By Yoon Jong-jin
On Nov. 7, the ashes of deceased veterans of the Korean War arrived at Incheon International Airport with honor guards lining up. The deceased veterans ― French veteran Robert Picquenard and Dutch veterans Mathias Hubertus Hoogenboom and Eduard Julius Engberink were in their late 10s and early 20s when they joined the Korean War in defense of the Republic of Korea and all three of them wished to rest in the country they fought to protect.
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| Yoon Jong-jin |
The United Nations Memorial Cemetery in Busan, where the three veterans will be interred is the world's only U.N. cemetery. It was created in 1951 by the United Nations Command for fallen U.N. troops during the Korean War, and the country donated the land to the U.N. for perpetual use. Now it is the final resting place for 2,315 veterans from 11 countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and the Netherlands. After the war, the cemetery stopped functioning as a cemetery and became a place of remembrance for a while.
However, it once more became a cemetery as some veterans who visited in post-war Korea said they also wanted it to be their final resting place in order to be with their comrades in the country they fought so hard to protect in their youth. Since 2015, the Republic of Korea's Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs has provided interment support for those U.N. veterans of the Korean War who wish for the U.N. cemetery to be their final resting place. So far, 14 veterans have been interred in the post-war period.
In addition to the three veterans, the deceased British veteran, James Grundy, who is temporarily enshrined in the Daejeon National Cemetery, will be interred in the U.N. cemetery this week. The U.N. cemetery has a special connection with Grundy. He was just 19 when he joined the Korean War in 1951 as part of a recovery unit, and during the war, he recovered 90 fallen soldiers, including British, Americans and Koreans from battlefields across the Korean Peninsula and transported them to be buried at the U.N. cemetery.
Whenever Grundy buried the bodies he recovered, he made the promise "I won't forget you. I will come back to you," and to fulfill his promise, he visited Busan each year over the next 30 years since he first came back to Korea in 1988 at the invitation of the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs.
Though Grundy was battling spinal cancer and despite his doctor telling him not to go, he visited Busan. What led Grundy to Busan was a great love for fellow veterans and his unwavering commitment to service and his promise, and perhaps, some anxiety that people might forget the Korean War and even his comrades' sacrifices. As vice minister of Patriots and Veterans Affairs, it makes me all the more grateful for Grundy whenever I think of the reasons why he returned to Busan over all those years.
Everyone who enjoys freedom and peace today is indebted to U.N. veterans of the Korean War who sacrificed their youth and even their lives 72 years ago to defend the universal values of world peace and freedom. I want to introduce one thing we can do to honor them. There will be a special event on Nov. 11 at 11 a.m. at the United Nations Memorial Cemetery in Busan. It is the Turn Toward Busan international ceremony in order to remember fallen U.N. veterans during the Korean War.
Suggested by a Canadian veteran in 2007, the event takes place every year on Nov. 11 at 11 a.m. to encourage people from the U.N. Sending States around the world to join in a minute of silence for the Turn Toward Busan ceremony. To add more meaning to this year's program, the four deceased veterans will be interred in the cemetery on Nov. 11 and the following day.
Seventy-two years ago, 1.95 million young men and women came from 22 countries to the then strange country, which they had never heard of before, the Republic of Korea, and fought under the U.N.'s flag. The late Grundy once said at a lecture to the Korean people, "We offered our today for your tomorrow," and, "Although it was a long time ago, please remember us always."
As the Republic of Korea's vice minister of Patriots and Veterans Affairs, I kindly ask for readers and people around the world to join us in remembering U.N. veterans with a minute of silence toward Busan on Nov. 11 at 11 a.m. and honoring their sacrifice in defense of the noble causes of world peace and freedom.
Yoon Jong-jin is the vice minister of Patriots and Veterans Affairs.
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