Veterans Day Tributes End at Pearl Harbor

Veterans Day observances across America came to a close with a sunset ceremony onboard the Battleship Missouri Memorial at Pearl Harbor. All veterans were honored, both past and present, who have served our country with valor and heroism, and with many making the ultimate sacrifice. A special tribute was paid to “Korean War Veterans and the 65^th Anniversary of the Korean War armistice.”

PC: Battleship Missouri Memorial.

On June 25, 1950, thousands of soldiers from North Korea crossed the 38^th parallel, a boundary between the northern and southern parts of the country. Both North and South Korea claimed to be the sole government, with neither side recognizing the border to be permanent. The invasion was the first military action of the Korean War. A few weeks later, American troops entered the war on South Korea’s behalf, soon followed by United Nation’s military support.

Rear Admiral Jon C. Kreitz presented the ceremony’s keynote address. Kreitz is the deputy director for the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency. The agency’s efforts are to find and identify the remains of missing Americans who are unaccounted for from past wars dating back to World War II and reconnect them with their families.

“We owe it to the families of our missing, we owe it to our nation, and we owe it to our veterans who served with them,” said Kreitz. “No one will ever be forgotten. We will stay the course for this mission until the job is done.”

Herbert Schreiner a retired Air Force Master Sergeant who fought in the Korean War served as the distinguished guest speaker. Currently, he is the president of the Korean War Veterans Association Hawaii Chapter 1. Schreinerrecounted his experience as a soldier in the Korean War and the impression it continues to leave on him as a veteran.

PC: Battleship Missouri Memorial.

“Us veterans always think about the sacrifice we give and how we gave our country the freedom to prosper and grow,” said Schreiner. “We were never forgotten. Ask a veteran, what is freedom? We earned it and gave it to the people of this country.”

The Korean War is often referred to as “The Forgotten War.” The war never formally ended, and its memory is overshadowed by the victory of World War II in the 1940s and the controversy of the Vietnam War in the late-1960s and early-1970s.

USS Missouri Memorial Association board member Captain Michael A. Lilly, USN (Ret.) provided today’s opening remarks. He is also a Vietnam War combat veteran and a retired Naval Reserve Captain.

“Sixty-five years ago, these heroes won a lasting peace over an armistice. Most returned to their families,” said Lilly. “More than 100,000 were injured, over 36,000 lost their lives they gave the ultimate sacrifice for freedom, and nearly 8,000 remain missing in action.”

After three years of bloodshed, an armistice was signed on July 27, 1953 creating the Korean Demilitarized Zone to separate North and South Korea. With both sides still divided, the 38^th parallel continues to be the world’s most heavily fortified border, patrolled by troops and guarded with heavy artillery.