almost 27,000 Canadian soldiers who served.

But Daley said the wall, which cost around $77,000, was entirely funded by the veterans. Daley said he raised $5,000 himself.

The Korean conflict took the lives of 516 Canadians, making it the country's third most deadly conflict, but it wasn't until the 1990s that the war's dates were added to The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (new window) in Ottawa, Ont.

We had to fight for everything, Daley said.

Hyun said that in his experience, from meeting thousands of Korean War veterans, what most of them want is recognition.

He said if you meet a Korean War veteran, you should say, 'Thank you for your service and sacrifice.'

If you remember them, they're not going to go. They're going to live forever within the mind, and in history too.

RCI

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