Korean War veterans to visit Korea

By Jun Ji-hye

Ninety veterans of the Korean War from U.N. allied nations and their families will visit Korea next week, the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs said Friday.

The war veterans and their families from 11 countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and Turkey, will arrive here Monday for a six-day visit at the invitation of the ministry.

They will attend a commemorative ceremony to be held Wednesday in honor of and as a tribute to the U.N. soldiers killed during the 1950-53 Korean War.

The Turn Toward Busan International Commemorative Ceremony will be held at the U.N. Memorial Cemetery in the southern port city of Busan. The ceremony calls on people from around the world to offer a one-minute silent tribute to fallen U.N. soldiers by facing toward Busan wherever they are at 11 a.m.

Those invited include Vincent Courtenay, a Canadian Korean War veteran, who in 2007 first inspired commemorative ceremonies to be held worldwide to give silent tribute simultaneously to fallen U.N. soldiers.

The family of British Korean War veteran Robert Steed Holman McCotter will visit with his remains, which will be interred in the U.N. Memorial Cemetery ahead of the commemorative ceremony, according to his will left when he died in the U.K. in 2001.

“A revisit event for war veterans began in 1975, and some 30,000 veterans and their families have visited Korea again after the war,” the ministry said in a release. “The event contributes a lot to strengthening relations with countries that sent troops during the war and boosting the nation’s image by expressing its gratitude for their service.”

The Wednesday service falls on Nov. 11, an important day of commemoration for those lost in wars among many countries around the world, including the U.S. where it is celebrated as Veterans Day and the Commonwealth nations which mark it as Remembrance Day.

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