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'Turn Toward Busan' remembers Korean War veterans
Participants of “Turn Toward Busan” remain silent to pay respect to the fallen soldiers of the Korean War at UN Memorial Cemetery in Busan, Friday. Yonhap
By Ko Dong-hwan
By Ko Dong-hwan
The United Nations Memorial Cemetery in Busan, Friday, saw a crowd of people gathered for the "Turn Toward Busan" ceremony to pay respect to those fallen while fighting in the 1950-53 Korean War.
The annual ceremony was held at 11 a.m. (Korea time) on Nov. 11 ― the time when people around the world commemorate the Korean Armistice Agreement signed at that hour in 1918 halting World War I hostilities on the Western Front in Europe ― to also remember the Korean War. National flags of 22 countries that fought together under the U.N. flag were hoisted high before the over 110 Korean War veterans, their family members from some 15 countries and Korean government officials in attendance.
Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs Park Min-shik, Busan Mayor Park Heong-joon and U.N. Command Deputy Commander Lieutenant General Andrew Harrison were among the crowd at the event. The participants observed one minute of silence, with salutary cannons firing 21 times and Korea's Black Eagle fighter jets drawing a “taegeuk” in the sky.
"I will do my best to honor U.N. veterans," Han said on Friday. "The Korean government will make efforts to bring more U.N. veterans to South Korea and will surely defend peace on the Korean Peninsula in order to accept the noble will of the veterans."
The remains of two late veterans from the Netherlands, Mathias Hubertus Hoogenboom and Eduard Julius Engberink, and one late British veteran, James Grundy, were laid to rest during the memorial event.
Grundy, who was tasked with collecting the bodies of soldiers killed during the war, first visited the U.N. Memorial Cemetery in 1988 upon invitation by the ministry. Since then, he said he visited the park every year for over 30 years to pay tribute to his former comrades. Being awarded honorary citizenship by Busan Nam District Office in 2019 in recognition of his outstanding affection for South Korea, Grundy passed away in August. He declared in his last will and testament that he wished to be buried with his comrades in Korea.