Korean War Veteran

Internet Journal for the World’s

Veterans of the Korean War

November 13, 2014

Sent from Seoul, Republic of Korea

Turn Toward Busan 2014

The news articles tell the story… it was a

moment to be one… with participation from

all over the world

The 8th annual Turn Toward Busan Tribute to United Nations Fallen was held in

many nations in the world, with the core service conducted at the United Nations

Memorial Cemetery in Busan, with Honourable Park Sung Choon, Korea's

Minister of Patriots and Veterans Affairs officiating. The photographs displayed

here all were published by various news sources, including wire services and major

daily newspapers, and there was considerable televisions coverage as well.

All of the photographs were taken by working photographers and journalists. They

give a taste of what happened in Korea, Canada, the United Kingdom and the

United States… Other ceremonies were held in other nations, but we do not have

access to photographs.

At the beginning of the core ceremony held at the United Nations Wall of

Remembrance within the United Nations Memorial Cemetery. From right, a

general officer of the Polish Army; the British military attache; Colonel (Retired)

Warren Wiedhahn, US Marine Corps veteran and first vice president of the Korean

War Veterans Association USA; His Excellency Kwang-Jae Lee, Custodian of the

Office of the UN Memorial Cemetery; Vincent Courtenay, advisor to the Ministry

of Patriots and Veterans Affairs;, Senator Yonah Martin, Deputy Government

Leader of the Canadian Senate, and the Ambassador of Ethiopia.

The core Turn Toward Busan service at the UN Memorial Cemetery was

participated in by more than 1,000 people, including veterans, government and

military officials and students from throughout the Busan region.

Vincent Courtenay, initiator of the Turn Toward Busan international ceremonies,

explains their significance and history to a reporter from Korea’s international

Yonhap News Service. The interview took place before the service, at the

Monument to Canadian Fallen which is located in the Canadian Graves Section of

the United Nations Memorial Cemetery.

This picture needs words to properly tell the story. The veteran at right foreground

is Jean Lauze, a veteran of Canada’s French speaking Royal 22e Regiment. To his

right is 99-year old Dr. Anders Tang, who served with the Swedish Red Cross

Hospital in Busan during the war. Dr. Tang will turn 100 in September, 2015. To

his right is his daughter, Birgitta Fagerlund. To her right is Captain Arthur Lortie,

who served in Korea as a corporal with the Royal 22e Regiment and retired as a

captain and regimental adjutant. Arthur has undergone very serious surgeries for

kidney cancer and lung cancer. His doctors took him off of chemotherapy a year

ago and told him he had six months to live, at most. Arthur has proved them wrong

and has passed their deadline by many months. Not visible at his side is his

daughter, Diane Lortie. To their right is Peter Seiresen, national vice president and

revisit coordinator of KVA Canada and his daughter, Wendy Walker. Gentleman

with the white hair in green jacket on extreme right side of photo is Henri St.

Laurent, former national president of KVA Canada. Henri also is a veteran of the

Royal 22e Regiment. Henri suffers serious leg problems and uses a walker for

mobility. At his side is his daughter, Johanne St. Laurent, who was his much

needed, loving caregiver.

Belgian veteran Louis De Cleen, who served in Korea with the Belgian Battalion.

Next to him is the Australian Defence Attache, and to his right is the Defence

Attache from the Republic of Turkey. M. De Cleen was accompanied by his wife

and caregiver, Betty McAfee.

Hundreds of Korean students participated in the Turn Toward Busan ceremony in

the United Nations Memorial Cemetery. Here some are shown observing the

minute of silence for those who fell during the Korean War.

United States of America

In Washington, D.C., Veteran Larry Kinard, the national president of the Korean

War Veterans Association of the United States, reads a message to comrades and

their family members who are participating in a wreath placement and Turn

Toward Busan ceremony at the venerable Korean War Veterans Memorial on the

Mall. The veterans earlier had participated in the annual Veterans Day service at

Arlington National Cemetery, which was attended by President Barack Obama. Of

the Turn Toward Busan service held in Washington, and in many other locations

throughout the United States, Larry Kinard told reporters the following:

"I know today on Veterans Day the 'Turn Toward Busan' is being done all

over the world. It's being done by all the nations that fought in the United

Nations during the war. We certainly wanted to be a part of that.

"To me, that's one of the best things we can do to help the world remember

what we did in Korea 60 years ago, and we wanted not to be forgotten but

remembered as the forgotten victory."

Canada

The first Turn Toward Busan ceremony in Canada was held on November 10,

2007. It was held outdoors at the Monument to Canadian Fallen. The extreme low

temperature proved a hardship for some of the veterans and so it is now held inside

the Ottawa City Hall, as seen above.

In Ottawa, Canada, His Excellency Cho Hee-yong, Ambassador of the Republic of

Korea to Canada, places a wreath during the national Canadian Turn Toward

Busan service, which was held inside the Ottawa city hall. On the altar in

foreground is a miniature of the Monument to Canadian Fallen, which stands in the

United Nations Memorial Cemetery in Busan. A duplicate of the Monument also

stands in its own park adjacent to the National Arts Centre in Ottawa. - Ottawa photos by Richard Lawrence, professional photographer.

At 9 p.m. Ottawa time on November 10, which is 11 a.m. on November 11 in

Korea, intrepid veterans move from the Ottawa city hall to the monument nearby

that is dedicated to 21 Ottawa area servicemen who lost their lives in the Korean

War. The veterans, and the Korean Defence Attache, placed a total of 21 poppies

upon the Monument, one commemorating each of the fallen servicemen.

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, two veterans who are members of the newly former

British Korean War Veterans Association, Swindon & Wiltshire Branch, held their

own Turn Toward Busan ceremony on November 11, as did other veterans in other

areas of the UK.

More observances in Korea

At the famous War Memorial of Korea in Seoul, the senior executives and staff

members joined in tribute to the Korean War Fallen, participating in the Turn

Toward Busan ceremony from afar. Hundreds of thousands of Koreans, possibly

millions, also turned to face toward Busan at 11 a.m. on November 11. The

numbers will be available later. The executives display a Turn Toward Busan

banner on the main entry stairs to the Memorial (above). Below, they hold

respectful prayers and silence along the Hall of Honour, where the names of more

than 40,000 Korean War Fallen are listed, nation by nation.

ROK Naval personnel aboard a fast frigate Turn Toward Busan from their duty

stations on board.