BANGOR, Maine — Two dozen Korean War veterans who made it home 63 years ago when America’s “Forgotten War” ended with a ceasefire came together Wednesday to remember their fallen brothers-in-arms.
They gather at 10 a.m. every July 27 to mark the end of the war in 1953 when an armistice halted the conflict after claiming the lives of nearly 55,000 U.S. troops, 245 who called Maine home.
“It was a three-year war. A very bitter, bitter war,” John Wedin, secretary of the Burton-Goode-Sargent Chapter 1 of the Korean War Veterans Association, said Thursday. “The capitol of Seoul was captured and lost and captured again three times.”
The names of the lost Mainers are inscribed on a granite memorial built at Mount Hope Cemetery by veterans and volunteers. Two other names of soldiers who grew up in the state but settled elsewhere have been added since the memorial was dedicated in 1992, Wedin said.
Ed Davis of Orland, president of the Burton-Goode-Sargent Chapter 1, which is the only Korean War Veterans Association chapter in Maine, spoke at the annual gathering.
He reminded people that the time of the 10 a.m. ceremony reflects the time the ceasefire was signed in 1953, which was 10 p.m. in Panmunjom, Korea.
As the years have past, the number of Korean War veterans continues to diminish, Wedin said.
“When we started out in ‘92, we had just over 100 members, and now we have 56,” he said, adding that some of the members are spouses and associate members.
“We’re all at least 82 or older,” Wedin said later of the surviving Korean War veterans. “We are too old to even march now, so we have the Marine Corps League do our honor guard.”
About 35 people gathered at the Mount Hope Avenue memorial for the ceremony on Wednesday. Invited guest speaker Consul General of the Republic of Korea Yong Joo was unable to make the event.
“We do this three times a year — Memorial Day, Veterans Day and the [anniversary of the Korean War] armistice,” Wedin said.