Ministry of National Defense Republic of Korea

Showing the Republic of Korean government’s efforts for war remains excavation, and giving hope to families

On May 28th, the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs (MPVA) announced that the bereaved families of American soldiers who went missing in the Korean War and are presumed dead will visit Arrowhead Ridge in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) tomorrow.  

The families were supposed to visit the site located at Mountain Morak in Uiwang City, Gyeonggi Province, where war remains were discovered, but the site was changed out of consideration for the families of the soldiers who died or went missing near Arrowhead Ridge, according to the MPVA. 

Arrowhead Ridge is located in Daema-ri, Cheorwon-eup, Cheorwon County, Gangwon Province, and is 3 kilometers southwest of White Horse Ridge, known as the sites one of the fiercest battles of the Korean War. It is where Republic of Korean forces and U.N. Command (UNC)　forces won a victory in four battles against Chinese forces from November 1951 to July 11th, 1953 before the armistice agreement was signed. The remains of nearly 200 Republic of Korean soldiers and about 100 UNC forces, including American and French troops, are thought to be buried there.

During excavation work that has been carried out at the site since last month, the Ministry of National Defense has so far discovered 325 pieces of bones and nearly 23,000 items believed to belong to the Korean War dead, including five bulletproof jackets used by American soldiers and an identification tag of a French soldier. 

“The purpose of this visit to Arrowhead Ridge by the families of American soldiers who went missing in the Korean War is to show our government’s remembrance of those who lost their lives in the Korean War, and our efforts for the discovery of the remains of those who still have not been returned to the bosom of their family, and give hope to the families,” an official from the MPVA said. 

As part of the MPVA’s program to support U.N. war veterans who want to revisit Korea, about 50 family members arrived in Korea on May 26th and will stay here until May 31st. On Tuesday, they attended a ceremony to commemorate American soldiers who died and went missing in the Korean War, held in the War Memorial of Korea, and then attended a special exhibition hosted by the Ministry of National Defense. The exhibition includes an identification tag of the late Sergent Park Jae-gwon, who was returned to the bosom of his family 65 years after he died in the Battle of Arrowhead Ridge.

By Byeong-No, Yun <trylover@dema.mil.kr >

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