Canadian veteran of Korean War buried in Korea in fulfillment of final wish

In this April 1951 photo, Canadian Korean War veteran William Chrysler, right, helps a wounded comrade during the Battle of Gapyeong, where U.N. forces clashed with Chinese troops. Courtesy of the Embassy of Canada in Seoul

A Canadian veteran of the Korean War has been laid to rest in Korea, fulfilling his lifelong wish to remain in the country he once fought to defend.

William Chrysler, who served as a private in the 2nd Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment during the 1950–1953 Korean War, was honored with a ceremony Monday at Incheon International Airport. The ceremony was organized by Korea’s Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs.

Chrysler’s remains arrived in Korea late Monday afternoon and were received by Patriots and Veterans Affairs Minister Kang Jung-ai, Canadian Ambassador to Korea Tamara Mawhinney and members of Chrysler’s family.

Chrysler enlisted at the age of 20 and served until March 1952. A poignant photograph of him helping a wounded comrade after the Battle of Gapyeong became one of the most enduring images of the war’s human toll. The photo is currently archived at the Imperial War Museum in London. Chrysler’s battalion was later awarded the U.S. Presidential Unit Citation for its valor in the battle.

After completing his military service, Chrysler returned to Korea in the 1970s as a specialized welder, playing a key role in building the country’s first nuclear power plant, Kori 1. It was during this period that he met Kyung-ja, his future wife, and began building a life partly anchored in the country he had once helped defend.

He died last November at the age of 94, several months after revisiting Korea as part of a U.N. veterans’ program.

Chrysler’s remains will be interred Monday at the United Nations Memorial Cemetery in the port city of Busan, the only U.N.-designated cemetery in the world. He will be the 29th UN veteran to be buried there since 2015.

“My husband fought in the Korean War in the 1950s, came back in the 1970s to work and marry me, and our only son and grandson now live in Korea,” said Kyung-ja Chrysler, 70. “I’m happy that he can finally rest in the land he loved so much.”

More than 26,000 Canadians served in the Korean War, and over 500 lost their lives.