A monument is set up at the Korea Military Academy in Seoul to commemorate U.S. Military Academy graduates killed in the 1950-53 Korean War, on Oct. 7, 2022, in this photo released by the Korean chapter of the Korea Defense Veterans Association.
SEOUL, Oct. 7 (Korea Bizwire) — The Korea Military Academy (KMA) and a veterans association established an additional monument to commemorate 14 U.S. Military Academy graduates who were killed in the 1950-53 Korean War, their officials said Friday.
The monument was erected at the academy in Seoul to remember the West Pointers who graduated from the military academy in 1946, according to the KMA and the Korean chapter of the Korea Defense Veterans Association (KDVA).
Its establishment brought the total number of such memorial monuments to five. A project has been under way to construct a total of seven monuments to commemorate those who graduated from the U.S. academy from 1945-51 and died in the war.
Attending the ceremony marking the establishment of the structure were Lt. Gen. Willard M. Burleson, the commander of the Eighth U.S. Army, and Lee Seo-young, president of the KDVA Korean chapter.
“Our shared values are the foundation that has been built by our predecessors, and it is our duty to ensure that we protect our way of life and honor those who come before us by ensuring that we maintain the day-to-day readiness of our ROK and U.S. forces,” Burleson said.
ROK stands for South Korea’s official name, Republic of Korea.
He added, “It may be more important now than it has been since the end of the Korean War. We must be the example of peace through strength.”
Lee stressed the bilateral alliance as the root of the allies’ combined defense system, highlighting the need to further strengthen the security partnership.
(Yonhap)
