Another way to thanks the Veterans
drt on Nov 11 2007 at 9:46 pm | Filed under: Blog, Human Interest, Miscellaneous
That all who have served our country would be remembered for the sacrifice they have made for our freedom. We Pray to The Lord.
That’s exactly the prayer we said during the General Intercessions on this afternoon Mass in our Church, since today is Veterans Day here in the U.S., and tomorrow is the Veterans Day holiday.
Talking about veterans and their sacrifices, it came to mind the question a young reporter asked former Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld. Why should the Korean sent their young men and women to Iraq? Through his answer, Secretary Rumsfeld then referred to the satellite photograph on his desk that I quoted below:
And I told the reporter that I kept a satellite photo, taken at night, of the Korean peninsula on a table in my office. North of the Demilitarized Zone, there is nothing but darkness, with one little pinprick of light in Pyongyang, the capital.
In the south, the country is bathed in light, beacons of prosperity and freedom that 33,000 Americans and thousands of others gave their lives to protect.
At the time when I read that, what I had in mind was the photo I saw in Astronomical Picture of the Day (APOD). Who knows, may be Secretary Rumsfeld had another picture for Korean only, but you still can see the same condition he described if you look at this original image, or the same one that you can see here at Visible Earth Images site then pay special attention to the Korean Peninsula Section (red arrow) of the cut out image of Asia from the same photo shown here (Thanks APOD and VE Team for the photo).
My wife and I are frequent customers to Hyun’s Korean Garden Restaurant, but I have never asked Mr. Hyun Young Oh, the owner, on his opinion about the war, since it wasn’t something interesting to be brought up during our short conversations. To me war is a human tragegy no matter from which site you look at it, and most of the time, only time will tell even though some may argue that the winner will write the history. To my surprise, in Summer this year we saw a newly decorated wall in one corner of his restaurant that was full of pictures of Korean War Veterans. It turned out that it was a way Mr Hyun and his wife expressed their thanks to the Korean War Veterans.
The story appeared in Letters to the Editor of July 3, 2007 issue of Redstone Rocket, where K.C. Bertling wrote:
On Sunday, June 24, in memory of 57th anniversaty of the beginning of the Korean War, about 35 veterans and their spouses were honored by Hyun’s Korean Garden Restaurant. Korean War veterans were given a special thank you gift from International Baptist Chuch of Huntsville, the choir sand “American the Beautiful” and Korean Folk song. It was such an honor to meet Korean War veterans; and personally thanking them was a special moment for all who were there.
Among the guest list including several Purple Heart recipients, according to K.C. Bertling, were Dr. Ralph Cloud who lost his right leg during Korean War, and the grandson of retired Maj. Gen William Webb, Captain David Webb, who was heading to Iraq for the fourth time, and many others as you can see from the picture Mr. Hyun sent me.
K.C. Bertling further wrote:
The veterans were treated to a buffet style luncheon filled with Korean cuisine, and received many thanks from the hosts for the sacrifices they made. Hyun’s Korean Garden Restaurant promised to carry on this event annually with more gifts and more entertainment. If anyone knows Korean War veterans, please leave a comment and I will forward the information to K.C. Bertling. The next Korean War veterans luncheon will be on Monday, June 23, 2008.
I was impressed with what he has done to express their gratitude to the Korean War Vets, and I told Mr. Hyun on few occassions when we were in his restaurant that I would be very happy to put his story in my blog. Jean Brandau recently reported that Korean Garden Restaurant received an Inpection Score of 92, which is very good for a restaurant. As the Veterans Day holiday approached, I talked to Mr. Hyun few days ago, and here we are. If you want to see the Memorial Wall or you want to try the delicious Korean cuisine when you’re in Huntsville, AL, please check their website to find the direction.
Today while we remember all who served our country, deep down in my heart, as always, I also pray for all the innocent people who suffered because of the wars, then echoing what we pray in my Church this morning, “That all who served our country would be remembered for the sacrifice they have made for our freedom,…” and whispher in solitude, “Lord, hear our prayers.”
Disclaimer: What expressed here is my and only my personal opinion.
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