Category: Korean War

It is interesting that it took this long for this massacre to be confirmed:

This photo, released on Wednesday by South Korea’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, shows the cemetery of Christians who were massacred by North Korean soldiers at Byeongchon Holiness Church in Nonsan, South Chungcheong Province.

Dozens of Christians were tortured and killed en masse at a church in Nonsan by communist soldiers during the Korean War, South Korea’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission said Wednesday.

After two years of investigation into the case, the commission confirmed that 54 Christians, including 29 minors, were murdered for their faith at Byeongchon Holiness Church by communists between July and September 1950.

After taking control of the city in South Chungcheong Province in July, within just one month after their invasion on June 25, 1950, North Korean soldiers initially tortured and killed three leading figures at the church.

But just before retreating from the region, following the successful U.N. Command mission at the Battle of Incheon, North Korean soldiers massacred the remaining church members and their families in late September, the investigation concluded. Thirty of the victims were women.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but the article says that over 1,700 Christians in total were executed during the war and many of them by communist sympathizers in South Korea that allied with North Korea.

I did not realize that no Columbians had ever been buried at the UN Cemetery in Busan until now:

Four Colombians will soon become the first Korean War veterans from their country to be laid to rest at the world’s only U.N. cemetery in Busan, South Korea.

The remains of Luis Carlos García Ardila, 89; José Gustavo Pascagaza León, 81; José Sergio Romero, 81; and Jorge Sánchez Tapia, 87, will arrive on the peninsula Wednesday, according to a news release Tuesday from South Korea’s Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs.

Their remains will be temporarily placed at Seoul National Cemetery until their interment Saturday at United Nations Memorial Cemetery in Busan.

Two British veterans of the Korean War — Bryan Laurenson, 94, and Brian Wood, 88 — will also be interred during a separate ceremony on the same day, according to the release.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

This is a great program that the ROK continues to run for Korean War veterans that has now expanded to include post-Korean War USFK veterans:

Former soldiers who served in U.N. Command (UNC) and U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) after the 1950-53 Korean War, will visit South Korea on Tuesday upon the invitation of the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs.

Six of them are sons of war veterans who fought for South Korea under the U.N. flag. They include Dennis Michael Bullard, 67, James Edward Truman, 66 and David Lee Nutter, 67.

Two war veterans ― Robert Eugene Jenkins, 88, and Kenlym Hinshaw Moy, 92 ― are also on the invitation list, the ministry said, noting that a total of 91 people ― 87 U.S. nationals, two Swedish nationals and two Italian nationals ― including families of the former soldiers will visit and stay in Korea until Oct. 15.

During their visit, the guests will tour Osan Air Base, Camp Humphreys, the inter-Korean border village of Panmunjeom, Seoul National Cemetery and the War Memorial of Korea.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.