>> My name is Jose Jimenez. No. Frank R. Chang, and I was in the First Marine Division, and at that time, back in the 1950s, right after World War II, I joined the Marine Corps, and it was rare at that time because there were no Chinese in the Marines, very few. They were just starting to let them in, and I was one of probably the first half dozen to a dozen, at best, in the Marine Corps. Okay? What else do you want to know?

>> Did you get to … Why not the Army? Why the Marine Corps?

>> Oh, there was a lot of good movies put out on the Marines in those days, so that’s what got me in there, and it was very romantic and brave and heroic, and they were going to save the world, and I was a young guy, and didn’t know any better, and so I joined the Marine Corps when the war, Korean War, broke out. That was December of 1950, I don’t know, 1951, ’52.

>> Knowing that the war was ongoing, and knowing that you could die …

>> Oh, when you’re young, you don’t worry about dying. You think you’re going to live forever.

>> What do you remember?

>> What do I remember?

>> Where did you get trained before …

>> What do I remember?

>> Where were you trained? Which camp?

>> I trained in Camp Pendleton, California. Down there towards San Diego, between San Diego and Los Angeles. I was probably one of the first half dozen orientals that joined the Marine Corps at that time because it was right after World War II, and prior to that, and during World War II, they did not have … bring in the Chinese or orientals in the Marines, and especially during the Korean War you would be mistaken for an enemy because at that time, they were stripping our wounded and dead and wearing our uniforms because they were poorly equipped. The Chinese that came into the war in Korea were not equipped very well. They were recruited fresh from China, and they were only in Chinese uniforms, and it was winter when I went over there, so they were stripping our dead and wounded of their clothing and wearing it, so it was quite something that I was able to go over there because, being oriental, that’s the first thing you aimed and pulled the trigger on because we were fighting North Koreans and Chinese at that time.

>> Did you face discrimination among other …

>> Well, they always thought I was the enemy, and having joined the Marines, I was probably, like I said, probably one of the first half dozen, not even a dozen that joined the Marines and were able to be part of the Marine Corps, and many times I was pushed out of the foods lines, what we called the chow lines, because I looked like a Korean or a Chinese, not Chinese but mostly Korean because we had a lot of Koreans working for us.

>> Oh.

>> So if I’d get in the chow line, they’d kick me out.

>> Because they thought you were one of the houseboys or interpretors.

>> Yeah, they thought I was one of the houseboys or one of the what we call … I hate to say it, but that’s … We used to call them chiggy bearers, and these were the Koreans that we recruited to work for us.

>> What bearers?

>> We used to call them chiggy.

>> Chiggy?

>> Yeah, C-H-I-G-G-Y, chiggy.

>> What does that mean?

>> I don’t even know what it means, it’s just a name, but these were Koreans that we hired and they carried all our ammunition, all our food on their backs up these mountains, and this was when I was young and wild, and I called them the chiggy bearer, but I soon learned that these were not just chiggy bearers and slaves. They were people, and one of … A little old Korean man taught me a lesson that I will never forget.

>> Share that.

>> Well, we just got through battle, a battle, and we took a hill. We took the position, and as we were digging in, as we call it in the Marine Corps, we were digging out foxholes and building fortification, this little Korean chiggy bearer, as we used to call them, this little Korean guy, after carrying a big, heavy box of food or ammunition up those mountains to us, after they drop off all the supplies, before they go back down the mountain, they’d spread out through the area, and that day, after the battle, I was cutting a huge log for something, and being a young person and a Marine, I looked down on this little old guy, but he pushed me aside, and he grabbed the ax that I was using, and I’ve been working on this log for maybe an hour or 2 hours or 3 hours but forever, and I hadn’t gotten very far, but he grabbed the ax from me, and he proceeded to chop it up in about a minute and a half. He was like an automatic machine, and as I leaned against a tree or wherever I was leaning against, I thought to myself, “I’m ashamed of myself. I’m very ashamed of myself because I looked down on this little Korean man. He carried my ammunition and my food up this mountain, and I’ve been working on this log for 10 years and didn’t get very far, and he comes up here and he shows me in a way how to chop a log up,” and he had it chopped and piled up in less than a minute and a half. He was like a machine, and that’s when I learned, as a young person, never look down on anybody else, no matter what, and even though I came over to this country to help him, he showed me something, and I was ashamed of myself, and that was a lesson in life. I never forgot that.

>> Humility, huh?

>> Never look down on another human being, no matter what.

>> Let’s talk …

>> That’s my story.

>> Yeah. Let’s talk about Punchbowl because Punchbowl is a very famous battle.

>> Well, by the time I got to Punchbowl, the hills had been taken.

>> When was that? What month and year?

>> I don’t remember the month. I’ll tell you the year: The year was about … I think I was … I don’t even remember. I think I was over there in ’51, ’50 or ’51. We were there. I was there, and I spent a Christmas there. Christmas Eve, I was walking by myself, and the guns … And we had big guns in the Punchbowl area, and they would fire off every so often, and it was one of the most … How could I say it? Incredible sounds that I hear to this day, the big guns firing. Christmas Eve in Korea, a cloudless moon. It was a beautiful sight, really, in your memory, and the guns would fire off every 5 to 10 minutes, and the echo reverberated through the Punchbowl area because it had, what, three sides of the mountains all around you, and I hear those sounds today, periodically, so that’s kind of a memory of Korea.

>> Many died in that battle.

>> Many, many, many.

Many, many, many, and they … not ours but on the other side, the enemy, they laid where they died.

>> North Koreans or Chinese?

>> Pardon?

>> North Koreans or Chinese?

>> Probably a mixture because you couldn’t tell. They all looked alike. I looked alike. I looked like them, and in fact, I’m probably … Like I say, I’m probably one of the first half dozen, other than my comrades here in the group because they were … I guess I’d say they were probably in the northern part or the western part of the … I don’t know. I was young at that time, but in the Marine Corps, in our sector, I was probably one of the first half dozen that was in combat. Yeah. Because in the Marines, they didn’t have Chinese, and they didn’t have orientals, and in fact, when I went over as a replacement, there was one other guy that came in from Tarrytown, New York. His name is Al Hui. That’s that guy right there. That’s Al Hui, and …

>> His last name was Huey?

>> H-U-I, Hui.

>> Oh, and where … Which state was he from?

>> Huh?

>> Which state was he from?

>> No, no, I’m sorry.

>> What’s his hometown?

>> There were two. That’s Al Hui there. He was from Tarrytown, New York, and this is Herbie. That’s the other oriental guy that I met over there.

>> Where was he from?

>> He was from Wisconsin some place, which is from unusual, and I was from the San Francisco, Bay Area, so there were three of us. We got all separated in different parts of the First Marine Division, but Al and I landed together, ended up together at the replacement depot where the new guys came in, and they called Al and myself into the commanding officer’s tent, and commanding officer is siting at a table there, and we were standing at attention in front of him, and he said, “You two guys” … I remember, he pointed at … “You two guys are not going to go up on line and join an outfit.” He said, “You won’t last more than a week,” because we were fighting the Koreans and the Chinese at that time, and it was wintertime, and they were stripping our dead of their clothes and wearing them, so the first time orientals in the Marine Corps, there was no such thing. There were, like I say at that time, there were maybe six, half a dozen at best of …

>> In the entire Marine Corps or just your division?

>> Hmm?

>> In the entire …

>> In the entire Marine Corps, in the entire Marine Corps because the Marines were fighting in the islands during World War II, so they were fighting the Japanese, and they had no Marines, as far as I know, and I’m pretty darn sure because when we went over there, Al and I stayed together, and the commanding officer said, the replacement depot officer said, “You two guys are not going to go off the line. We’re keeping you back here. You won’t last more than a week,” and I looked at Al, and he looked up at me, and I said, “No, sir, we want to go up on line and join our company,” and I remember his exact words: He said, “You sure?” and I said, “Yes, sir. I want to join my company.” He said, “Okay. You won’t last more than a week, but if that’s what you want, you will join them,” and I joined Dog Company, and Al joined the Easy Company, which when we went up on the battle together, battle lines, we were always together, the two companies, alongside of each other.

>> Did he make it back too?

>> Hmm?

>> Did he make it back?

>> Al made it back because he was a machine gunner, and machine gunners are pretty good. And, well, we were both lucky.

>> And you saw combat?

>> Oh, yeah.

>> So you saw people actually die next to you?

>> I wasn’t with the company more than 2 weeks. I walk down the hill one morning. There was roughly 27 guys. Next morning, four of us was carrying a stretcher, and one of my guys that I went over there with, we carried him on that long, up a mountain, and by the time we got within about 25 feet of our line, he rolled off one last time and died. I carried him all night. We carried him all night up a mountain. So that was my beginning in Korea. Yes, we saw a lot of people die. We saw a lot of people never made it home. This is why, today … That’s why today, I still don’t forget. You never forget.

>> And you were how old?

>> I guess I was … No, I was 17. I joined when I was 17, April 5th. I was in Korea, I think November, November of that same year, after training …

>> In 1950? In 1950 or 1951?

>> 1950 … I don’t know. It was 1950 or ’51. I forget the year now. I haven’t looked at the records or anything.

>> Because the war broke out on June 25th, 1950, so maybe ’51?

>> Well, it might have been ’51. I forget now. My mother had to sign on a dotted line for me to get in because I was 17. Yeah.

>> How old are you now? Or how young are you now?

>> Eighty-four.

>> Well, you’re still considered young compared to some of the veterans, right? And you keep yourself very, very fit and healthy and young, and I guess …

>> Well, God has been good to me. He gave me good genes, and I guess I took care of my body.

>> Because you probably understood how precious it is.

>> I stayed fit. All my life I was pretty fit because I’ve been in the outdoors. I was at … No, actually, I have to take that back. See, I have to think because I never even thought … I was 18. I was 18 when I went over to Korea. I was 17 when I joined the Marine Corps, and in the Marines … I went in at 17, and I had my 18th birthday a month later. I had to get in so bad. That’s another story from way back.

>> When’s your birthday?

>> But I had to have my mother sign on a dotted line.

>> When’s your birthday?

>> Hmm? April 5th.

>> Your birthday is April 5th?

>> Yeah.

>> I went in March 7th, March 7th.

>> My birthday is in April too.

>> You’re another Aries, that’s why.

>> Oh, I’m a Taurus.

>> Oh, you’re a Taurus.

>> Yes.

>> Oh, well.

>> Even more stubborn, Tauruses.

>> Yeah.

>> Well, first of all, you …

>> Yeah, well …

>> Many followed … You’re a pioneer, in a way, because many … Now we know there’s many Asian-American …

>> Oh, nothing but orientals in there now, many, many.

>> My cousin was …

>> In fact, I have a grandson …

>> Yeah, my cousin was in the Marines for more than 20 years.

>> Yeah, my grandson was in there. Where is my grandson? There’s my grandson. He came back from Iraq.

>> That was another difficult war.

>> This shows him come back from Iraq, and I was carrying his pack.

>> Mm. You must have been so proud.

>> I was carrying his pack.

>> Now, you have some pictures here. Did you take any of them yourself, the pictures?

>> Oh, I probably did. These were in Korea. These were the only ones that survived in Korea. I had what we call a Pony 135-millimeter camera in those days, but the thing is I had several rolls of film, but the moisture, and we could not develop over there, so by the time I got them back, they were all moldy, so I never bothered to develop a lot of these pictures, and they were all …

>> But they’re still very well-kept.

>> Well, not all of them. They were mostly all ruined. I didn’t take a lot of these pictures. A lot of these pictures I … Some of these, I took. This was over there. This was over in Korea. These are the hills in Korea, and I think these were too, yeah, but very few of them survived. That’s when I graduated from what we called boot camp. This is a picture over here in Camp Pendleton that I was at, 18 years old, but the only pictures that really survived … This is a battle picture that survived.

>> Where was that?

>> I don’t know. One of the many hills. Right here, this is one of the many hills that we took, and here’s that Al, up in the battle line. He was in Easy Company, and I was in Dog Company, and we was always together.

>> Did you both keep in touch afterwards?

>> Pardon?

>> Did you keep in touch after the war?

>> Yes. We both made it through and came back, and we kept in touch, and he was a smoker, so he did himself in.

>> What do you think … Looking back, while at the time you were young and you wanted to seek adventure, so you joined, but looking back now, almost 70 years later, what do you think … What do you think your legacy was?

>> What do I think of what?

>> What do you think your legacy …

>> I have no legacy. My legacy is, I behaved myself, became a good Marine, did my part for something. I don’t know what, but the most important part is, God taught me many lessons.

>> And you’ve been back to Korea?

>> Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Most wonderful part because the Koreans over there had a program for these last … How many years now? God, 30 years, 40 years, and I’ve gone back and able to visit and see the growth and what was accomplished, and it kept me humble.

>> I hope you feel very proud.

>> Well, I just did my part, just like many, many guys, and especially the guys that never made it home. That’s what I’ll … And that’s what … That’s what I keep remembering. I made it home, and most of these guys that we had reunions later on that I was able to get ahold of, we owe for all those that never came back …

>> Well …

>> … that never came back. We were all young men at that time, and these reunion pictures that were taken, we grow old from young men. We grew old, and there I am old.

>> And I would like to say you lived to tell the stories, and honor the memories …

>> Well, it’s important …

>> And honor the memories of those who couldn’t come back.

>> Yeah.

>> So thank you, and I guess that’s what I’m just trying to do to honor your memories.

>> Well, not so much as mine but those that never made it home.

>> Yeah, but …

>> That’s the important …

>> You’re the one that’s tell theirs …

>> Well, I can …

>> … because who will remember them?

>> I can do my best to tell the story as best as I can, but it’s not just me. It was many, many of them, especially those that I went over with. They never saw a month. They never saw one month more.

>> I guess when you’re young … Well, not even when you’re young, but many people think it won’t happen to them, like you read in the paper about somebody crashing and dying in a car accident, but you never think it’s going to happen to you, but so many of fearlessly just joined, thinking it won’t happen to you, but it must have been very, very real when it did … you saw …

>> When you’re young, your mind is small, and you don’t experience a lot of things. You go over there as a young man. As a young man, I walked down the hill. I wasn’t over there a month. I walked down the hill one morning with, I would say … I have the number in my head 27. Twenty-seven of us walked down the hill one morning, and the next morning, to my knowledge, there was only four of us that walked back up. I carried a stretcher within one of my buddies at 18 years old up a hill all night long after a battle during the day. We walked down a hill 27 of us. Next morning, four of us walked back up carrying a stretcher.

>> So what do you think was … How are you the four that survived? What do you think was your, I don’t know, blessing, luck, fortune, skill, whatever it was?

>> God. There’s such a thing as a God.

>> Well, why do you think …

>> See, I was raised in an orphanage that was a Christian orphanage.

>> Okay, that’s what I thought.

>> So I believed in a God quite early as a young man.

>> Okay, so it was God, but why did God spare your life if, maybe out of the 27, all of them believed in him?

>> That’s what I asked. Through my many, many years to my old age, I talked to God constantly. I don’t quite follow him well enough, but he’s there. I know there is a God. I believe in a God.

>> Oh, I do too, but sometimes I ask, “Why me?”

>> That’s the question that we all had. That’s the question that all of us asked, not in public, but I can tell you this between you and me that I don’t talk to other veterans a lot. We don’t talk about it too much, but I know in our secret of our time together, sitting on a couch, sitting on a chair, sitting on a bench, sitting outside, looking around, we know there’s a God, and for those of us that really knows him, we thank him for allowing us to be back here to raise our families, raise children, have grandchildren, but never, never a week goes by that I don’t think of those I left behind that never came home.

>> Even after 70 years.

>> That never came home. Our debt is to our buddies that never came home, and when you see the craziness and the wildness in the youth that is growing up thinking that there’s forever, we do the best that we can for those one-on-one, maybe, and pastors in churches or whatever, they do it one on the congregation, and we try to tell a message that, “Hey, sober up. Mature. Do something for maybe one other. For as many as will listen to you.” See, I owe a debt, not to me but to those that never came home, never got old. I’m an old man now, not a young guy anymore. Not a young guy, 18 years old in Korea. I owe my buddies a debt to be a better person, to do something worthwhile. That’s the important part. That is the most important part.

>> And I’m sure you’ve fulfilled it.

>> I’m very fortunate. God loves me, and I’m still here. I have grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

>> And one more.

>> ... the two mounds, which the shrine is in the middle of ... >> Okay. >> ... are in the shape of the ying and yang. >> Oh. Who designed it? >> An architect in [INAUDIBLE]. The original one was done by a student here at Heriot-Watt University. >> Mm-hmm. >> But the new memorial was done by an architect [INAUDIBLE]. >> Hmm, yep, and we brought the ... >> The fir. >> We brought the tiler from ... >> Korea. >> ... Korea and 10 tons of tiles. >> All these tiles came from Korea. >> They're all genuine old tiles from Korea. >> And the fir, the tree, the tree ... >> The trees came over [INAUDIBLE]. >> And were grown ... They were grown for us at the Botanical Gardens ... >> Botanic Gardens. >> ... in Edinburgh. And then ... >> Wow. >> Then the second place [INAUDIBLE]. >> Shotts Prison. >> Wow. >> Yeah. Once they got too big for the ... >> Botanic Gardens. >> ... Botanic Gardens to hold them ... >> We look for some place to grow them on because they were still in pots, and they went to one of the biggest prisons in Scotland. >> Prison? >> Prison, prison, and they grew them on for us. >> Yes. Yeah. The architect originally wanted the green oak that the shrine is built of to be kept yellow with oil, but I actually wanted it to go gray like this so it would actually match with the tiles on the roof, and so that's why it's all now gray although ... >> [INAUDIBLE] in the navy. >> All thousand ... How many? Sixty-eight thousand seventy? >> One thousand [INAUDIBLE]. >> These trees have been planned in memory of veterans of a branch who have since passed away, and we have a lot of plaques and each one a remembrance. That's our latest one we've [INAUDIBLE].

>> ... from Dublin, so I am at a church. It's called the St. Mary's, and there is a beautiful cross here, a memorial, that lists the names of those who died in World Wars I and II and Korea, and so we were just gathered here, but I have not just two but four Korean War veterans. God always doubles my prayers, by the way, so thank you, God. So here is Grandpa Walter. Oh, Elizabeth! Please come! Come! >> Oh, no, no, no. Just records. >> Well, Grandpa Walter, when did you fight in Korea? >> I went to Korea in 1952 with the 1st Battalion of the Royal Fusiliers, and I fought in Korea for 1 year from '52 to '53 and until the cease-fire. I was in the front line when the cease-fire was sound, and then we moved off of the position and put wire up around the hill and then moved off, and then we went home. I was wounded there in Korea in the first few weeks. >> You were? is that why you have a Purple Heart? >> Yeah, I have ... >> Oh, okay. >> Can you believe that I did get a Purple Heart given to me when I was ... >> Wow. [ Chatter ] >> Oh, he lost his Purple Heart. >> Grandpa. [ Chatter ] >> Oh, can you say your full name, Grandpa Walter? >> My name is Walter Leslie Cout. >> So you have a long name. >> And, Grandpa, what is your full name? >> James Doyle. >> James Doyle. >> Yep. >> Oh. Everybody, look. I gave him my shamrock pins. Yay! Okay. When did you fight in Korea? >> It was in 1953. >> 1953 towards the end? >> Mm-hmm. >> Yes. >> And I was Royal Engineers. >> Royal ... With the Royal Engineers, yes. Okay, and so you did a lot of work with the equipment. >> Yeah, on the bridges. >> Bridges. >> Clearing minefields. >> Yeah, clearing minefields. >> Yeah. Yeah. >> Very important. Yes, it is. >> A dangerous job, but we go through it. >> I'm so glad you were able to come today. Thank you. Grandpa Ray. Well, I gave him an American heart because he fought in the American Army. >> Yep. >> Yes. When? >> In the 40th Division in Company G of the 224th Infantry. I was stationed in [INAUDIBLE] gateway to Seoul in South Korea. [ Chatter ] >> [INAUDIBLE], and there were a mile and a half on the inside, and we were [INAUDIBLE]. It was that way for, I would say, maybe 4 or 5 months. [ Chatter ] >> [INAUDIBLE] and I thought, "Jeez, get me the hell out of here and see a different sight than this." So I got back [INAUDIBLE]. [ Chatter ] >> Were you born in Dublin, or were you born in America? >> America. >> Where? Which state? >> New Haven, Connecticut. >> New Haven, Connecticut, everybody. I was there in Connecticut in Danbury. And last but now least, Grandpa ... I think he's the oldest grandpa here, right? >> Yes. >> How young are you? >> Ninety-one. >> He's only 91 years young, and he looks great. Where and when did you fight in Korea? >> '50 and '51. >> 1950, 1951. Yes. >> [INAUDIBLE]. >> Wow. Were you born in Ireland? >> Oh, yes. Definitely. >> Where? In Dublin? >> In Dublin. >> Oh, and you left from ... Where did you leave from? >> Belfast. >> Belfast. Okay. Well, I'm going to go to Belfast on Friday. Yes. >> Yes, are you? That'll be fine. >> Yes. Well, like I said, everybody, since I'm going to go to Belfast, I am here in Ireland because I think it's not only important to thank the veterans who fought, the Irish veterans who fought, but I do really want to, as a Korean who knows well about the pain of division and separation, and I just commiserate it with the Irish pain of division and separation as well and praying for peace and unity for all, okay, so that is one thing I do want you to know. I also want to You'll hear and meet a lot about Mr. Michael Schafini, who came and traveled all the way from Mayo, Castlebar, where I'll be tomorrow, so you'll hear a lot about him, but, Elizabeth ... Well, and then before we go to Elizabeth, I have two people from the British Legion to welcome here which was a pleasant surprise and a great honor. >> Oh, our pleasure. >> Yes. Oh, and I want to show you what he gave me because this ... I don't bear ... This, I take it very seriously. He requested that I take this and plant this at the Korean War Memorial in Washington on behalf of the legion which ... [ Chatter ] >> Yes, in Ireland, so that is a huge task, a huge honor, and I am very, very proud to bear the cross. Yes. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> And any words to say about from on the behalf of the British Legion? >> Well, we're very proud of all our veterans. There are so few of them left, and most of them ... Don't forget, every one of them was a volunteer if they left the Republic of Ireland which is something else. They weren't necessarily on scripts. They were volunteers. >> And you? >> I think the ... Korea is called the Forgotten War. I think in this situation, it's not even known about, and that's such a challenge to us as a nation here now to make better known of what these chaps did in the '50s. So ... >> So thank you so much, gentlemen ... >> My pleasure. >> ... for coming here and representing and thanking on behalf of the legion, and last but not least, this is Elizabeth, everybody. >> Oh, goodness. >> Yes. I was so surprised because she said she had actually known about me even before she met me today. >> I did. >> Yes, because we have many, many ... >> Many friends all over the world and in particular in Australia, Ray Rogers, Raymond Rogers. He keeps me in contact with all that Hannah is doing and also Edgar Green who is in London, and we keep contact. >> So I was amazed because she said that she has seen me and received their newsletters and e-mails as I was traveling to South Africa, Canada, London, New Zealand, Australia, so that was very amazing. >> Keep up what you're doing. >> Aw, thank you. Thank you, and last but not least, I want to give a shout-out to Ashley from the Korean Embassy who is here to represent the Korean Embassy as well because as you all know, I am here not as an individual but on behalf of all grateful Koreans. The rector is not here, but I want to give a shout-out to the rector who actually ... This beautiful church, as you can see from the back, is closed today, but he made it an exception to open it for us, so thank you to the fathers of the temple. And last but not least, I want to show you where it says Korea, and we will ... So on the side of the cross, it says, "Korean War," and I guess Mr. John David Foster had passed away, so, everybody, thank you so much for joining me on this journey. This is my official day 1 of my "Remember 727" journey to honor veterans and promote peace, so thank you. Bye.

>> My name is Edmund Hollister. My dad, Edwin Robert Hollister. He was born here in American Samoa, and his birthday is September 18th, 1925. He passed away December 8th, 1976. He was a sergeant. He was in Korea at that time. That’s where [INAUDIBLE].

>> Some might say your father is a hero.

>> I guess.

>> Do you know if he fought combat?

>> He was a medic.

>> A medic?

>> Yes. He always go with people when they go to field, whatever time, they said to go please with those people in infantry.

>> Oh, he was a medic?

>> He was a medic, yes.

>> Wow.

>> That was his job.

>> When did he join the Army?

>> I don’t know, but if you … So my dad received the money from the VA. He was in the military. He went a long time ago back in American Samoa. The VA, the local VA, he [INAUDIBLE] guy. He was doing everything. That’s where he got the money from them. I didn’t know what time. Somewhere around 1954, ’53 … somewhere around ’52 or ’53, somewhere around that time. But he was born in 1925, yes.

>> 1925? So he was a medic during the war. What did he do when he came back?

>> He came back … he was in charge of … He was a teacher in American Samoa. In those days that’s … When he finished teacher, he would be in charge of the women working in the back camp, the Kennedy Company back in those days.

>> What do you … Did he ever mention anything about the war?

>> He didn’t say anything about those things.

>> Why?

>> I don’t know. We were really young at that time. We were really young.

>> What does it mean for you to have a father who was a Korean War veteran? You’re a veteran.

>> You see, I didn’t … In those days, we were young. We didn’t ask those kind of questions. We didn’t even think about joining the military. And finally, when I … I have a bachelor’s. I graduated in 1967, and then I have bought a store. That’s what I had. My dad provided all that stuff, and I take care of those stuff.

>> You came here today to honor him.

>> Yes because I heard on the news yesterday from from Madeon. When I heard that, I thought, “Oh, let me go talk to this lady up there and explain that my dad was in the war at that time.”

>> So it means you’re proud of his service.

>> Oh, yes. When I think about my dad was in it … I’m going to be in the military too. He didn’t retire, but he got out, and finally, when I retired … My daughter, she’s in the Marines right now.

>> Wow, three generations!

>> Yes. My brother, too, had three kids go in the military too. One passed away at war.

>> Why?

>> He passed away when he was in Thailand. That’s where he passed away there. They bring the Hawaiians when Hawaii did the … With his funeral, they sent him to American Samoa. They buried him next to my dad. They have his name up there, Korea, and my brother’s son.

>> Wow. Can you spell your father’s name again?

>> Edwin Robert Hollister.

>> With double L or one L?

>> Two L, yes.

>> Okay. We honor him, okay? Thank you so much. Thank you.

>> But you know, when you get out on commission, then you’re blessed, definitely blessed [INAUDIBLE] DD214, from his paper …

>> My name is Chester Brennan. I joined the [INAUDIBLE] went to Korea in 1951.

>> What do you most remember about it?

>> Lots of things about it, really. I remember riding the train from Busan up to near the 38th parallel. I remember it being hit by bullets, windows blowing out of it, and my first year was on Hill 355, and then, from what I understood, that my unit was at the point with the line going across Korea, and it was a very important position. If they got behind us, they got behind everybody, so we really worked hard to hold that position, and I was in a few real tough battles up there. We had an old post call back from [INAUDIBLE] that was it pretty hard during the day by the North Koreans, and I went over there at 3 o’clock in the afternoon and rescued three live guys, went back out and found three buried guys, and rescued them as well, all in the same afternoon, in broad daylight.

>> You have so many medals.

>> Yeah, it seems like every time I turn around, somebody is giving me another one, and I went from 31255, Hill 355, and I was moved from there over to a place called the Hook. I was on the Hook for 2 or 3 months, and I was in a couple major battles there, and then I moved to 187, and we had a terrible couple of battles there. We lost 40 of our boys in one night on 187.

>> And there’s a Korean War memorial, Wall of Remembrance, and I know there are names of those who were killed in Korea engraved.

>> I have them all listed on my briefcase, every one of them.

>> I saw that. I saw that, and you must recognize a lot of the names there.

>> I served behind the lines, where I knew all those guys. I was on 355. About 10 o’clock in the morning, we had a guy on the stretcher by the name of Bradshaw. We had a [INAUDIBLE] on the front, and the corporal, he was on the front, a lance corporal on the back and me on the back, and a shell hit the [INAUDIBLE] and killed three of them. I got blackened but didn’t get hurt, so somebody was looking after me, I guess. I don’t know.

>> Well, I’m sure God was looking out for you, and you see the names on the walls, and they all died, but you see South Korea, the prosperous nation that she is, and Koreans all over the world know, whether Korean Canadians, Korean Americans, like me, we’re so grateful. What do you feel when you see that?

>> See?

>> Korea, Koreans, what do you feel?

>> Well, I was there, and it brings back memories, brings back memories of what I did, what I went through. I’ve been decorated several times by the presidents of Korea. I did that big [INAUDIBLE] the big stone downtown [INAUDIBLE], and I went to … They called me to a big special meeting in Toronto with Korean people. They decorated me with that, and it really … It’s something else, really.

>> What do you hope for the future of the Korean people, or …

>> I hope they don’t go through it again. When I was there, there was nothing for them. Seoul is not the Seoul that I went through there, and there was kids with no clothes. People come along and beg you for something, to give them a pair of socks or something, and they were … They had nothing that they needed. They needed clothes, and it was a very sad situation. The only highlight I got at all, there was a little boy, we called him Willy, RCR Willy, and I was with him when he was just smaller than him, and he came to Canada with me, and he’s in Canada now. RCR Willy is what his name is. He’s in Canada, and he was just a little guy, and we rescued him. He was all by himself and nobody to take care of him, so we took him with us, and he’s in, I think, he’s in Ottawa here, a little Ottawan [INAUDIBLE] RCR Willy.

>> How did you guys meet again?

>> We just happened to run into each other, and I just got talking. When I heard his name, I said, “Kid, are you RCR Willy?” “Yeah.” He said, “I know you.” “Yeah, I know you, too.” We rescued him. We named RCR Willy because I was RCR, Royal Canadian Regiment, we named him RCR Willy. He’s in Canada somewhere now, in Ottawa somewhere.

>> And he kept his name?

>> What?

>> He kept his name Willy?

>> RCR Willy.

>> Wow.

>> Yeah, he’s in Ottawa somewhere.

>> That must have been very emotional.

>> What?

>> That must have been very emotional.

>> Oh, yeah, yeah, he was quite a little guy.

>> Well, I can guarantee you there are many, many Koreans all over the world enjoying the freedoms and success that we are thanks to your sacrifices.

>> Mm-hmm.

>> Thank you.

>> Yeah.

>> Okay. My name is Ali Jengis Tuko. I was born in 1927, and I was, in other words, 90 years old. I didn't know anything about Korea. Almost everybody didn't know anything because of the China occupy the Korea. Of course, we didn't know anything. After the wars, after the Korean battle, government asked volunteers to be sent to Korea. I was one of those volunteers. At that time, I was 26 years and first lieutenant. I was a young [INAUDIBLE]. Let me tell you something. When I went to Korea, I thought that everything is very bad, destroyed country. It was very bad ourselves. We wanted to help all the time. Because of that [INAUDIBLE] I went there myself twice. Everybody talk about our battles. As you know, the Turkish Army fought 14 battles, and especially three of them were very important. Kunuri then ... >> Vegas. >> Vegas later though. >> Kumyangjang. >> Kumyangjang, a battle very close to February. It was really very good victory. As you know, after the battles, more than 1,000 Chinese were killed, 1,734, if I am not mistaken. So we tried to do our best, but I am going to say now. It's very important. Nowadays, especially Americans, say it's a forgotten war for Korea. I say that never forget Korean War, so we will try to do our best not to be forgotten. Maybe you're going to help too. Forces, when we came together, in 2013, when we went to Korea to attend a meeting for the federation with my president together, so everybody is discussing, "What are we going to do?" As you know, the number of the Korean disappearing. Some associations calculated. They said, "We don't have enough numbers." Then we put it into words, what's going to do. Only president of the England's, British, said, "No, I will not come again here," and 21, they said, "yes." Then next year, that was, let me think, 2014. I went again with my friends. We were together. So we discussed it. Everybody said different alternatives of what should be done. Some said it should be delivered to our descendants. Some others said, "You must join another association." As you know, Turkey, I think, at the beginning did very best, so we didn't want only Korean War Veterans Association. We called it only Veterans Association, so we are very comfortable. Now especially some Korean people also wanted to join a veteran's association in that city. [INAUDIBLE]. >> Spacious. >> An old man, you see, Korean was giving a job to discuss this. He said, "We must join another associations." [INAUDIBLE]. The job was given to two veterans from New Zealand. They prepared a drop and sent it, dropped it here, but until now, nobody called us to do anything, but we don't know what we are going to do. We are waiting news from Korea. We expect that we go there and continue with the same associations, but we don't know it yet. >> Let's go back to your experience in the war. >> [FOREIGN LANGUAGE]. >> Okay. Let me tell you something. It was terrible. I don't want to talk about it because everybody talk about it. It was not easy. >> But what did you ... >> Let me tell you something. Turkey tried to do its best. We did everything, everything. Also, we had the Koreans as well, you see, a shared effort with the Koreans. We shared. We took care of the orphans. We tried our best. One more thing, after coming back from Korea, I felt sympathy and all the Korean people when I was 26, but when they had passed, some are getting old, I always felt affection and sympathy for Korean. To me, all the Korean children are my grandchildren. You are my granddaughters [INAUDIBLE]. I love Korea. I love Korean people. Whatever they are, it's not important. I love all of them. That's why, you see, I wanted to talk about better things, but I will that we love Korea. Another thing, you see, of course, when I went to Korea, I was surprised. It was not Korea. It was something different. It was born from its ashes, like a phoenix, as you know. Some people say she lived 500 years. Some people say she lived 1,000 years, but after he died he born from her ashes again. So Korea did the same thing. I love Korea. What could I say? I love all of you. >> And we love Turkey too. Koreans love Turkey. >> That's why, you see, I didn't say bad things, but all the Turkish soldiers were heroes, many heroes around. >> Everyone, my American friends, every country, every soldier says Turkish soldiers were ... >> Everybody says so. Not only Turkish people do, everybody. >> ... very brave. Thank you so much, my captain.

>> My name is Katarina Ericsson, and I'm at present the President of the Korean War Veterans Association, which is actually part of the Korean Association here in Sweden since a few years back. My father was in Korea, so I'm a child to a Swedish Korean War veteran. When my father, who was very active in the association, when he passed away 2012, unfortunately the association then had no capacity to continue, and that's when I stepped in, and we joined the Swedish Korean Association. So my father was there. He was young when he was there. He was 22 years old. He came to Korea in July 1953 just before the armistice and was there for 6 months, so I grew up with all these stories about Korea, about Asia and stories from the war, which at that time was more like fairy tales but very thrilling stories about transporting things close to the front line of the war and hiding and hearing gunfire and operating wounded soldiers, and then of course my father loved to see "M*A*S*H" and told us that this is exactly what it looked like, and so I grew up with all of this, and I ended up in Asia myself for some years. I was working in Beijing, and just before my father passed away, he joined one of the revisit programs to Korea, and I had the possibility to accompany him and learned a lot more about the Korean veterans from all over the world, about how Korea still so many years after the world still appreciates and still thanks the veterans, and I realized the importance of keeping this group together to ... that there has to be a contact point in each country that still has veterans and also to bring together all the networks of children and grandchildren of the veterans, so this is why I'm engaged in this because I think it's really important to keep the memory alive and to take this on to new generations, and again, Korea still so many years later still invites veterans, those who are ... who still manage to travel and their children and grandchildren to come to Korea. But we also have ways of acknowledging the Swedish contribution here in Sweden. We have started since a few years back to celebrate the 23rd of September, which is the day when the first group of Swedes arrived in Pusan and started to work, so 23rd of September, 1950, which was very early. Sweden reacted very early to decision to support Korea with a field hospital. In the end, it became a stationary hospital in Puson, and again, this is where my father worked and the Swedish veterans worked. When I took over this responsibility of representing this group, we had a list, which was not that long, and I wanted to see if there were other veterans or families of veterans in the country that were still interested. So I managed to ... I wrote a little article and managed to get it published on the 27th of July, which is the armistice day, and as a response to that article actually, we got to know many more veterans that were interested and also family members, so our list became a little bit longer, and we do what we can to keep this group together to try to meet once a year on the 23rd, but also, we organize other events for the veterans, and the Korean embassy here is very generous and in helping us to organize these events and also to help us to fund these events, so the 23rd of September is very much appreciated. We've ... The last 2 years, we've been invited to the [INAUDIBLE] castle for a very, very nice dinner but also organized some presentations and seminar part where we listen to either one of the veterans telling their story, or, like, last year, we had a researcher who is now doing some research about Swedish medical assistants in wars, not only the Korean War. He came to talk about his research. We've also, of course, had presentations about the documentary project now ongoing. There's a short promo film that we have shown, and we hope that maybe this year or if not this year maybe next year to be able to show the whole documentary when it's finished in one of these meetings because of course the idea of a documentary is to spread knowledge about the war, but I think it's also fantastic for the veterans themselves to see it, and I can tell you, not one eye was dry. It was many tears when ... And just thinking about that little promo, I almost cry because it's very emotional to see the veterans talk about this and to think about what they did, the fact that they were all volunteers and went there just because they wanted to help. They wanted to use their medical skills to help a country in war. And I've been to Korea a couple of times, also business trips, and when you tell people that you're from Sweden, they ... and that you have a parent who's a Korean veteran, people are very, very ... I mean, it's to the point you almost feel embarrassed that they think me. I wasn't there. But they very much appreciate the Swedish veterans. We weren't many there, maybe just over 1,000 people, 1,100. No Swedes died in the war, but they were all volunteers, and I think that matters a lot.