Powell, Wyo. – A week’s visit to South Korea in September steeled the resolve of Korean War veteran Paul Rodriguez of Powell to remove the stigma of “The Forgotten War.”
That’s how many veterans of the 1950-53 conflict refer to the Korean War, so bitter are they that their military action to halt Communist aggression on the Korean peninsula has been underplayed in American history.
Korean War veterans are still trying to establish a national museum and library in Springfield, Ill., and the push is on at a state level, Wyoming included, for memorials and monuments.
South Koreans haven’t forgotten the war and the helping hand of many nations, said Rodriguez, president of the Big Horn Basin chapter of the Korean War Veterans Association.
In a return to the country after 54 years, he was impressed with the way in which the Korean War has been memorialized in South Korea. He was one of 80 American veterans who were guests of the Korean War Veterans Association Sept. 10-16.
“They’re not letting their people forget. Each grade in school goes to the museum and memorial so they will know about it,” he said.
The vast Korean War Memorial and Museum, the national memorial cemetery and the monuments and public sculpture proudly salute the sacrifice of American and United Nations forces. The museum has a hall with plaques for each American state with the names of those who lost their lives. Wyoming had 59 casualties in the Korean War.
“After being there, I’m more determined than ever to build a state Korean War Veterans Memorial at Cody and the national museum and library in Illinois,” Rodriguez said.
“I am so glad I went,” he said. “We have to make sure it’s not forgotten in this country. We have to educate people. There’s not much in the history books.”
Plans for the state memorial are in the design stage. Gov. Dave Freudenthal has signed a proclamation creating a state Korean War Veterans Memorial and declaring Cody as the site, and the local veterans have begun raising money.
The memorial site is adjacent to the Wyoming Vietnam War Memorial on land donated by the City of Cody at the southeast city entrance.
Rodriguez saw a much different South Korea than the country where he served for 22 months with the 40th Infantry Division. The 40th was the old California National Guard, and he went to Korea with them as a private first class in 1952 and came back in 1954 as a staff sergeant.
“They have to be the hardest working people in the world,” he said of the South Koreans. “When I was there 54 years ago, there was only one bridge over the Han River (which flows through Seoul). Today there are 26 bridges.”
Seoul is a bustling city of 11 million people, with impressive architecture and exploding commerce. The soldier in Rodriguez registered some pride.
“You see what democracy can do for a country,” he said quietly.
He painted a contrast with the bleak view north from the Demilitarized Zone.
“Looking over there into North Korea, there’s nothing,” he said.
