Korean War, 60 Years After Armistice: Remembering 'The Forgotten War'

On July 27, 2013, 60 years to the day the armistice ending the Korean War was signed, veterans and members of the Tampa Bay community gathered at Veterans Memorial Park to dedicate the Korean War Memorial.

• See 60 Years After Armistice, Tampa To Dedicate Korean War Memorial

• War's Start — "On June 25, 1950, the Korean War began when 75,000 soldiers from the North Korean People's Army poured across the 38th parallel, the boundary between the Soviet-backed Democratic People's Republic of Korea to the north and the pro-Western Republic of Korea to the south."

• Cold War Significance — "This invasion was the first military action of the Cold War."

• War's End — "Three years later, an armistice was signed, but five million people had died, including 10 percent of Korea's population."

• Historically Remembered — "This 'Forgotten War' or 'Forgotten Victory' has been overshadowed by World War II and the Vietnam War. World War II ended five years before the Korean War began. The Vietnam War began several years after and lasted approximately 10 years.

• Korea Today — "A state of war still exists between North and South Korea to this day: More than 90 Americans and 300 South Korean soldiers have been killed in clashes along the DMZ barbed wire between North and South Korea. In March 2010, a South Korean warship was sunk with 46 ROK soldiers on board by a probable North Korean submarine-fired torpedo. North Korea conducted an underground nuclear test in February 2013 an fired six test missiles into the sea in May 2013.

• Starts 10 a.m. July 27 at Veterans Memorial Park and Rear Admiral LeRoy Collins Jr. Veterans Museum, 3602 U.S. Highway North, Tampa.

• Master of Ceremonies, Ralph Hawkins, president of the Korean War Veterans Association, Chapter 175

• National colors, presented by the Joint Services Color Guard from U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), MacDill Air Force Base, Tampa.
  

• National anthems, of both the United States and the Republic of Korea (South Korea), to be sung by the Tampa Bay Korean Women's Chorus.

• Invocation by Young Chang Ha, born in North Korea, who fled to South Korean in 1948, where he was educated before relocating to the United States. In America he earned a doctorate of ministry degree from the Claremont School of Theology. He retired as a Capt. U.S. Navy Chaplain.

• Hillsborough County Commissioner Ken Hagan, the featured speaker, will present a signed proclamation from the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners. The Tampa Bay Korean Women's Chorus will perform. Also on tap, a POW/MIA Empty Chair Ceremony and a Memorial Wreath Tribute. The Marine Corps League, Detachment 1226, Riverview, will conduct a rifle salute and "Taps." Mary Ellen Harlan, chaplain for the veterans council, is set to offer the benediction.

• Adjacent to the Korean War Memorial is the recently relocated First Lt. Baldomero Lopez, USMC, Medal of Honor Memorial. He received the medal posthumously during the Inchon Invasion of the Korean War in 1950. Lopez Elementary School, at 200 North Kingsway Road in Seffner, is named in his memory.