>> Hello, everybody, from Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. So you thought that I would go after July 27th. Not really. I’m here in this beautiful island to honor Virgin Islanders who went to fight in Korea. So we just laid a wreath here, and this is the Franklin D Roosevelt Veterans Memorial Park, and while it does not have a Korean War memorial yet, it has a veterans memorial honoring veterans from all five branches. We, of course, laid the wreath here, and I am going to take you to some of my Virgin Islander grandpas, so come on over. Of course, that is the Virgin Islands’ flag, and behind me is the government building. So just to give you a history background, Virgin Islands became part of the U.S. territories in 1917 because, of course, America wanted to ensure that the Caribbean was not going to be under German influence. And it’s a little bit … If you really think, it’s amazing that shortly after Virgin Islanders fought in the Korean War for a country, their newly adopted country, for a country that they didn’t know, Korea. And so here we … Look at this. The Lieutenant Governor was here. Thank you, Lieutenant Governor Potter, who was a veteran himself. Congresswoman …

>> West. West.

>> Representative was here. She came to represent. But … And we just ended the ceremony, so they’re eating lunch, and they’re watching a video about the Korean War. But … Grandpa, can you say hello to the people? To say … These are my grandpas, Virgin Islander grandpas. My grandpa, Larry. Oh, Grandpa Aubrey, perfect!

[ Chatter ]

Well, he says, “Ya,” but …

>> Yeah. Yeah.

>> So Grandpa Aubrey is probably one of the most knowledgeable Korean War veterans that I’ve met and had the honor to meet, and he’s a Virgin Islander. However, he fought with the Borinqueneers. Of course, you all know by then …

>> I assisted them.

>> Yes. You assisted them, but he also has a Congressional Gold Medal because, of course, the Borinqueneers were at war …

>> [INAUDIBLE].

>> Exactly. And could you just as a Virgin Islanders …

>> Yeah.

>> To have participated in this effort to defend freedom, not just for Korea, but halted to communism, spread of communism around the world. What does it mean? What does it mean to you after almost 70 years for me to come here and thank you and just seeing your colleagues?

>> Well, it’s built a different level. What we did, maybe how the people of color in the military to be better treated because they saw that we had discipline. We could follow orders. We were well trained. I was the first person of color accepted to the Southeastern Signal School in Fort Gordon, Georgia, in 1952, and it was very intense course. It was the longest in the [INAUDIBLE] course at the time because 34 weeks long. I was perfectly trained in every type of communication of that time to operate, to repair and restore, and that’s what I did in Korea to help you people.

>> I’m not surprised because he is extremely intelligent, and I’m really serious.

>> I’m just blessed.

>> No. Well, you are.

>> The father has blessed me so much.

>> You are blessed with intelligence, and so thank you for making it … coming here, not just today, but to share with me the stories so that I could pass it on and share with other people, and so that your legacy is not forgotten.

>> Yeah. I always try to remember those who were with me and [INAUDIBLE] that didn’t come home and those who came home and were disregarded and never helped and just fell by the sidelines, many of my friends and [INAUDIBLE]. Nobody helped them. I suppose that’s the cold Korean War. I was blessed. I never killed anyone. I was trained. I helped my fellow men as much as I could, and I loved the military. I loved it. I was drafted, and then I re-enlisted for 3 years.

>> That’s amazing.

>> And it made my life great.

>> That’s amazing.

>> I will never say anything about the military.

>> Mm. Well …

>> Some people have different ideas. Some people have probably a difficult time, but I did, but I survived it. I have a grandson who is in the Marines right now.

>> Wow.

>> And I told him …

>> Semper Fi.

>> … if he’s going to be successful, “You must listen, learn and improvise,” and at times he must become a chameleon.

>> Mm, that’s very good advice, everybody. But just want to stop here and say that he mentioned those who didn’t come home like he did, and that is 78. Okay?

>> But those who came home were never treated well, many, many.

>> We just learned today … I learned today that 700 and almost 90 went from Virgin Islands.

>> Yup.

>> 1950, the population here was 26,700. That’s like …

>> Now remember this was from the three Virgin Islands, not only St. Thomas.

>> Oh, yes. Three islands: St. Thomas …

>> St. Thomas, St. Croix and St. John.

>> And so I’ll be in St. Croix tomorrow.

>> I think the most that actually never came home are from St. Croix.

>> Mm, I’ll be going tomorrow.

>> Again, they used them as cannon fodder. You know what that phrase means?

>> Mm-mm. What does that mean?

>> Cannon fodder is when a leader in the military just wants … He needs someone to die to protect more people.

>> Oh.

>> And they do that quite often. That’s what they did with the 65th Infantry. That’s what McArthur did with the 65th Infantry. He use it as a blocking unit and without just sacrificing them to save maybe the [INAUDIBLE] at the time because of the Korean. These are things that people never talk about.

>> And I do want to just say that, that is why war is something …

>> Senseless.

>> … senseless, and we need to continue to defend people. Ooh, it’s raining, so I’m going to go. I want you to shelter, okay? Thank you so much.

>> You do that. I don’t want you to melt.

>> It’s kind of weird because it’s hot, and it’s raining, and it’s very hot, and it’s raining. But I do want to end with … There’s some Caribbean food back there, and I’m hungry, so I’ll be eating that soon. However … Hey. Where are your two other handsome cousins?

>> Over there. Brothers.

>> Yes. Okay.

>> They get some food also.

>> Okay. Come, come. Okay. Name, please.

>> My name is Bubba Benjamin.

[ Chatter ]

>> Ooh, Benjamins. And?

>> Hello. I’m Marcene Benjamin.

>> Okay. Where’s the other Benjamin?

>> One more Benjamin missing.

>> Why are you guys here? Can you just start with that? So we’re going to come a little closer because it’s so loud back there.

>> We came to support our grandfather.

>> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

>> Well, we’ll go over there only because we don’t to block the food. Okay. You came to support your grandpa. Who’s your grandfather?

>> My grandfather is [INAUDIBLE].

>> Okay. Can you honor him by explaining to them why he was here?

>> Well, he fought in Korean War.

>> He fought in the Korean War.

>> He wasn’t even around then. You know what I’m saying?

>> We wasn’t even a thought or anything.

>> He fought for us, and we wasn’t even in existence yet because my mom and dad go back home. He was all the way across the world fighting for America.

>> I know. That’s kind of cool. Do you know … So I called him my grandpa. You heard, right? So technically we’re cousins. Right? Yeah. So I have my new … Ooh. Did you guys do this, red, white and blue?

>> No.

>> Well, I did it.

>> They’re very patriotic. Red, white and blue. Yeah.

>> It wasn’t planned but …

>> My Benjamin cousins. Yes. So thank you for your grandfather’s service, and I hope that you carry for the rest of your life that pride that he served and helped somebody like me to come in existence, not only you, but me, right, and all the Korean people, and we’re very grateful for your grandfather’s service. So I would be remiss if we didn’t show you Mr. Benjamin, so I’m going to take you to him. He doesn’t know I’m coming. Okay. It’s really cool that he has his entire family rolled with him to honor him. Grandpa? Can you just come and wave? Come this way. Sorry to disturb you while you’re eating, but I wanted everybody to see your handsome face because your grandsons just talked about your service in the war and how proud they are.

>> [INAUDIBLE].

>> Mm.

>> [INAUDIBLE].

>> Mm. But I am so glad that you made it back, that you are here, and you have this beautiful family that you raised, who love you and who respect you and are so proud of you as I am grateful to you, so thank you.

[ Chatter ]

And last but not least, look at this. “Proudly we served Virgin Islander Veterans of the Korean War.” Isn’t that awesome? So I just would like to say … I’m going to go this way. I would like to show everybody, ta-da. And give a shout-out to our commander from the American Legion [INAUDIBLE] 90, fearless leader. She called the Lieutenant Governor her younger brother. I said, “Oh, my god. I thought you’re his younger sister.” She looks really good. I’m going to later ask her for her secret, how to keep young.

>> Stay happy.

>> Stay happy. I think so too. And I’m staying grateful and happy. Yeah. I’m just so grateful to be here. That Alpine Security, [INAUDIBLE] Charles giving shout-out over there. I’m just so proud that you have organized and brought all of us here together on this day so that we could remember the Forgotten War and to honor the veterans who are sometimes too often not honored and thanked enough. So again, it was to my surprise I learned that there were a few more veterans in Virgin Islands. Not only 78 died. And that’s … Not to compare numbers, that’s more than Nevada and Delaware. So people back in the states, we sometimes forget the sacrifices made by the people in the U.S. territories. And so again, I am grateful to you. I’m grateful to Alpine Securities. I’m grateful to the American Legion Post and to the government of U.S. Virgin Islands for taking care of the grandpas. I am hoping that there will be a memorial, monument, dedicated at the veterans park to honor their service. So, Shumaro, this has been now an extension of my fantasy 70-plus, 70, 90-day journey across America because it’s my 92nd day, but the journey continued because the Korean War veterans must be remembered forever. So remember727.org. See you tomorrow. Bye.

>> My English name is Bill Kramer. I'm born in Amsterdam, 19 December 1934. I joined the Navy when I was 16. After 2 years, then I was 18. I joined a ship for Korea. The Dutch Navy had six ships, always 1 year in Korea. We arrived just after peace fire, so I don't experience the shooting, but we did always patrol, checking for [INAUDIBLE] assistant to aircraft carriers and so on. But we had it a lot better than the ships before. We go regular to Japan to refuel food and R&R for the crew, rest and recreation for the crew. We go [Indistinct] and so we had a wonderful time in Japan, and in Korea, I really was only 9 days. Then I was ashore. We were ashore two times in Pusan and one time in Imjin. Imjin is the harbor of Seoul. Pusan was, during that time, nothing, only some American nationhood a couple concrete buildings but were nothing left. I was last May in Pusan, and I saw a wonderful, big city, and I was in 2008 in Korea. I was not to Pusan but before to the 38th border, and we saw just [INAUDIBLE] back in Korea, and we saw a nice train station that is built for connection from Pusan, Seoul to Paris, yeah. North Koreans don't allow to make railway complete, but impression of Korea is very, very high, and the people is so nice and friendly. I have no words for it, so don't ask me. It's too difficult. I was back in Holland in 1954, and I got an accident in 1957 and a medical discharge in 1960, so that's my story. >> Well, first of all, you must have been very proud when you went to Korea because you were part of Korea becoming what it is today. All right. So thank you very much, and not a lot of people know that the Dutch stayed after the war. People think, "Oh, armistice, and everybody go home," but that's not true. >> No, no, after my ship [INAUDIBLE] another ship that arrives in 1954 until 1955. >> Yes, a lot of people don't know that the countries that participated stayed until 1955. >> But from the Navy, only two men are died, one quartermaster. It's in very heavy storm overboard. He went to save one of the lifeboats, and he was not fastened and get overboard. They never find him, and a radioman in Korea was calling ashore, little, little boat to pick up a Korean officer that was wounded to give him medical help, but the engine of the Dutch boat [INAUDIBLE]. It was English, and it makes the same noise as not Korean fishing boats, so it was foggy, and it starts fire, and the boat had a noise, so it was friendly fire, okay? >> Maybe you can tell about what your experience, the revisit from last year with your ... >> Yeah, yeah, I was ... >> ... last experience with Korea. >> ... Back in 928 last year again, and last year, it was very special because the Korean government are allowed that people who died here in Holland that all Korean veterans that are cremated can go back to Korea and go to Pusan International Cemetery. In Pusan, the cemetery is the only in the whole world what is from the United Nations, and so [INAUDIBLE]. >> [INAUDIBLE] >> Next year [INAUDIBLE]. When we arrive on the air field in [INAUDIBLE] and complete guardian watch [INAUDIBLE]. After that visit, we got a DVD that a whole studio and DVD that pictures only about 700. He was there, and he was there and I. >> When? November? >> No, May. >> May. >> May. >> May. >> [INAUDIBLE]. >> Good weather. >> Good weather, yes. Monday, it was raining, raining, raining, and the director of veterans affairs told us, "Don't worry. At 2 o'clock when you arrive at the cemetery, it is dry." We call it [INAUDIBLE]. Rain, rain, rain. We arrive, ding, dong, 2 o'clock. The rain stops. >> Yeah. >> It was beautiful, yeah. >> It must have been very emotional when you went to the cemetery. >> Yes, and what my buddy told about South Korea and North Korea, we were the last soldiers in Seoul, and [INAUDIBLE] people walk around and a big sign, "What do you think about North and South together?" So we signed it and yeah. >> [FOREIGN LANGUAGE]. >> Yeah, it was beautiful. >> Yeah. >> I am going to visit Korea, Pusan, the United Nations cemetery last after I go everywhere around the world, and I know that there are many Dutch soldiers. >> One hundred twenty-four. >> Are they all there? No. >> Yes. >> Not all in the cemetery in Pusan. >> No. One is in Singapore because he died on his way back to Holland. >> That's [INAUDIBLE]. >> Two men are missing. >> How many are there in Pusan cemetery? >> [FOREIGN LANGUAGE]. >> All of them went back to Holland. Their families took them back to Holland. I don't know exactly how many. >> The Americans are all back. >> Yes. Americans always bring back. >> Yeah, yeah. >> But I learned that recently, some of the Dutch veterans have requested that they be buried at the United Nations cemetery along with their comrades, so I am looking forward to visiting them and paying tribute. I think it will be very emotional for me. >> I think so too. Yes. You speak Korean? >> I do. >> Oh. >> I will be there in May. >> Because in museum where I was this afternoon, I saw Korean boy that works [INAUDIBLE]. He's working by the Dutch police, and he goes back to Korea 2 years ago. He said it was so difficult because I'm a Korean, but he arrives in Netherlands, been there 6 months, so he don't speak one word Korean. >> But he is Korean. >> He is Korean, so it can be happen. [FOREIGN LANGUAGE]. >> My uncle adopted two Korean girls, and they had restaurants [INAUDIBLE] here in Holland, Korean restaurant. >> Really? >> Yeah. Well, they are my nephews. >> Oh. I told you, my uncle. >> I know. >> I told you. >> I know. It's permitted? >> Oh, yes, please. >> Thank you.

– Me llamo José Adonai Castilla. Viajé a Corea en el año, año 1952. Tengo 83 años en la actualidad. Regresamos en el año 53 en el mes de septiembre. Para mí como experiencia al viaje, la ida, viaje o ida a Corea fue una experiencia, como joven, muy bonita. Nunca habíamos, en mi caso, ni conocía un buque ni había montado en avión por primera vez, de modo que, para mí, fue una experiencia de joven, muy alegre, muy bonita. Y agradezco, en parte, al Ejército tanto de los Estados Unidos, de Colombia y de Corea habernos dado esa oportunidad. Llegando a Corea, pues, ya las cosas se nos complicó. No sabíamos qué era una guerra, nunca habíamos estado en ella. De pronto, de niños veíamos unas películas de guerra, pero no sabíamos las consecuencias que tenía una guerra. Como soldado, actué en el Cerro 180. Afortunadamente salí con vida de ahí. Luego, nos tocó el 23 de marzo la Batalla en el Old Baldy. El Batallón Colombia fue uno de los más fuertes que hubo allá. Gracias a Dios también salí ileso de esto. Posteriormente, me salté eso, pero posteriormente fui herido en una, en una, eh…
– ¿No será en patrulla?
– En una patrulla, una patrulla de reconocimiento y fui herido ahí, y murió al lado mío un colombiano, que eso me ha causado mucho mucho impacto. Me impactó demasiado porque era compañero, amigo, de la raza negra, pero un negro supremamente echado para adelante. Me acuerdo de ese detalle porque él había puesto una demanda al Gobierno de Colombia que era único hijo, que él no debe haber ido a Corea a la guerra por ser único hijo. Ya le había llegado la resolución de que tenía que regresar a Colombia. Llevaba ocho días esperando que lo evacuaran para nuestro país. Y estaba en la Casa Mata cuando nosotros salíamos a esa patrulla. Como buen guerrero y joven, nos pidió o le pidió al cabo que comandaba la patrulla de que por qué no lo llevábamos. Yo era radio operador, fui el radio operador en Corea. Dijimos: “¡No, pues, camine!”. Porque se encontraba el tipo aburrido sin hacer nada ahí porque el comandante daba la orden de que no patrullaran, no hicieranningún frente ni nada de esto, que estuviera quieto mientras regresaba al país. Pero estaba aburrido y entonces dijimos: “Camine con nosotros”. Y, desafortunadamente, ese día fue el único muerto, bastándole una semana para regresar al país. De resto, la guerra la tomamos, ya le dije, ¿no? En parte, una experiencia inolvidable, con tristeza por los compañeros fallecidos que quedaron allá, pero con otros compañeros que estuvimos afortunadamente compartiendo todo, que están aquí presente varios. Pero para nosotros y para todos los veteranos, fue un orgullo sumamente grande de haber cumplido. Es un deber cumplido haber estado allá en Corea. Mil gracias.

>> [FOREIGN LANGUAGE] >> My name is Vila Acasoi. >> [FOREIGN LANGUAGE]. >> I was born in Kırıkkale in 1929. >> [FOREIGN LANGUAGE]. >> I started my service in 1949, and I went to Korea in 1950. >> [FOREIGN LANGUAGE]. >> I was [INAUDIBLE] while I was serving in the Turkish Army, I heard that there was a war broke out in Korea, and to tell the truth, I didn't know the real place of Korea during that time. >> [FOREIGN LANGUAGE]. >> It took us 35 days to arrive in Korea. >> [FOREIGN LANGUAGE]. >> We stayed 1 week at one place. >> [FOREIGN LANGUAGE]. >> We ... They took us by train to a military base [INAUDIBLE] Korea. We stayed there at least 1 month at this base, a Korean base. >> [FOREIGN LANGUAGE]. >> While we were in this Korean base, American warplanes were flying [INAUDIBLE] peace were flying over us. >> [FOREIGN LANGUAGE]. >> After the Korean military base, military vehicles drove us to the Korean and the northern side of Korea. >> [FOREIGN LANGUAGE]. >> We didn't think ... We didn't go the last step. We stayed in different places 1 week or 10 days. After our trip, we arrived to [INAUDIBLE] area. >> [FOREIGN LANGUAGE]. >> And we participate in the Korean War. I'm sorry, the [INAUDIBLE] War. >> [FOREIGN LANGUAGE]. >> Through the war, I served as a medical personnel. Unfortunately, there were a lot of wounded people, were driven by the [INAUDIBLE] GMS in cars, trucks. And we Turkey [INAUDIBLE] wounded people were carried by the trucks. And the Turkish people were wounded, sort of wounded over there, and they were carried by the trucks backwards, and since he was the unit medical serviceman, he tended [INAUDIBLE]. >> [FOREIGN LANGUAGE]. >> Chinese powers were [INAUDIBLE], were crowded. They surrounded units and wanted to destroy all of us completely, but it [INAUDIBLE] that report against them and pushed them back. >> [FOREIGN LANGUAGE]. >> One of the sergeant of company left him in a ... left him back, and their company forward to another place. He stayed at [INAUDIBLE]. >> [FOREIGN LANGUAGE]. >> [INAUDIBLE] they took the wounded soldiers in the truck, and they get on the [INAUDIBLE] trucks and started to drive in a northern side of Korea, and they didn't know where they go, those companies, and chaos ... and they ride the US base for a few days, the units. They gave the United ... some food to them and blanket for the night. >> [FOREIGN LANGUAGE]. >> They stayed a few days over there, and then the Chinese forced attacked to the US units, and they went, let's say, left-hand side. They went right-hand side, Turkish troops or the trucks. They went through the base to a direction they don't know, they didn't know. >> [FOREIGN LANGUAGE]. >> During this chaos, chaotic situation, Americans tried to [INAUDIBLE], and they tried to go somewhere in other side, and unfortunately, at that time the Chinese forces try to destroy those soldiers at the line, [INAUDIBLE] line. >> [FOREIGN LANGUAGE]. >> [INAUDIBLE] forwards, or they could be thrown [INAUDIBLE] going back, [INAUDIBLE]. >> [FOREIGN LANGUAGE]. >> China's troops ... >> [FOREIGN LANGUAGE]. >> Wounded by Chinese forces were very crowded and attacked to the US forces. >> [FOREIGN LANGUAGE]. >> I took one of the unit of the Army from the US people and give to the Turkish soldier and asked them to protect them so that they can go escape from that area, and ... >> [FOREIGN LANGUAGE]. >> [INAUDIBLE] there were 100 US soldiers were over there, and we entered to the groups, and we started to go somewhere we didn't know, didn't know the area or direction we started to walk. >> [FOREIGN LANGUAGE]. >> We walked now around for hours or 5 hours in the forest, but we didn't know the direction where it is. >> [FOREIGN LANGUAGE]. >> They saw the [INAUDIBLE] footprint of the people and the footprint of the cars, so decided US troops went that direction, and we follow those prints. >> [FOREIGN LANGUAGE]. >> And they were in the ... unfortunately, the Chinese forces around in this area in the forest, too. >> [FOREIGN LANGUAGE]. >> In the morning ... >> [FOREIGN LANGUAGE]. >> We went a group of the people into [INAUDIBLE] march. Unfortunately, we met a group. We didn't know who they were. They started to fire on us. >> [FOREIGN LANGUAGE]. >> I was wounded in my ankle. >> [FOREIGN LANGUAGE]. >> There was a ... >> [FOREIGN LANGUAGE]. >> There was a hit on my [INAUDIBLE]. >> [FOREIGN LANGUAGE]. >> I tried to walk another direction to protect myself from the conflict, and I [INAUDIBLE] I didn't know where I went. >> [FOREIGN LANGUAGE]. >> [INAUDIBLE] morning ... >> [FOREIGN LANGUAGE]. >> ... unfortunately, I met with the Chinese forces again. >> [FOREIGN LANGUAGE]. >> They captured me. They captured me [INAUDIBLE]. >> [FOREIGN LANGUAGE]. >> Fired at me, and I laid down. I pretend as if I died. >> [FOREIGN LANGUAGE]. >> They come toward me. They check me, if I am live or dead. They said, "He is live." >> [FOREIGN LANGUAGE]. >> They took ... >> [FOREIGN LANGUAGE]. >> They took me somewhere, I think at least [INAUDIBLE]. I told myself that they would kill me, when I was expecting to kill me. >> [FOREIGN LANGUAGE]. >> [INAUDIBLE] I stayed at this place for 9 days. >> [FOREIGN LANGUAGE]. >> [INAUDIBLE] 9 days later they took us to another place. >> [FOREIGN LANGUAGE]. >> We didn't have food. We didn't have clothes. It was really cold. >> [FOREIGN LANGUAGE]. >> And they looked us as if we were dog or an animal. They didn't give food or clothes. We didn't have clothes to protect myself, ourselves. >> [FOREIGN LANGUAGE]. >> They were were shanty houses over there. >> [FOREIGN LANGUAGE]. >> The South Korean people stayed close at those shanty houses, I think. >> [FOREIGN LANGUAGE]. >> But it was very dirty places. >> [FOREIGN LANGUAGE]. >> They put us in those shanty houses. >> [FOREIGN LANGUAGE]. >> And we take off our clothes and put on [INAUDIBLE]. >> [FOREIGN LANGUAGE]. >> They were ... I don't remember the English word. There were the insects, what you call [INAUDIBLE]. >> [FOREIGN LANGUAGE]. >> We stayed ... [FOREIGN LANGUAGE]? >> [FOREIGN LANGUAGE]. >> We stayed at those houses I think 1 months or 2 months. >> [FOREIGN LANGUAGE]. >> Says they were over there in the New Year time now. >> [FOREIGN LANGUAGE]. >> [INAUDIBLE]. >> [FOREIGN LANGUAGE]. >> They took us another prisoner camp. It was very cold. I do not remember the North Korean name. >> [FOREIGN LANGUAGE]. >> We were very hungry, [INAUDIBLE] hungry. >> [FOREIGN LANGUAGE]. >> [FOREIGN LANGUAGE]? >> [FOREIGN LANGUAGE]. >> We went to the [INAUDIBLE] city, city called [INAUDIBLE]. >> [FOREIGN LANGUAGE]. >> [FOREIGN LANGUAGE]. >> [FOREIGN LANGUAGE]. >> He said that you have nations by nations. They sent us to another section, and the US prisoners were taken to another section. >> [FOREIGN LANGUAGE]. >> Some of the prisoners got sick, and since he's a medical serviceman, he treated them. >> [FOREIGN LANGUAGE]. >> It is very long story. >> [FOREIGN LANGUAGE]. >> I treated Turkish soldiers and US soldiers, too. >> [FOREIGN LANGUAGE]. >> They obeyed my advice. >> [INAUDIBLE] what you call the team took the ... boiled the clothes and washed them. >> [FOREIGN LANGUAGE]. >> So since they boiled the ... what you call it ... the clothes, I think, and they protected themselves from the ... [INAUDIBLE] I don't remember this ... >> Maggots. >> ... this insect. >> Maggot. >> [FOREIGN LANGUAGE]. >> We could see the ground and the sky. It is difficult to tell the ... Unless you see the life or you live, you cannot understand it. It is difficult to tell. We just saw the ground, soil and sky. >> [FOREIGN LANGUAGE]. >> Due to my prisoner time, they punished me. They put to prison. They take the prison, but they took the ... [INAUDIBLE] and others prison to punish him because he treated them.

>> Hello. My name is Roy Painter. I'm a trustee of the British Korean War Veterans Association, and I served some time in Korea from 1952 to 1953 as a national serviceman. Most of the time, boring, some exciting, some of it very scary, but that was the way of the world then in 1952. I didn't think much of it when I came home, but now it means an awful lot to me when I see what the Korean people have done and very pleased and proud that it part of this regeneration of Korea, and I realized this. Now as you get older, you appreciate just how important it was that the part we played in the British Commonwealth Division and my colleagues. Forty-some of us never came back, like my friend Brian. He was only 20, who life dealt a bad deal, an orphan, in any case, was living with his grandmother, I'm afraid didn't come back and is still in the Korean cemetery. I suppose that's all part of war, and the bad things that happen, but the good things is that Korea is on its feet. The people are very generous to us, the Korean people, and it means so much to me that they have done this, and in some tiny cog in a bigger cog in a bigger cog, I played some part in it. Some things happened to me there. I went on a rest and recuperation leave, and I brought back a 1 yen. What that's worth now, I don't know. I visited a Buddhist temple while I was there, which, again, enlightened me. This is a couple of colleagues I had. That was me there, looking about 10 years old, but it was 1952, and we were all young and didn't care very much, some more photographs. The entertainers came out. That was a lady called Carole Carr, who was a very famous singing star in the '50s, and there she was. This here is my first introduction of working in the career, the signal office before I got sent up with the others and where it all happened, and this here is the ship I got sent home in, not much bigger than a Thames barge, actually, but there we are, but I've got some other things I could tell you if you want. Oh, this here, I was very pleased that I got invited back to Korea in November '14, and the generosity of the Korean people and everybody. The Ministry of Patriots awarded me the peace medal, and this parchment here, which I think I'm very proud of, which I hope in generations to come, my grandchildren, great-grandchildren, great-grandchildren will look and feel as proud as I am when I received this. Well, also, they fished out these Christmas cards from the American people. I don't think she realized it was going to an English person, but, nevertheless, it was a delightful, delightful Christmas card from a grandmother in America wishing us all the best and that someone was thinking of us, which I thought was very, very generous of them. I did reply to the lady, and I hope she treasures my reply as much as I treasure this Christmas card. Oh, and there's lots I could tell you, could go on forever, really. At 60-odd, the UN decided to declare war in Korea. Now most of the people in England didn't even know where Korea was. You got to remember the time. We were still on rationing. We were the poorest country in Europe still. We'd been bombed out. My father had been in the army for 5 years. My house had been bombed. We were sleeping downstairs in two rooms, sleeping on mattresses on the floor. By 1945, that was then. I left school in 1948, and, of course, in 1951, like other young men, I had to do 2 years' National Service, which I was called up. I went to various parts of the United Kingdom until some time in I think it was March when I was in there, when I was called into the colonel's office and told, "You're off to Korea." Korea was some Asian, some ... The other side of the world, which of course it was. Anyway, pack your gear, go home on leave for 2 weeks, which I did. Wound up in Liverpool on a boat, had 6 weeks of very pleasant trip to Busan, saw parts of the world I never would have seen. We slept on-deck, and we got to Busan, where we was introduced to Korea. Spent 1 week there getting acclimatized, and then we boarded a train to go to Seoul, and it took us 37 hours, stopping, starting. We got to Seoul, out of Seoul. We got on Canadian tracks. We then went another 5 hours, and suddenly the reality of it hit me. I could hear guns firing. I could hear bangs. Oh, dear, this is the reality, but we all made silly jokes and said silly things, and I got to where I had to go in the Commonwealth Division, was fed, watered, and we all had to swim in a local stream, got all the dust off us, and then I was sent to the signal office where I was introduced to the workings of what the army life was really about, and strangely enough, within 2 days, the first message I received was of a schoolmate who sat next to me at school had been wounded, shrapnel wounds, head, severity, severe. How small a world is it? Then the next 6 weeks, I got acclimatized to everything and became what I suppose was a working soldier. Sergeant then come down, said, "Okay, Painter, we're going to cook your goose. You're going up to the Aussies now," and then in a jeep over the Imjin River, carried on. The gunfire got louder and louder and louder, and suddenly reality started dawning. Oh, dear, this is what it's all about, and I went until I was attached to the first World Straits Arrangement, and I was introduced to the colonel, and the sergeant, he was a grisly old Aussie who had been in the army for years, said, "This is your new English operator, a pommy," he said because they called English pommies. This is your new pommy operator. Wise operator said, "If you don't mind me saying so, sir," he said, "I think the poms is still sending us kids. They're still shipping young one on their mother's tit. They all look kids." Anyway, it was a start of a 3-or-4-month acclimatization. I learned very quickly to tell the difference between outgoing shells and incoming shells, but it wasn't that bad because everyone else was used to it. We did guard duties, and I was always impressed by the clarity of the sky at night, especially in the winter. It was so clear and clean-cut, and I looked at the stars, and I thought, "Wow," and I should try and work out in my head how far away it was to go home, 6,000 miles. If I walked it, could I walk through Mongolia? But then a routine settled down. I was a wireless operator, and you spent 6 hours on-duty, 6 hours off, but mostly it was fairly easy until sometimes, things got slightly naughty, and mortar bombs started landed on us, but it only lasted a few minutes, but it still used to make you scared, and people said they wasn't scared are telling fibs because everyone gets scared, but then you did guard duties, and you'd look at a bush, and you'd think, "Is that bush moving? Is it someone really there?" And I said ... I think peoples turn to religion. We all make false promises, and the shells we'd land on said, "Please, god, don't let them come any nearer. I will go to church," knowing I wouldn't, but time passed, and then I got attached to the Americans, and that was a lot of fun. They had food I'd never seen before, chocolates and steak and ham and eggs for breakfast. It was unbelievable because you have to remember that England was still on rationing. We were still on starvation rationing in England, but sweets, and time went by, and suddenly I'd been there almost a year, and I went on one leave in Tokyo, the rest and recuperation leave, which was fun, 5 days, lots of boozing and things like that, but that's what young soldiers do. Isn't it? And I came back, and where I could ... It did change my life. I remember looking a the Koreans, and I can remember them opening up a tin of bacon. It was a big tin. It was bacon inside. They took it out, and I remember saying to my mates, "Korea will never go back to being peasants again. They've moved 400 years in 2 years. They've seen now what the rest of the world has got," and I can remember these two young Korean guys taking the bacon out, and I thought, "They're eating the same as us, wearing the same clothes." Of them, those that were lucky enough to be with the Americans got all the goodies. They don't want to go back to eating rice and fish. Korea is going to change. They're going to want what they're ... and quite rightly so. It was a few moments. We never saw many civilians, but I can remember one was a Korean peasant lady who was way down in line, and she had a baby strapped to her back, a little boy, and as most soldiers do, I wasn't mean. I gave him two bars of chocolate, and the gratitude of the Korean mother was so immense that even at 19, I was moved that for two bars of chocolate, life should not be like this. People shouldn't be treated like this, and how could the north come down and raze these villages to the ground and kill people? I suppose it was part of my growing-up process. Wasn't it? This was wrong. This was wrong, and was I pleased I was taking part of that, of helping? And eventually time came, time to come home, and I did, and I must confess. I put it out of my mind, Korea. I put it out of my mind, but occasionally on my own I would think about it. I'd think about it. It never ... People say they have, what, post-traumatic ... I don't think it ... I had a few sleepless nights. I would wake up, and I wanted one experience, this, okay? When I went to an army camp in England some years ago, and they'd recreated the 1914 war with sandbags and shells, and I went through, and the shells started whistling, and my stomach did turn over. My tummy turned to water, and it brought back memories, but I soon got over it, like most people decided. I'm not sure about post-traumatic stress, but if people suffer from it, then I feel very sorry for them, but then I got a phone call in the ... oh, dear, from a man called Rod Larby. He said, "I know if you don't like to see your man's grave, Brian Clackett." And of course, the memories come flooding back. I said, "No," and Brian was only 20, and life dealt him a bum deal, which I think I said earlier. He was only 20, and he was an orphan. By 12 o'clock, he was dead, and so I became involved in the British Korean War Veterans Association, so I'm going to meet my old pals, told lots of lies to each other, didn't we? As we always did, but they were older. You remember some of that. Do you remember him? Do you remember him? Until eventually I went back on a revisit in November 2014, and I'm so pleased I did. The change in Korea is just phenomenal. They're the 10th largest economy in the world now, and if winning this war in South Korea could do this, why can't North Korea? Why can't other nations use this industry and do good things? Anyway, on the revisit, they arranged for me to see Brian's grave, and I must confess. I did get emotional in this time because it shouldn't happen to a 20-year-old, but I saw his grave. The graveyard is kept absolutely immaculate. The Korean people are ever-thankful. I don't mean grateful but thankful, which is nice, and isn't it a pity that the north is still the same as it was? Isn't that a shame? Isn't it? You'd think that ... words fail, especially with this lunatic in charge keeps his people in servitude and slavery, and we can only hope that all the people that died didn't die in vain, and that Korea becomes one nation. It's leapt from 1600 to the year now 2000. I can't believe it can carry on as it carries on now, and all these people died for nothing. You know? Fifty-six thousand Americans, over 1,000 Brits died and 1,000 were taken prisoner, and let's hope that we can all learn that man's inhumanity to man can't go on, so now in my 80s, am I pleased I did it? Oh, absolutely, I'm pleased I contributed in some way. I made friends and comrades I would never have made. I experienced something I would never have experienced before. I was privileged, just privileged to take part in some tiny call freeing South Korea from the yokes of North Korea, and so, really, I can go to my grave saying, "Well, I did contribute something to the world, albeit forced to do it but pleased to do it," and let's just hope that in my lifetime, Korea can unite. One thing I did forget was on Christmas 1952 at midnight, all guns stopped firing, which just very quickly became an eerie quietness. It was like, but on Christmas morning, strange enough on the wire before the minefields, the Chinese or North Koreans had left Christmas cards and little presents like toothpaste, razor blades and other things, and the Christmas cards were specifically worded for English. Hello, lads, merry Christmas. I hope you're enjoying some presents, but do you really want to fight for the American imperialists? While you're here, they're taking your girls and wives back home, and you're fighting a useless war. Do you really want to fight this war? What they didn't realize, it was counterproductive, of course, because we all laughed. It didn't really have any effect on us at all. We just laughed because we could see through this propaganda. It didn't really affect us. I will look for this card again because a picture is worth 1,000 words, so I hope I can find it and some other, but, of course, I wasn't expecting this, so I really don't know where I've put it, but I really must try and put this all in order for future generations.

>> I'm Harry Spicer. I'm a Korean War veteran. I was in the British Army, and I went to Korea in August 1950, and I was there for 10 months. Then we went back from there back to Hong Kong, where we were before we went to Korea, and then I spent 3 months in Malaya and came back to Hong Kong again, and then I transferred to the Parachute Regiment, and I went back to England in the December of that year, and I joined the Parachute Regiment. It was just [INAUDIBLE] and we met our ex-colonel, a Korean War veteran, and he wanted to get a monument for the Korean Veterans in Sydney. I met with him, and then a few of us met with him, actually, and we decided we'd form a committee, and he was the president of the committee. I was the vice president, and we got together. We started talking about the monument. We always said just we want from the government just the land to build the memorial on and that we didn't need money because the Korean colonel had said, "We don't need money. We just want the ground to put the memorial on." So I got my local member of parliament to try and get an interview with Morris Iemma, who was the Premier of New South Wales then, to talk to him about getting the land to build the memorial, and whenever I met with him, we told him that, "We just want the land. We don't want money," because the colonel says, "Don't worry about the money. Money will be okay." So he accepted that, and at the next meeting of the Korean Veterans, which they hold 1 day a year in Government House in Sydney, and in his speech, he spoke about it, and he said, "I'm behind it 101 percent where possible and to get everything we can done to get this memorial. We've just got to get the memorial built." So then they formed a committee with the government, and basically, the government took over the organizing of the monument, and we had the committee. I was on the committee. There was a number of government people, the government surveyor and finance minister from the government and the Korean from the Korean Veterans Association, and we got the committee to start doing the memorial. The first thing, of course, was to get the land, so the government looked at a number of places that we could get, and they offered them to us, and we looked at them, and what they offered wasn't suitable, we didn't think. Then they came up with the site at Moore Park in Sydney, and we looked at that and said, "Oh, yeah, that's it. That's the place to build the memorial." So the decision was made, and we told the government that we would like to have that in Moore Park, and they accepted that, and then we started working on the memorial itself, the design and everything else of the memorial, and I don't know how many meetings we had, but it used to be every week, every couple weeks, once a month, at different times just when it was needed to make decisions on what we must do, but all the work was being done by the government, the architects, detail with parliament, the government surveyor, government finance, all the bodies that were needed for to build the memorial. They all had a position on the committee. So we was there, and we made our suggestions of what we want, and they'd ask us exactly what we wanted, what sort of thing we wanted. So it was decided that we get some quotes of designs, and I think we had about five. Lots of people gave us a design for the memorial. We went through them. We picked the one that we do have now, which as far as we were concerned was the number one pick, and by the response we've had from people since it's been built, we made the right decision, and so then it was there from then on. We got to ... So then we got onto raising the funds for the memorial. We did tell the government that we won't need money, but the colonel's idea was ... He was the fella who said that we don't need money, but we didn't know at the time, he had cancer, and it wasn't long after, we got the decision from the government that they were going to support it, and he passed. So I took over the presidency of the committee, which is the Australian and Korean War Memorial Association, and then from there on, we just carried on with the government, and gradually got all of the things necessary done and got to the building of the memorial and the design. They came up with the design of the memorial, but some of the things on it, they didn't. We got the names of all the countries that served in Korea on the pathway on the memorial. That was my idea, and we also put the names of all of the battles that the Australians served at and that became battles, and we got the names of all those on different stones within the memorial, and also then we got the Korean national flag, and we had poles with the national flag on them in the memorial, and we also had the copies of the medals that the Australians received, the United Nations medal and the Korean medal, and the Korean medal is the same as is given to any of the Commonwealth forces that fought in Korea. When the British got the medals, they all got the war medal for Korea. >> What have been the reactions of ... What do the veterans feel about this memorial? >> They're happy with it. >> Mm. >> They are happy with it, yeah. I don't think we've had any comments that was against any part of it, so it's worked out that we liked it. They liked it, so that's it, and nobody's ever said, "We should have done this. We should have done that." >> Oh, yeah. >> I think people are happy with what we finished on. >> And the significance of the area, the surrounding area? >> That's got no significance with regards to the Korean War. >> Oh, you're right, but the significance of this area with Anzac Parade. >> Yeah, no, that didn't come into it either. It was just the place where ... >> I know, but isn't it still very meaningful that it's ... >> Oh, well, it's on Anzac Parade. >> Yeah. >> It's on Anzac Parade, yeah, yeah. >> And where it's the Anzac Parade across where they're commemorating World War I. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. >> There's a memorial, yeah. >> It's not just a ... >> A special dedication ... >> It's not just randomly located in a remote area. >> Yeah, yeah. >> It's a pretty significant road part. >> It is, yeah. >> Yeah. Now let's go back to your experience in the war a little bit. So do you have any recollections, something, I don't know, like an anecdote from the war, your time in Korea in 1950? >> We went there in August of '50, and there was the Middlesex Regiment and the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, and at that time, we only held the Pusan area, around the Pusan area of Korea, and I think, basically, the North Koreans had run out of steam, and they were getting their reserves up and everything before they moved on, and in that time, of course, there was getting more troops out there. We were the first troops after the Americans to go there, the British who got to do so, and we was the 27th Brigade. Then in the ... I think it was about October ... The 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment joined us, and then we became 27th British Commonwealth Brigade. Then after that, we had New Zealand Artillery join us. They came into the brigade, and we also got the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry Battalion join us, and there was an Indian medical team that joined us, and so we was the Commonwealth Brigade. We was always under strength, and the units, when we took over an area from the Americans, we'd have a battalion to take over where they had a brigade, so the ... A brigade is about three times the size of a battalion, so we was taking over a much bigger area, which made it more dangerous because with people on the ground compared to what they were, and the first thing that we had as far as the war was concerned is that we was in positions on the Nakdong River, and we got shelled and mortared, and the noise, it's unbelievable. It was just so loud, and there's nothing to do. What we'd do is just sit in our trench and hope that it didn't land in our trench, which it didn't, thank goodness, and a short time after that, we had to ... We set out on a platoon patrol across the Nakdong River, and it wasn't a fighting patrol. It was just to observe, see if we could find out what was going on, went across the river. There's sand beaches each side of the Nakdong River, and we turned left as we went across from the boats, and we left a section with the boats, and then the other two sections went along the beachline, from the beachline along, and we must have been probably about a mile or so along there, and we looked up in the hills, and we saw the enemy up on the hills, and we saw them waving. They was waving people from the other side of the hill, and they were all of a sudden [Indistinct] gunning at as with machine guns, and we couldn't touch them because it was too far for us with our rifles or [Indistinct] guns to extend, and so we hit the ground as soon as they started, and where the river goes along, most of the other section, the two, was along the line of the river, but my section, I was in section one. My section went from the edge of the river up to this bank where the other section was, so it went ... The shots was going around us, and they were so close. I just thought myself, "If you're going to hit me, hit me," because the tension was so, so great, and then as soon as there was just a lapse in the machine gun fire, [INAUDIBLE] in the bank, so we dashed it to the bank. We had with us four Americans. They was for if we needed artillery support. As soon as the Koreans opened fire, three of the Americans took off, and it was on officer, sergeant and two others, but the officer stayed, and one of the Americans, when they took off, got hit. He got right through the middle, but he was okay. So when we finished up, we carried him out, and when they fired, we'd get down, and when they stopped firing, we'd get up and move, and we also had our own machine guns on the other side of the river firing at them to keep them down as well. So we come in on the way back, and I was right behind that [INAUDIBLE], and walking along, I said to him, "I think there might be a reception or something [INAUDIBLE] that come down and try and block us off," and he said, "Yeah," because he was that tense, and then all of a sudden, there was a noise of machine gun, and we hit the ground, and he was still standing up. I said, "Was that you, sir?" He said, "Yeah." His machine gun went off, but anyway, we found out when we got back the boats, the other Americans was there, the ones that took off, the two that took off, and they'd have taken the boats if we hadn't got the section out, and there was a party coming down to meet us, but our machine guns opened on them, so that broke them up, so we was right there, so we got back in the boats, and we crossed the river, and that was that. The night before we went down to the river, we slept in Korean houses overnight, and we went overnight, went through their clothing. We got back, and that was okay, and then after that, we moved forward across the river, and we was given the job of taking a particular hill, which was later called Middlesex Hill because that was the British [Indistinct], and we had platoon go first with a small hill and then a large hill went on from there, and the platoon went, just one platoon, went and took the small hill, and I think they got two killed taking that hill. Then the rest of the company took the larger hill, and we lost ... I think we lost about three or four taking the hill, and it took us nearly all day to get up to the top of the hill, and the Koreans, there was some dead, and some had took off, and when we got there, they had fires, and one the North Koreans had got thrown into the fire, and his clothes was burning, and his ammunition was exploding out of his body, and [INAUDIBLE], and it was with his own [INAUDIBLE] explode. Then at the nighttime, they mortared us, and we had another one killed when he was wounded. The next day, the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders was to take another hill the other side of the road to where we were, and when they went up, we used to have color signs that we used to have made out on the ground. They'd be red or yellow or whatever, and they'd be sort of in a cross one day, two lines together another day, all different sort of shapes so that the air knew that we were friendly. Well, they had their colors, and they had them on the floor, but the Americans came and they bombed them, and with the ... what? What do they call the bombs? >> Mortar? >> No, fire. >> [INAUDIBLE] bombs? >> No. >> Flash bombs? >> No, the ones they drop from the airplanes. >> Air bombs? >> What? >> Air bombs. >> What? What'd you say? >> [INAUDIBLE] >> No. Once you're up there, you drop the bombs, and it's just all fire, flame and ... >> Yeah, napalm. >> Napalm, they dropped ... We'll have to sort that out. They dropped napalm on the Argylls, and I don't remember how many they killed. I think there was about 20 or something killed, and then the second-in-command of the Argylls, Major Muir, he won the VC on that, but they came down, and we were still on a hill. My company was on this hill over here, and the rest of the battalion was down behind, and they went up and helped get the Argylls get down. Then we moved on from there, and we did a little bit in the country, looking for any North Koreans who might be hanging around. Then that's when the Australians joined us, and we flew up to Seoul to keep [INAUDIBLE] airport. The Australians stayed there for a while cleaning up, and then we was at the airport probably about 3 days [INAUDIBLE] and we started moving north, and so every day, we'd get in our trucks, go north, stop at night, dig in. Maybe we'd have some action. Maybe we wouldn't. Maybe we'd run into some action. We'd just keep it as we went, and we did that all the way up, and there was a number of battles. I can't remember what they were, all of them, but there was a number of battles, and we got as far as ... What is it? I can't think of the damn name. [INAUDIBLE], I think it was. I think it was [INAUDIBLE]. We got as far as there, and then the winter started coming in, and then all of a sudden they said, "Chinese on horseback," you see, and the Chinese came into the war, came across the border, and they stayed there quite a while. We didn't even know they were there. They didn't know [INAUDIBLE] and there was hundreds of thousands of them. They came [INAUDIBLE], and when they did, our brigade was out on its own, and they were saying nothing could save the British 27th Brigade because the north would surround us and we would be gone, but anyway we did. We got out. We came back, and as we came back, we had to fight and withdraw, and we got action, and that is when some troops stayed in their position to let the others come through, and all the time when doing that, when we were in our position, we were expecting the enemy to be right behind them, so you'd expect that you're going to get caught, but luckily, we didn't. We just got away with it, but we got back and went way back down to the other side of the border, the 38th parallel, which I think we stopped there. We dug in and everything else. Then the Chinese came, and then there was a backwards and forwards, and we left in the ... June, I think it was, we left. June, we left and then went back to Hong Kong, and from there, from Hong Kong, I went to ... The battalion had to stay there another 10 months or something to complete their 3 years, but I volunteered for the Parachute Regiment, and I went back to England to join the Parachute Regiment. >> Mm.

>> My name is Mick Kilhov. I live in Australia now. I served in Korea with the British Army, the 10th Regiment. I had never heard about Korea. I didn't know where it was. I couldn't even point on a map where Korea was, but anyway, I was serving in Germany and was sent from Germany back to the UK to familiarize ourselves with the Centurion tank, which is the heavy tank used with the armor, and after 6 weeks, we were put on a ship, the Empire Halladale, at Liverpool, and it took us 6 weeks to get from Liverpool in England to Pusan. When we got to Pusan, there was an American band on the docks. They were playing, "If I Knew You Were Comin' I'd've Baked a Cake," which we thought was hilarious. We were then unloaded, put on to flatcars and sent on these flatcars from Pusan to Uijeongbu. We went to Uijeongbu. That's the only Korean place I can remember going up to. I remember Seoul. Yes, I remember that, but it was in the middle of the night, pitch black. We were given a bag of rations. The first ration we had was homemade sandwiches, an apple, which you couldn't eat because it frozen solid. During the middle of the night, the train stopped because they said there was going to be an air raid. There was no air raid, but we did stop there, and a little voice came out of the dark, and it wanted to know if we wanted to swap some food for what they had. All they had was apples. We gave them what we had, just sandwiches and a piece of fruit cake. That's what we were given, and they gave us these apples, and we could not bite these apples. We had to hit it with a bayonet, and it shattered like glass. It was frozen solid. Anyway, when we got to Uijeongbu, in the case of taking over from another regiment who were pulling out from Korea, and we took over their positions, and we had Alpha, Beta and Charlie squadrons. Three squadrons were sent to three different areas, some on the Imjin River. I don't know the name of the Korean location. I just know that it was Hill 355, Green Finger, Winston Churchill, Jane Russell. These were all features in Korea, and by then, we weren't told very much about what's going on. We just got what we called a sitrep every morning, a situation report. We were told what action was going on during the night, what action, what we had been through, and I remember being hit by 99 mortars one night on the tank. It didn't make much difference. It blew all the camouflage nets off and the antenna for the radio. It wasn't a very pleasant place. It was just a case of very, very cold in the winter and very hot in the summer. Rations were very meager unless you got combat rations, which were supplied by the Americans. Normal British rations were bully beef and hardtack biscuits, and these tins of bully beef were 7-pound tins that were leftover from the Second World War, and when you took the top off, we had a hiss of gas coming from the meat, and the meat was black. So you had to cut the outside off with your knife and then get to the real piece of meat underneath, the bully beef, and we had hardtack biscuits full of weevils. We had to tap them on the side. We also had what they called pom, which is powdered potato, dehydrated potato, and I can distinctly remember the cook used to ask us, "What would you like today? Would you like a bit of steak and chips?" And you'd say, "No. Just give us the usual," and he'd say, "Oh, do you want your potato mashed, fried?" It was all the same. It was just boiled, boiled, boiled, powdered potato. That was what we had. Combat rations were good. Whenever we could, if we could get to an American camp, they were very generous. We could get from Marines anything you could pick off the table. Whatever they were eating, they'd give you, and at the end of the table, there was stuff donated by American firms. There were things like Hershey bars, writing material, torches, pens, writing paper, and right at the end, you put your name down, and you got a Chicago Herald Tribune sent to you once a month. Very handy because you had nothing else to read, and it was very useful at the end of that period to use as toilet paper as well. The thing that left me my lasting memory of Korea was the suffering of little children. It really left a mark on me. Normally, I wouldn't shed tears, but after seeing little babies and little girls and boys in the condition they were in, it really affected me. I did more than a year in Korea. I was then claimed by my older brother to his regiment. It was an artillery regiment. So I went over to spend another 3 months with them. We then went from Korea. We said farewell to our friends in Pusan who were lying sleeping in the cemetery. We went from there to Hong Kong for another year or just over, and by that time, because we had come from Germany with our own seas for 3 years, we went back to UK. And within 5 months of getting back to UK, I was then called up again for Cyprus. We were sent to Cyprus for a year. In the meantime, I got married on one day, the 22nd of October, 1955, and on the 24th of October, I was on an aircraft carrier on my way to Cyprus, where I spent a year. Having done that, I came back to leave the Army for a few months and got called up again, honored to be called up for Suez Canal trouble. So anyway, that's a part of my life, and I'm quite happy I've been married 62 years now to the same woman. I've got one daughter, and I live in Australia now. I'm quite happy with my lot. I've never been back in the UK. I have no desire to go back there. I've just been involved with the Korean War Veteran Association here. I've been their president for over 10 years. I'm still the president emeritus and their quartermaster. So I just do what I can to help my fellow man. I do a lot of hospital visits. I visit people who are in nursing homes who have had sickness, strokes, dementia. That's as much as I can do for my fellow man, and I hope one day, and I've also decreed that when I pass away and I leave this mortal coil that my body goes to research. I don't want a funeral. I don't want anything left of me. It'll go to the University of New South Wales. And I'll say my goodbyes there. Thank you.

-Estas placas fueron instaladas el, el 14 de Noviembre del 2000, del año 2007, ante una ceremonia muy hermosa con todos los destacamentos militares, la asistencia del comandante del Ejército, el Estado Mayor, la Armada Nacional, y mucho público y todos los veteranos de la guerra de Corea. Fue algo, fue muy conmovedor para la ciudadanía de Bogotá y para todos los militares y veteranos que asistimos, puesto que no se había colocado en ninguna parte de Colombia por parte del Gobierno ninguna conmemoración, ningún recuerdo a los muertos de la guerra. Estábamos buscando y yo me dediqué a buscar con ellos. Y un buen día, tuve la inspiración de venir aquí y proponerle al padre párroco que, que si me daba permiso de colocar las placas acá en este lugar tan sagrado para la, donde están los mártires de la patria. E inmediatamente me aceptó. El general Álvaro Valencia Tovar, que en paz descanse, puso todo el empeño por su experiencia militar. Fue comandante del Ejército, estuvo en la guerra de Corea, fue el comandante de la primera acción contra los chinos. Y me dijo: “Isaac, cuente con mi apoyo porque esa idea no se me había presentado a mí, no se me había ocurrido a mí. Yo lo apoyo”. Y cuando me di cuenta, pues, comunicó al Estado Mayor, convocó a todas las fuerzas militares, y fue algo esplendoroso. Que, por eso esas placas están aquí. Yo puse mi aporte espiritual y no más. Que Dios tenga sus almas en su, su, su reino. Gracias.