Korean War remembrances

Tomorrow marks the 50th anniversary of the end of the Korean War -- or rather, the end of hostilities, since no peace treaty was ever signed. The NY Times reports today on the perceptual chasm between those who lived through the war and those too young to remember (and, alas, too ill-informed to know better).

Meanwhile, the Times of London reports on a reunion of Gloucestershire Regiment veterans:

In the stifling heat of the Korean summer, 70 British veterans will pause on a lonely hilltop today to remember fallen comrades and their role in a war the world forgot.

The veterans have long since learnt to accept that the battles they fought in the Korean War will never have the renown of Trafalgar or D-Day but all describe a surge of pride as they return to Gloster Valley and commemorate a three-day stand in 1951 where the 1st Battalion Gloucestershire Regiment held off a Chinese force ten times its size. Fifty-nine were killed and 526 captured but their tenacity is seen as having saved the Allied war effort.

While the British held off 30,000 Chinese troops, United Nations forces could regroup to defend Seoul. The Americans later named the site after those who had defended and held it for so long: it was called Gloster Hill. The men of the Gloucestershire Regiment, representing all the Services, are among 1,600 old soldiers from around the world gathering in Seoul this weekend to mark the 50th anniversary of the armistice between North and South Korea.

Two Victoria Crosses were awarded for the actions of those three days.

UPDATE: There's a followup article on the reunion in the Sunday Times.

In a local note, there does not seem to be any event planned to mark the anniversary here in Providence -- though there are certainly many Korean War veterans here. Will have to take a walk down to the Korean War memorial at the foot of College Hill tomorrow morning.

Posted by David on July 26, 2003 5:12 PM