Column: Remember Veterans of the 'Forgotten War'

Historians call it the “Forgotten War.” But we will never forget the brave men and women who put themselves in harms way during the Korean War.

July 27 marks the 60th anniversary of the armistice that ended the conflict and ensured that South Korea would not fall under the iron curtain of communism that had already engulfed both the northern half of the peninsula and much of Eastern Europe.

Deemed a “police action” by a war weary United States government just five years past the end of World War II, the Korean War was war in every sense of the word.

From General Douglass MacArthur’s daring invasion at Inchon that turned the tide of the war to the controversial entrance of China and the stalemate that followed, our troops endured battles as bloody as any ever fought by the United States military.

The battles of Chosin Reservoir, Heartbreak Ridge and Pork Chop Hill are remembered in the same breath as Bunker Hill, Gettysburg, Normandy and Bastogne.

By the time the armistice was finally signed and the borders between the two Koreas re-established, more than 36,516 Americans lie dead and another 8,176 were missing.  South Korea suffered 373,599 civilian and 137,899 military deaths.

Sandwiched between the epic battles of World War II and the political quagmire of Vietnam, the bravery of our American troops in Korea was nearly overlooked.

Today, I’m happy to say that we both remember and give thanks to those brave souls who drew a line across that mountainous strip of land and proclaimed that tyranny ends here.

Today, 50 million South Koreans live in freedom and prosperity thanks to those American and South Korean troops, who along with the forces from 20 other United Nation countries waged a war against oppression.

Our Korean veterans are honored with a national memorial in Washington D.C. and a state memorial on the Boardwalk in Atlantic City.

Ocean County is home to more than 68,000 veterans from World War II to the ongoing War on Terror. I can assure everyone that Ocean County will never forget the sacrifices made by the brave men and women who wore, and continue to wear the uniform of the United States military.

On this 60th anniversary of the end of the Korean War let us also remember the thousands of brave men and women still manning the front lines in Korea. They are our first line of defense against a regime that still threatens world peace.

The Korean War is the forgotten war no longer. We remember, and we give thanks to those who sacrificed so much so that others can be free.