New memorial in Aurora preserves history, stories of the Korean War

Nearly 75 years after the Korean War began, the stories of the people who fought it are becoming harder to find.

Some survive in photographs. Others live on in family memories. And some were shared Monday by the veterans themselves as Aurora officially dedicated the new Korean War Memorial at General's Park.

Among them was 96-year-old Jong Yeol Park, who attended the ceremony to honor the service members from around the world who helped defend his homeland.

"During the war, a lot of countries helped us and also a lot of soldiers helped us, and I am here for them," Park said through an interpreter. "I am grateful for them."

That gratitude is woven throughout the memorial, which honors the men and women who served in the Korean War and the 22 nations that answered South Korea's call for help after the war began in 1950.

For Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman, whose father served in Korea, the memorial is about more than remembering the past.

"Today, we dedicate more than a memorial," Coffman said during Monday's ceremony. "We dedicate a place of remembrance, gratitude and reflection. A lasting tribute to those who answered the call of duty, defending freedom, and forged enduring bonds among nations."

The memorial is the result of an 11-year effort led by the Aurora Korean War Veterans organization, U.N. Heritage for the Korean War, community supporters, as well as the City of Aurora and Adams County.

Peter Seung Woo Lee, board chair of U.N. Heritage for the Korean War, said the project was built on a simple idea: ensuring future generations understand the sacrifices that helped shape modern South Korea.

"The very reason South Korea is where it is today is because the Korean War veterans from 22 nations came to a small country in the Far East and saved us," Lee said. "We are forever grateful, and we want to make sure that gratitude continues for future generations."

Visitors entering the memorial are greeted by monuments representing the participating nations. Inside, educational storyboards share the history of the war alongside personal accounts from veterans and families.

The goal is not only remembrance, but understanding.

For Becky Hogan, one of the leaders behind the project, that mission is deeply personal.

"This is a full circle moment for me," Hogan said. "I was an adopted Korean, and my husband was Mayor Stephen Hogan, and he and city council chose this site for the memorial."

Throughout the dedication ceremony, veterans reflected not only on their own experiences, but on the people they served beside.

Korean War veteran Abraham Villarreal remembered allied troops who fought alongside American forces.

"I don't want to forget the Turks," Villarreal said. "The Turks know how to hand-to-hand fight. They didn't leave a man behind. That's courage."

For families, the memorial offers another connection to loved ones whose service helped shape their lives.

Mike Ackman's father, a lifelong Aurora resident, left high school at 17 years old to join the Marine Corps and serve on the front lines in Korea. A plaque at the memorial now honors his service.

"The Korean community has done us a real honor as a family to pay homage to my father here with a plaque that denotes his service and his love for the Korean people," Ackman said.

Ackman said his father never liked hearing the war described as a conflict.

"My father always felt slighted by the fact that all the Korean War vets, because they termed it a Korean conflict," Ackman said. "And he said the only people who called it a conflict were the ones not fighting or dying over there."

As the number of surviving Korean War veterans continues to decline, that sense of urgency was evident throughout the ceremony.

For Lee, the veterans have become something like family.

"It's really personal for me," he said, holding back tears. "My father passed away 12 years ago. Those are my father figures."

And for Park, attending the dedication was a way to represent those who never made it home.

"I was lucky to survive," he said through an interpreter. "I lost a lot of my colleagues in the battle, so I am here to represent those people."

Hogan hopes the memorial will help ensure those stories endure long after today's veterans are gone.

"They deserve to see this memorial to them, and we build it for our future," she said through tears, "so that our children and our grandchildren will remember long after us."

The memorial is now open to the public at General's Park, where organizers hope visitors will leave not only with a better understanding of the Korean War, but of the people whose lives were forever changed by it.