The Graybeards - KWVA - Korean War Veterans Association

up. But there was no time for sentimentality.
Perhaps if there had been, one
might have gazed at the youth lying there,
his blond hair blowing in the mountain
breeze just like the blades of grass nearby,
and thoughts of the kid’s family, his
past and what his girl might say. But soldiers
usually are too busy and too tired.
They must move on to another hill. So
they would just pass by this kid and think
to themselves, “Tough luck, old boy.
Perhaps you’re better off. Thank God it
wasn’t me any way. Damn, my feet hurt;
When do we eat?”
Thus another battle was won, another
hill was taken. The gate to Waegwan had
been opened. But to the soldier it was just
“another damned hill.” There were no
flag raisings, no bands playing a doughboy
hymn.
The American public, opening its
morning newspapers, no doubt read the
heading “Elements of the 1st Cavalry
Division Move 1,000 Yards Towards The
Naktong;” and turned to something more
exciting. But what a 1,000 yards!
(I have a series of letters Lt. Beirne wrote
home. We will print them in future issues.
Ed.)
Busan Orvukdo United Nations Festival
Nam-gu District, where Oryukdo is
located, one of the most popular tourist
attractions in Busan, is the site of the UN
Memorial Cemetery the only one of its kind
in the world. Around United Nations day
(October 24) the Busan Oryukdo UN
Festival is held here every year. The United
Nations Memorial Cemetery was established
to commemorate the spirit, courage
and sacrifice of the UN troops who died during
the Korean War (1950 to 1953). A total
of 36,772 soldiers from 16 nations died during
the Korean War. Of those, 2,300 soldiers
from 11 nations are buried in the 145,000
square meter cemetery. They include 281
soldiers from Australia, 378 from Canada,
44 from France, 117 from the Netherlands,
34 from New Zealand, 1 from Norway, 36
from Korea, 11 from the Republic of South
Africa, 462 from Turkey, 885 from Britain,
36 from the U.S., 4 unknown soldiers and 11
civilians.
The Festival will begin with the Lighting
of the Sacred Torch at Oryukdo on October
20. It will be followed by the Peace Parade,
the National Paragliding Competition, and
the Peace Rally (participants will walk
through the forest while reflecting on the
significance of love and peace) on October
21, International Peace Conference of the
Youth on
October 22, the Peace Concert on
October 23, and a memorial ceremony for
UN day, a traditional dance for the repose of
the souls, a naming ceremony for UN
Avenue, a ceremony to celebrate the completion
of UN Sculpture Park, and an
evening for Korean War veterans on
October 24.
Memorial Photos Needed
If we have not shown your memorial in the last 2 years please send in a photo.
Please identify the memorial and all persons in it. Send us the best photo that
does your memorial justice. Describe the memorial in detail and give us the
location. I will also send that photo on to our webmaster to place on our KWVA
web page. Please do not send photos you want returned and please no newspaper
clippings. —Editor
September/October, 2001 Page 59