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View Full Version : Statue at Capitol salutes those who served, died in 'forgotten war'



thedrifter
09-19-04, 07:08 AM
Posted on Sun, Sep. 19, 2004





Memorial to Korean War vets unveiled

Statue at Capitol salutes those who served, died in 'forgotten war'

By Chet Brokaw

Associated Press Writer


PIERRE - South Dakota soldiers got no parades or celebrations when they returned from the Korean War five decades ago, but it's time they get the recognition they deserve, Gov. Mike Rounds said Saturday.

''The Korean War has been called the forgotten war - but not anymore, not here in this state,'' Rounds said during ceremonies to dedicate a new memorial to the South Dakota veterans who served during the Korean War.

''We dedicate this memorial today as a promise to our veterans, a promise that our memories and our gratitude will never fade away,'' the governor said.

The Korean War veterans finally got their parade and celebrations Saturday. Many said the recognition was long overdue.

Gene Larsen of Sioux Falls, who served in a Navy amphibious airplane in Korea, said he enjoyed the celebration because people paid little attention when soldiers returned from Korea five decades ago.

''I'm proud to have served. Today is a nice and beautiful day for us. It's nice they are honoring us. We were kind of the forgotten war,'' Larsen said.

Darwin DeVries of Viborg, a gunner on Navy ships in Korea, agreed that Korean War veterans never received the same kind of recognition given to soldiers who returned from World War II, which he said was the last war in which all Americans were united.

''The Korean War veterans were just kind of dug in a hole all the time,'' DeVries said. ''No one thought much about it after we got out. We just did our thing and raised our kids.''

Art Harms of Estelline, an Army veteran, said, ''It's 50 years late, but I appreciate it.''

Officials had no estimate of the crowd size. Earlier, Rounds had said he expected up to 20,000 people to attend. Thousands lined the streets for a morning parade and for the afternoon ceremony to unveil a new statue near Capitol Lake.

The events were held to honor the 26,000 South Dakotans who served during the Korean War, including the 180 who died during the war.

For many years, a wall near Capitol Lake has displayed the names of South Dakotans who died in the Korean War. Saturday's ceremony featured the first public display of a new bronze statue that portrays a U.S. soldier bundled up against the cold in Korea.

The celebration started with a morning parade that featured about 40 marching bands, National Guard units and veterans' organizations' representatives among the 140 entries. Veterans and others in the crowd stood to salute the U.S. flag each time a band or float passed along the 2-mile route that ran past the state Capitol.

By the time the afternoon ceremony ended, the temperature was in the 90s. Volunteers distributed water to those seated around Capitol Lake, but a number of veterans and others received medical attention during the event.

Bands played patriotic songs, military planes flew overhead and a fireworks display lit up the blue sky with booming flashes. The ceremony ended with the release of 26,000 red, white and blue balloons - one for every South Dakotan who served in the war.

A South Korean official thanked the veterans not only for protecting South Korea from the communist soldiers who invaded from the north but also for helping prevent the further spread of communism throughout Asia.

Maj. Gen. Michael Gorman, head of the South Dakota National Guard, said the Korean War initially was called a conflict or police action.

''It was a war, a hard and brutal war, and the men and women who fought it were heroes,'' Gorman said.

The ceremony was a chance for South Dakota to thank the veterans who served in the Korean War, Rounds said. Those soldiers, along with those who served in other wars, have protected the freedoms that Americans sometimes take for granted, he said.

''Today I am making a promise for us,'' the governor said. ''We will remember what you, our soldiers, did for us.''

http://www.aberdeennews.com/mld/aberdeennews/9705601.htm


Ellie