Martin Uden

Korean War Lives On…

25 June is more than a date in South Korea - it's part of the language.  To refer to the Korean War, you simply say 6.25, the day that North Korea invaded the South.  This year is the 59th anniversary of that day, and by happy close coincidence, the British government has decided to hold the first UK Armed Forces Day on 27 June.

This meant that we decided to hold our local celebration of Armed Forces Day on 24 June.  There is real poignancy here in remembrance of fallen service personnel since over 1,100 British servicemen lost their lives in the Korean War.  And the Republic of Korea itself is enormously generous in supporting the veterans (of all the states that sent forces to the UN Command) during re-visits.  They really set a fine example in honouring the contribution of the sending states, but even more importantly of the individual servicemen, who all made enormous sacrifices and many of whom paid the ultimate sacrifice.  I should recommend just such a story in one of the Korean English-language dailies (Joongang Daily) about one of the British servicemen who died and how the Korean government helped his family to visit his grave in the UN cemetery in Busan.

I'll be interested to see how the first ever Armed Forces Day is received in the UK itself. It certainly made enormous sense here.  

Posted at 16:14 26 June 2009 by Martin Uden  |  Comments[2]