Day 7- The Forgotten War... not so 'forgotten' after all.

This evening we sat in our hotel lobby and discussed our experiences of the day with our veteran, retired Army Colonel Oscar "Red" Davis. It has been 60 years since he and most of the veterans in our group have set foot on Korean soil, all these years spent believing their service was in vain.  We asked him what it feels like to finally receive the recognition he and the other veterans deserve, to which he replied,

"...We (America) thought it was forgotten--and it was in our nation. Koreans respect and understand what happened here in the Korean War because it was their lives on the line."

For the Korean people, this war is not so 'forgotten' after all--the people of this  grateful nation continue to honor the veterans who freed their county. Today, we visited the United Nations Memorial Cemetery of Korea, a sacred place initially begun in 1951 on the Northern edge of Busan (then, Pusan). During our time there our veterans honored their fallen "buddies" by placing a wreath at the foot of the American Memorial, followed by a moment of silence and prayer. Morgan also had the opportunity to honor her grandfather, who passed away when she was seven, by wearing the jacket he wore while in service. Having visited the very hill on which he fought and learning about the war from our veterans has allowed her to better understand the conditions her grandfather endured.

Our second and final stop of the day was at Camp Humphrey, a U.S. military base, where we toured the facilities and ate dinner at the D-FAC (dining facility) with current soldiers. Our tour was lead by a military officer,  and a Korean civilian-worker, Peter.

Our guide for the base uses his free time to teach Peter common English phrases. He jokingly shared with us a story from their recent trip to San Antonio, Texas.  While visiting the Alamo, Eric taught Peter the phrase "Remember the Alamo" and the meaning behind it.  At the end of our time at Camp Humphrey, after saying our goodbyes, Peter challenged us with these words: "The U.S. troops saved the Alamo from Mexico.  In the same way, your troops from the U.S. saved our nation from communism and gave us peace here.  We are so thankful for you and your people.  I will never forget the Alamo and never forget what you have done for us here."

There is much that can be learned from the Korean people and from the incredible group of veterans we have been blessed with.  However, possibly the biggest lesson to be learned from the last seven days is the meaning of respect for those in the service, and for Oscar Davis, who we consider to be our grandpa.  Though the trip is winding down, we still look forward to the next few days in the presence of these incredible veterans.  We will no longer display indifference toward our servicemen and women, but be grateful.  We will no longer feel entitled to the freedom we enjoy, but learn from the Korean people to be thankful.  We will no longer forget the sacrifices of the fallen or those who remain, but we will always choose to remember.

Rob Sindorf and Morgan Sowell