by ALEX HYUN | @ahyundarkb4dawn
editor@charactermedia.com
To commemorate the 62nd anniversary of the armistice that ended the Korean War, Jersey City unveiled its newly refurbished Korean War memorial on Monday, reports the Jersey Journal.
The monument was vandalized last year with its floodlights destroyed and granite etchings of soldiers’ names defaced, drawing the ire of veterans. What made the vandalism even more unfortunate was the fact that the responsibility of maintaining the monument lies with the Korean War veterans of Jersey City, not the city itself.
However in a turn of events, the province of Gyeonggi in South Korea donated $100,000 to Jersey City last year on Veterans Day for the monument to be repaired and improved. The donation is a symbol of the camaraderie shared between U.S. veterans and South Korea, a country that American soldiers barely knew but still defended during the 1950-53 war.
Thanks to the Burns Bros. Memorials, new pictures have been engraved inside the monument. Local developer Fields Development Group have also donated new floodlights. With new floodlights installed and a possible addition for security cameras, Jersey city and its veterans hope to curb future vandalism attempts on the memorial.
“Sixty-two years ago the Korean War ended,” Eddie Paradine, commander of the Korean War Veterans Association of Hudson County, said in his commemorative speech. “And now we can celebrate it by putting the finishing touches on the monument for the 133 soldiers from Hudson county who gave their lives.”
According to the U.S. Department of Defense, more than 33,000 American soldiers were killed in combat during the Korean War. Twenty-one U.N. countries, including Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom, later contributed in the defense of South Korea.
“I was born and educated in a free democratic nation and now I’m here with you today, all because of your services and sacrifices of the Korean War veterans,” said Hyung Gil Kim, deputy counsel general of the Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in New York. “Ladies and gentleman, I tell you: The Korean War is not forgotten. The Koreans will never, ever forget the services and sacrifice of your brothers and husbands, and your fathers and grandfathers.”
See Also
Two Koreas, U.S. Celebrate Anniversary of Korean War Armistice
Digital Textbook on Korean War to Be Produced for U.S. Schools
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Featured image via Visit Hudson
