Dutch Korean War veteran to be buried at UN cemetery in Busan

By Jun Ji-hye

The remains of Dutch Korean War veteran, Johan Theodoor Aldewereld, will be interred at the U.N. Memorial Cemetery in Busan next week, the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs said Thursday.

Johan Theodoor Aldewereld

The ministry said his body will arrive at Incheon International Airport Monday and temporarily lie in state at Seoul National Cemetery.

On Wednesday, his body will be moved to the U.N. cemetery in Busan and buried there in accordance with the veteran’s wish that he wanted to be laid to rest beside his comrades.

During the 1950-53 Korean War, Aldewereld fought for South Korea under the U.N. flag against North Korean invaders.

He arrived at the Korean Peninsula as an infantryman in August 1951 and participated in several major battles until being discharged from the service in July 1952.

He died on Feb. 4 of this year at the age of 88 in his country.

“The ministry will support the burial ceremony with the highest level of courtesy and protocol,” the ministry said in a release.

Aldewereld visited South Korea in May of last year for the first time since the war.

The visit was part of the ministry’s revisit event for the war veterans from U.N. allied nations and their families, which began in 1975.

During his visit, Aldewereld attended the burial ceremony for his comrade, Nicolas Frans Wessels, at the U.N. cemetery.

“Aldewereld was extremely impressed by the South Korean government that treated the war veterans with exceptional respect even 60 years after the war,” the ministry said. “He was also impressed by how this country has developed after the war.”

After going back to the Netherlands, he sent a letter to the Dutch Ambassador to South Korea Lody Embrechts, delivering his gratitude to the South Korean government, the ministry noted.

Senior officials from the two countries, including Ambassador Embrechts, and representatives from the U.N. Command will be in attendance at the burial ceremony. About 10 Dutch Korean War veterans and their families, who will visit South Korea, will also be present.

This marks the sixth individual burial ceremony to be held at the cemetery, the only place in the world where fallen U.N. servicemen are buried.

According to the ministry, 40,670 servicemen of the 21 U.N. allied nations were killed during the conflict, with 104,280 wounded and 4,116 missing. A total of 23,000 U.N. servicemen have been laid to rest at the U.N. cemetery.