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Filipinos and the Korean War

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FILIPINOS AND THE KOREAN WAR
June marks the anniversary of the beginning of the Korean War--one chapter in Asian history that has left the two Koreas devastated...too devastated that they remain divided and are still technically at war against each other.
A lot of people--young and old--died and perished. But more saddening than this is the fact that caught at present in between these two fighting nations are families and people physically separated. They seem not so distant apart, but they just can't be together as a consequence of that miserable war.
These and more are what the Korean War has done to the Koreans. But, it's not only them that suffered...We did too and some still are haunted by this war. They are your lolos, the Korean War Filipino veterans who fought in a battle that was not actually theirs, yet valiantly did so along with other countries that heeded to the call of the United Nations for help from the international community.
They lighten up when they talk about how they bravely fought in that war but also reflected in their eyes the very core of their tired souls.
Sometimes, they stop in the middle of their stories, and in their eyes is sadness- the kind pulled out of a painful memory. I guess as they try to celebrate their significant contribution that shaped one nation's history, a part of them tries to keep within them the dark side of a war that wounded them...the kind of wound that not even time could heal.
There are only few of them left and soon they will all go to where all things end. But I hope that their memory of the Korean War, the often called Forgotten War, will not go forgotten with them into their graves.
It is sad to know that little is said about the contribution of the Korean War Filipino veterans--the 7,150 brave soldiers, around 400 of whom were wounded and over 110 died. They were only few yet they, too, like the Americans, the Turks, the Greeks etc. sacrificed their lives...they braved the atrocities of the war... they fought...they died.
Unfortunately, it's a painful veracity...a painful truth that those fallen Filipino soldiers seem to be forgotten not only by us but also by the Koreans, the people whose lives they unselfishly sacrificed for. I am not asking for magnificent monuments or monetary compensation to honor them. All I'm asking is a simple recognition......the remembrance of their forgotten being...the inclusion of their collective names not necessarily in the written history of the war but in OUR consciousness especially by the Korean generation of today who, somehow, in one way or another, owe what they have become today to the people, not only Filipino soldiers, that helped pave their way.
But more saddening is the fact that even we Filipinos seem to have already forgotten how great our men were...how your lolo...our lolos put their lives on the line for others to live freely and peacefully while knowing that this meant foregoing their peace within...knowing that this battle would haunt them for the rest of their lives.
It is sad to think that we are losing one aspect that binds Filipinos and Koreans aside from English and the many overseas Filipino workers that support their economy.
Yes, these war veterans were great men and they will always be. And like they say, soldiers never die. Their memories live on forever. So, let us relive their memories. Help me continue their legacy. Help me prove to these soldiers that what they sacrificed their lives for is not in vain. Help me make them truly rest in peace.

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