U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday expressed his appreciation to Korean War veterans for their sacrifices during the 1950-53 conflict, as he proclaimed a special day to commemorate the signing of the armistice that halted the war.
Biden issued an annual statement proclaiming Saturday as National Korean War Veterans Armistice Day. The armistice was signed on July 27, 1953.
“It is an unbreakable bond because it was forged in bravery and the sacrifice of both of our peoples — sanctified by the American and Korean troops who fought and died to defend liberty,” he said in the statement.
“Our Korean War veterans are the reason the alliance stands and remains strong today as two vibrant and innovative democracies,” he added.
The president also said that the entire nation “owes a debt of gratitude” to every Korean War veteran for their service and sacrifice.
“As we recognize the service and sacrifice of our Nation’s Korean War veterans, we also remember the thousands of service members who went missing in ac
tion during the Korean War — we will never stop working to bring each of them home,” he said.
He pointed out the need to fight for freedom.
“Like every generation before them, these veterans knew that freedom is never guaranteed — one has to fight for it and defend it in the battle between autocracy and democracy, between the greed of a few and the rights of many,” he said.
Biden called particular attention to the service of retired Col. Ralph Puckett Jr. who was the last living Korean War veteran to have received the Medal of Honor, the U.S. Armed Forces’ highest military decoration. Puckett passed away in April.
“His story, though one of uncommon valor, was reflected in the experiences and trials of so many of our nation’s Korean War veterans — trudging through frozen rice paddies, fighting on the rocky terrain of the Korean Peninsula, and persisting in spite of the fact that the enemy often far outnumbered our troops,” he said.
Source: Yonhap News Agency
