This year being the 66th anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War, a special event was held at Changyeong Elementary School in Incheon. (image: Flickr/ Carol VanHook)
INCHEON, South Korea, June 24 (Korea Bizwire) – “Without the UN forces during the Korean War, our country would probably have become a communist country. Thank you for helping our country.”
This year being the 66th anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War, a special event was held at Changyeong Elementary School in Incheon.
The entire school, consisting of 240 students, wrote appreciation letters to President Obama and the families of war veterans. Young grade schoolers mentioned how they appreciate the sacrifice the soldiers made for freedom, peace, and democracy in a country thousands of miles away from their home.
A sixth-grader named Ji Eun-seo said, “I will always remember the soldiers who died in our country. Korea will never forget the U.S.” “I promise I will always be thankful for allowing us to live in peace,” said another sixth-grader, Park Joon-ki. Other students also made promises such as “We’ll pray for peaceful unification,” and “We’ll never get into another war.”
This event was sponsored by the Handwritten Letters Campaign with support from the Ministry of Patriots & Veterans Affairs Incheon Office to celebrate National Military Appreciation Month.
Incheon holds commemoration events every year to mark Operation Chromite, also known as the Battle of Inchon, that eventually led to the victory of the United Nations during the Korean War.
Under the code name Operation Chromite, the operation was executed with 261 naval vessels and 75,000 troops, and was the largest amphibious invasion since the Second World War.
Despite chances of success that were estimated at only 1 in 5,000 due to the huge difference between low and high tide, the operation still took place and the UN forces finally recaptured Seoul.
The letters written by the students of Changyeong Elementary School will be delivered to the American Embassy.
“This event was planned to show appreciation to the families of war veterans and President Obama during National Military Appreciation Month,” said Lee Geun-ho, director of the Handwritten Letters Campaign. “Hopefully, the letters will help to improve the diplomatic relationships between our two countries,” he added.
The U.S. is also holding a roll call ceremony of 7,052 KATUSA (Korean Augmentation Troops to the United States Army) soldiers who died in the Korean War. (image: Public Domain)
The U.S. is also holding a roll call ceremony of 7,052 KATUSA (Korean Augmentation Troops to the United States Army) soldiers who died in the Korean War while fighting against the Communist Army. The ceremony will take place on June 25 at the Korean War Veterans Memorial located in Washington, D.C. and last for 12 hours. Each soldier’s name will be read in both Korean and English.
By Nonnie Kim (nkim@koreabizwire.com)
