Wall of Remembrance unveiled at Korean War Memorial
A Wall of Remembrance (pictured above) was unveiled Wednesday at the Korean War Memorial with more than 43,700 names inscribed on it.
Unlike any other US war memorial, the names of over 7,000 Koreans are also inscribed on the Army section of the Wall. Their names are mixed with our troops, as is fitting: The Korean Augmentation to US Army (KATUSA) lived with our troops, fought with our troops, and died with our troops. Now their names are mixed, as they fought, and are honored with our troops.
Gold Star families pressed forward Tuesday to find their loved ones’ names listed on the new Wall of Remembrance added to the Korean War Veterans Memorial, just as families of the fallen from Vietnam did 40 years ago at the opening of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
But there were major differences in how the names were arranged and who was listed between the Korea and Vietnam memorials, said retired Army Gen. John Tilelli, chairman of the Korean War Veterans Memorial Foundation.
“It’s the only one [memorial] with foreign names on it,” Tilelli told Military.com on a brief walk Tuesday afternoon around the circular Wall of Remembrance. That wall lists the names of more than 36,600 U.S. troops who lost their lives in the Korea conflict, along with more than 7,100 Republic of Korea (ROK) soldiers who died serving alongside them and were known as KATUSAs (Korean Augmentation To the U.S. Army).
Tilelli, a two-tour Vietnam veteran and former commander of U.S. and ROK forces in South Korea, noted that Korean names were mixed in with the Americans, just as they had served together. “They’re integrated, not separated,” Tilelli said of the KATUSAs, “because they fought and died with those Americans.”
He also pointed out the unusual arrangement of the names — alphabetically and by rank and service branch — with privates and privates first class taking up the first 44 of the 84 Army panels. They were the youngest, and “that’s the cost of war, you’ve gotta’ understand that,” Tilelli said.
“It’s these groups, these young men, who paid the ultimate price,” he said. The name panels for the other service branches list the Americans who died, but the KATUSAs served only with the Army.
One more spot in Washington for my allergies to act up. Seems like they always do at the WWII Memorial, Vietnam Wall, Lincoln Memorial, and Arlington. Must be allergic to cherry blossoms or something.
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So there is good news to come out of that city? Glad to hear it! Nowadays, whenever I talk or even think about DC, it is usually in the negative. It is good that a little brightness was added.
Thank You for sharing this with us, David.
Additionally, here is a list of the 146 US Military Personnel who received the Medal of Honor during the Korean War. 103 were awarded posthumously.
US Air Force – 4
US Army – 93
US Marine Corps – 42
US Navy – 7
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Korean_War_Medal_of_Honor_recipients#:~:text=This%20list%20represents%20all%20of,of%20Honor%20were%20awarded%20posthumously.
Never Forget. Salute. Rest In Peace.
“…lest we forget.” Now if we can keep it from being defaced by domestic enemies or removed by the Chinese Communist Handlers that are pulling the puppet strings when this country is sold out to them.
“Gold Star families…” The Honored Dead are resting with no more pain and suffering. The Families? Not so much.