Vietnamese Group Honors Korean Fallen Soldiers in the Vietnam War
Alliance for Vietnam's Democracy paying respect at Seoul National Cemetery
The Alliance for Vietnam's Democracy honors the ultimate sacrifice of 5,099 Korean fallen soldiers in the Vietnam War.
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA, March 22, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Since 2023, Vietnamese authorities have been embarking on an offensive to get reparations from South Korea for the Vietnam War which ended in 1975. Vietnam’s state-controlled media has been peddling war crimes allegedly committed by Korean soldiers in Vietnam. The Korean Defense Ministry in its response has stated that its records do not support the allegations, and has called for a joint investigation by the Korean and Vietnamese governments.
South Korean troops became some of the first to enter South Vietnam in 1964 and among the last to depart nearly ten years later. The Republic of Korea was the Republic of Vietnam’s second-largest coalition partner, after the US. The South Korean Army, Marine Corps, Navy, and Air Force all participated, under the command of Lieutenant General Chae Myung-shin.
Fifty years later, a group composed of former Republic of Vietnam soldiers and their descendants made a quiet visit to Seoul National Cemetery to pay their respects. On Sunday, March 17, 2024, the group visited the gravesites of the 5,099 fallen soldiers who died to protect the cause of freedom in a foreign land. The inscription on one read, “Because you soldiers rest here, our country stands tall with pride.”
With help from the cemetery officials, the group laid flowers and conducted a formal ceremony. They stood stiffly in the cold winds, in respect and remembrance of the former comrade-at-arms, whose service was seen as essential in stemming the tides of communism in Asia. It did not succeed in Vietnam as South Vietnam fell to the communists in 1975, but it gave the rest of Asia enough time to become resilient economies and democratic societies. For that important cause, the Army of the Republic of Vietnam suffered 254,256 recorded combat deaths between 1960 and 1975.
As members of an alliance advocating for Vietnam’s democracy, the group is also in Seoul in a formal capacity as organizers and facilitators of several conferences on democracy on the side of the Summit for Democracy. This Third Summit, hosted by the Government of South Korea, was from March 18 to 20, 2024. On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War, the group also visited the War Memorial of Korea "to humbly honor the ultimate sacrifice and the indomitable spirit of the Korean people," according to the group's spokesperson.
David Tran
Alliance for Vietnam's Democracy
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