Ministry of National Defense Republic of Korea

8th memorial ceremony at local U.S. armed forces in Afghanistan

 

 

 

The 8th commemorative ceremony for the late Staff Sergeant Yun Jang-ho, a symbol of the sacrifice Korea has made for peace in Afghanistan was conducted on June 6, local time, at the Bagram base.

 

As the Ashena unit, the reconstruction support group of Afghanistan, evacuated completely last year, the U.S. armed forces in Afghan conducted the ceremony, and it was a good time to reconfirm the blood alliance between the two countries.

 

The U.S. armed forces transferred the memorial stone of the late staff sergeant to within the territory of the U.S. command after the withdraw of the Ashena unit. The ceremony was able to be held on the Korean Memorial Day following a suggestion of Major General John Murray.

 

The ceremony was attended by around 100 people including the Korean ambassador to Afghanistan Cha Young-chul, the defense attaché, a representative of the State Department Yamamoto and the U.S. soldiers. Commander Murray said, “The Late Staff Sergeant Yun Jang-ho is a symbol of the Korea-U.S. alliance. I’d like to show our appreciation to Korea for actively participating in the maintenance of international peace and counter-terrorism, as a U.S. ally since the Korean War.”

 

The Minister of National Defense Han Min-koo gave a letter of appreciation to Commander Murray through Ambassador Cha expressing his gratitude for his careful cooperation related to the transfer of a memorial stone of the late staff sergeant and the commemorative ceremony.

 

The late Staff Sergeant Yun was dispatched as a member of the Dasan unit in 2007 and killed by a suicide bomb in an act of terrorism of the Taleban while doing his interpreting mission. The government awarded the Inheon Order of Military Merit to him for his noble sacrifice and the U.S. government awarded the Bronze Star Medal, the highest medal for the international military.

 

By Chul-Hwan, Kim < droid001@dema.mil.kr >　
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