Grateful for midnight air raids
Whenever I have any occasion to mingling at a U.S. Air Force (USAF) event or with its airmen, it reminds me of a critical blessing to members of my family — composed of my great grandmother, grandparents, parents and five siblings — 76 years ago, during August of 1950. At the height of the Korean War, when Seoul was suddenly overtaken by North Korean troops, I was gripped by the thunderous U.S. airstrikes against the enemy forces.
On Oct. 2, I was invited to the 79th USAF Ball as a member of the Korea-America Association (KAA) at Lotte Hotel World sponsored by the 7th Air Force under Lt. Gen. David G. Shoemaker, as one of approximately 500 military and civilian participants. Likewise, on May 17, 2019, I joined a one-day sightseeing trip to Osan Air Base, invited by then-Commander Kenneth WIlsbach as one of 24 participating members of the KAA. These events let me vividly recollect my boyhood.
While under North Korean occupation, my then-35-year-old father was recruited as a member of the invaders’ Cultural Maneuvering Squads. That meant he was drafted to fight against the South Korean and United Nations forces. The midnight air attacks the USAF made the North Koreans scatter here and there, and my father was fortunate to escape from the lineup while still in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi Province, north of Seoul. If not for the air strike that gave cover for him to elude his captors, he would have been separated from my mother and all six of his children.
Without the air raids against the North Korean military, my family would not have been safe. We were more fortunate than many, because the attacks also killed many people as they destroyed North Korean military equipment and weapons. Had the USAF carried out daylight raids, things might have been different and left my father unable to escape. My siblings and I would have had very different lives growing up in postwar Korea as fatherless children.
I hope the 7th will retain the assault posture essential to deliver the same protection they have long provided us. It is my earnest desire that the 7th will be a partner as an air and space watchdog with Korea, defending against Pyongyang’s continuing threats. With my gratitude to the USAF for safeguarding my family and for inviting me to the ball in 2026, the 250th year of U.S. Independence, I wish the 7th will continue to carry its mission of a shared commitment to peace, readiness and stability on the Korean Peninsula.
Lee Sun-ho (wkexim@naver.com) is a freelance columnist living in Seoul.