Funeral takes place for soldiers fallen at shooting rampage

“I truly wish that all these are just nightmare.”

The joint funeral for five soldiers who were fallen in a shooting spree at a frontline outpost of the 22nd Infantry Division in Goseong County, Gangwon Province, took place on Saturday at the training ground of the Armed Forces Medical Command in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province. When Sergeant First Class Lee Joon, a comrade of the fallen servicemen, read eulogy, mothers who lost their beloved sons cried out in deep sorrow.

The funeral, hosted by the commander of the 22nd Infantry Division, was solemnly convened at 8 a.m. on the day with more than 500 people in attendance including bereaved families, and military leaders such as Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin; Army Chief of General Staff Kwon Oh-seong and the 22nd Division Commander Seo Sang-kook. In his eulogy, Kwon said, “I feel deeply responsible for the fact that this lamentable accident happened, and apologizes to the bereaved families and the public,” as he called the name of the victims one by one. Hwang Jin-ha, chairman of the parliamentary Defense Committee, said, “To prevent recurrence of such incidents, we will revise laws and regulations and provide budget.”

Sergeant First Class Lee, a comrade of the fallen soldiers, called the name of all victims, saying, “Sergeant First Class Kim who was talented in all different sports and great cook; Sergeant Park, a well-informed man who would answer all the questions I asked; Sergeant Lee who was older than others but well-mannered and full of chivalry; Corporal Choi who was warm like a mother; and Corporal Kim who died after rescuing his colleagues.” The parents of the victims wore name tags of their respective sons on their chest. After offering flowers, the mothers burst into tears and could hardly keep their balance, saying, “I love you, my son.”

After the funeral that lasted for about an hour and a half, the funeral cars headed to the Seongnam Cremation Center. The bodies of the soldiers were cremated there, and buried at the Daejeon National Cemetery at 4 p.m.