Memorial for USKF members sought

By Kang Seung-woo

Rep. William Keating (D-MA)

A U.S. congressman has submitted a resolution to establish a memorial commemorating American service members killed or who went missing during assignments in Korea after the 1950-53 Korean War due to hostile acts by North Korea.

“A later war in Korea, known only to some veterans and families of those veterans as the ‘DMZ War’ or ‘The Forgotten War of the Forgotten War,’ occurred long after the signing of the Korean War armistice,” Rep. William Keating (D-MA) said in a concurrent resolution on Thursday. The Korean War is known as “The Forgotten War.”

The resolution calls for the selection of an appropriate site in Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia for a memorial that would honor the memory of those who have been awarded, or are eligible for, the Korean Defense Service Medal, those who went missing in action, are unaccounted for, or who died in action.

The medal, first created in 2002 under the George Bush administration, is authorized for U.S. troops who have served in South Korea.

”Since the armistice was signed (in 1953), more than 40,000 armistice violations have occurred, many of which affected members of the Armed Forces who were stationed in and around Korea,” Keating said.

”Some of those violations, like the capture of the USS Pueblo, caught the attention of the media, although most have not.”

For example, in 1994, the reclusive country shot down a U.S. Bell OH–58 Kiowa observation helicopter and killed Chief Warrant Officer David Hilemon and held Chief Warrant Officer Bobby Hall captive for 13 days, Keating said.

The lawmaker added: “Some veterans of the Armed Forces suffered exposure to Agent Orange, which was used during a period that began in 1968 and ended in 1971 in and around the Demilitarized Zone.”

Agent Orange was a defoliant used by the U.S. military during the Vietnam War.

In March, Rep. Sam Johnson, a Republican from Texas, introduced a bill that would permit a privately funded addition to the Wall of Remembrance to the Korean War Veterans Memorial for veterans whose contribution during the conflict has not been adequately recognized.