Vibrant Metropolis A Welcome Change From War-Torn Ruins
Time has changed Seoul, South Korea. The first time retired USAF
Lt. Gen. Charles G. Cleveland saw the city, it was in ruins.
"Fifty-four years ago, it looked like Berlin (Germany) after it
was bombed. There was nothing left," said the former F-86 Sabre
pilot who fought in the Korean War, fought between 1950 and
1953.
Today, however, Seoul thrives with residents who still remember
the men and women who made that possible.
"We're thankful for the freedom and democracy we enjoy today,"
said Rae Hyuk Park, director of the Korean Revisit Program, part of
the Korean Veterans Association. "We are grateful for the
sacrifices made by these Korean War veterans."
As part of the Air Force's 60th anniversary, eight Korean War
fighter pilots are re-visiting South Korea -- a country they hadn't
seen in more than 50 years.
And they aren't just any old fighter pilots. Two of them are
aces -- meaning they shot down at least five enemy aircraft -- one
was a prisoner of war, and one of them is retired Col. Buzz Aldrin,
one of the first men who landed on the moon. Colonel Aldrin is also
credited with having shot down two MiG-15s.
The two fighter aces are retired Col. Ralph Gibson (above), who
is credited with five "kills," and retired Lt. Col. Harold Fischer
(shown at top and below), who is credited with 10 kills and was
also a prisoner of war.
The eight men arrived
September 9, and will leave after an Air Force Ball September 15 in
honor of the Air Force's 60th anniversary.
While the ex-fighter pilots are visiting a few Air Force bases
in South Korea, John Sullivan, an Air Force historian from the
Pentagon in Washington, DC is gathering information about their
experiences so others may learn from the past.
"It's a historians dream to be able to meet the people I've just
read about," Mr. Sullivan said. "I am absolutely thrilled to be
able to shake their hands. Buzz Aldrin went to the moon, and I'll
be talking to him only about his time as a young second lieutenant
in the Korean War."
After interviewing the Korean War veterans, Mr. Sullivan is
going to place the transcripts on a Web site through Maxwell Air
Force Base, Ala., making them accessible to all.
"It was definitely a forgotten war," Mr. Sullivan said. "And the
things that were written weren't gathered from data and documents,
but from people's recollections, which can be good or not so
good."
Since the inception of the Korean Revisit Program, 24,200 Korean
War veterans from America have been drawn back to this country for
some reason or another.
Mr. Sullivan said many veterans feel a need to go back.
"Sometimes one visit doesn't bring closure for them," he said.
"They need to return to a country where they fought, where they
lost friends in combat. They need to see that it wasn't in vain, in
some way. They lost very, very close friends as young men."
Because World War II and the Vietnam War overshadow the Korean
War, many call the war that happened here the "Forgotten War."
But for these eight men, it's a war they will never forget, in a
country that will always remember.
(Aero-News thanks Orville F. Desjarlais Jr., Air Force News
Agency)