Korean War veteran receives Hwarang Medal in 73 years

A veteran of the Korean War who made great contributions crossing enemy lines as a member of the U.S. military's guerrilla and intelligence unit received the Hwarang Military Service Medal in 73 years.

The Ministry of National Defense announced on June 3 that it visited the home of Park Chung-am (age 92) in Gwangmyeong City of Gyeonggi Province and presented him with the Hwarang Military Merit Medal. During the Korean War, Park served as the intelligence chief of the 3rd Woolpack Unit under Unit 8240 (KLO) and performed various missions, such as disrupting the enemy's rear, blocking supply routes, and collecting intelligence in the Hwanghae area.

Unit 8240 was established under the United Nations Forces in Korea in February 1951 for irregular missions such as destroying major facilities and directing fire power.

Park was known to have engaged in combat with the enemy with guerrillas, killing 22 soldiers and destroying 11 vehicles during duty in June 1951. In the following month, he raided the site of an enemy mass rally and captured many executives.

Despite his achievements, including guerrilla operations, he had not been acknowledged for his contributions as he was a member of the U.S. military's guerrilla and intelligence unit; hence, accurate records had not been kept. The Ministry of National Defense recently discovered his achievements through a recent investigation into historical records and awarded him the Hwarang Military Merit Medal.

Oh Young-dae, director of Personnel Planning at the Ministry of National Defense, personally delivered the medal to Park. “We are honored to be able to acknowledge Park’s contributions, though belatedly," Oh said. We will continue to do our best to ensure that our war veterans' noble sacrifices and combat achievements are acknowledged by investigating past records."


Sang-Ho Yun ysh1005@donga.com