Belgium Brussels (5)

>> Go. >> [INAUDIBLE]. My name is Gorfed Gormumen. I'm 88. When the Korean War started, I was 21. I was a Korean War ... >> [INAUDIBLE]. >> [INAUDIBLE]. >> And now I am a veteran as a Korean War volunteer. >> Volunteer. >> Volunteer. From September '50 ... 18 of September '50 to the end of the war was armistice. The war is still going on at the moment. It was armistice on the 27th of July '53. Then I stay in Korea a little bit longer, more than 1 month. In September, I was back in Belgium, September '53. Then I stay in the army. When I leave Belgium, I was a sergeant, and I was the leader of a squad. Then I stay longer in Korea, 1, 2, 3 years, and become sergeant first class, sergeant major, and then I was the leader of the weapon platoon then the third year. Then after we come back to Belgium, I stay in the army, and then I leave the army on pension as a [INAUDIBLE] officer. >> What? >> [INAUDIBLE] officer. >> More for the moment. >> And [INAUDIBLE] museum now? [FOREIGN LANGUAGE] >> Oh, yeah. >> [FOREIGN LANGUAGE] So you are now in charge of a museum? >> No. Yes. The commander of the Para, it ask us to [INAUDIBLE] museum, and that we did. >> And when was it ... >> I must do it because [INAUDIBLE] Koreans. And I did my best to help that commander in [INAUDIBLE]. The 3rd Para Battalion take over [INAUDIBLE], and because of that, they build a museum. Okay. I did. I ask around to have some items for the museum. There were a lot of items, and I asked to send them to 3rd Para. Then after any time, I [FOREIGN LANGUAGE] ... >> I was sorting out ... ... after ... >> ... all objects that were sent in. >> We started there with the museum in the late '80s, '87, '88, but the innovation, no ... >> The inauguration. >> ... inauguration in 1990 [INAUDIBLE] it is 25, 27 years that I do it in the museum. >> What do you think is most important for people when they come visit the museum to know about the Korean War? >> About? >> What is it [FOREIGN LANGUAGE] museum [FOREIGN LANGUAGE] >> Yes, the interest because the Korean War is known as forgotten war, and now when they visit the museum, no more forgotten. See? When you come in, there is a title, "Forgotten War," and when you come out, "Forgotten No More." See? >> What are some of the more interesting things in the museum? >> Interesting? Our battles. We don't have so much place. I must [INAUDIBLE] to our situations [FOREIGN LANGUAGE] See? And there's a theme. Around the theme, we have our museum. I can't show everything in museum. Our battles are the most important rings on our colors [FOREIGN LANGUAGE] on our colors of the battalion. The 3rd Battalion, they take over our traditions but not our history because the 3rd Battalion is ... >> Forms. >> ... founded. >> Or founded. >> ... during the Korean War, you see, and it's at that moment you take over colors, our tradition, but the history start later, and because our history in '50, September '50 [INAUDIBLE] and the 18th of September '50, see? I can tell much more, but do you like it? >> When young people, okay, go to the museum ... >> Oh, yeah. >> ... how do they feel? >> How they feel? >> Mm-hmm. What do they think about it? >> Yeah. Yeah, they don't know nothing. There's nothing saving Korea. What do the younger people know of the Korean War? >> Very little. >> Yeah, yeah. >> Very little. >> Same here. The Second World War, First World War, Second World War, no, they know nothing about Korea. >> What is the significance of Korea in Belgium's war history? >> [FOREIGN LANGUAGE] >> Yes, it was a terrible time. That was a terrible time. >> Can you explain the historical context? >> Maybe it was the Cold War and with all the trouble in the east, east of Europe. Then the 25th June, Korea War broke out. I was one of the first to enlist as a [INAUDIBLE] for Korean War in Amsterdam. I was 21. It was a long time ago now. >> Okay. >> For the moment, I still stay with our veterans always, always. I was back in Korea. Six times I went back, and once with the inauguration in Washington, D.C. I was there. A lot of rememberings from Korea. Three [INAUDIBLE] [FOREIGN LANGUAGE] Sometimes, I was in front of the first line. I spend 29 months in the first line in Korea, and sometimes I'm asked to do some listing calls before the front line many times. I'm leaving, and we are there. I notice that light here, light there, lantern. We are making our Chinese New Year in that, so we had the fireflies. You know? You know that? And I was there with a couple of men with the radio and two, three men more in front of the [FOREIGN LANGUAGE] because of that then and because of the red. It's characteristic for Korea, the poncho. Because of that, in Washington, D.C., you have with the poncho. >> Poncho. >> Yeah. Ask me what. >> I hope you're very proud of your contribution. I hope you're very proud. I hope you and Belgians are proud ... >> Yes. >> ... of Korea. >> Yes. That time, I think it was neat. It was naughty. >> It was necessary, we thought, at that time. > It was necessary. Yeah, yeah, yeah. When I [INAUDIBLE] it was necessary to go over there to stop that the congress ... >> Power. >>... system there took over, overthrowing ... > Expanding, overthrowing other countries. >> Yes, yes, yes, and now I hope it don't start again. It go sometimes, right? You never know, huh? >> I hope so too, and I hope there will be peace and two Koreas unite and one Korea. >> Mm. >> Mm. Okay.