[USFK Forums] Bronze Statute of Gen. Walker to Be Dedicated Dec. 23 [Korea Times]

[C. Y. Lee]

[Uploaded by C. Y. Lee, Thursday, November 24, 2005] An article of the Korea Times is uploaded as follows:
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Bronze Statute of Gen. Walker to Be Dedicated Dec. 23

The Korea Times, Wednesday, November 23, 2005

By Yoon Won-sup, Staff Reporter

Construction of a bronze statute of Lt. Gen. Walton H. Walker is underway by the Korea-U.S. Alliance Friendship Society. The Korea-U.S. Alliance Friendship Society will hold a ceremony to unveil a bronze statue of Lt. Gen. Walton H. Walker, who died during the 1950-53 Korean War, in Taegu on Dec. 23 to mark his sacrifices for peace on the Korean Peninsula.

Seo Jin-sup, chairman of the society, said that $500,000 collected through private donations has been used to build the statue in the southern city of Taegu where he landed a overwhelming victory against North Korean forces during the war. ``The society would like to commemorate the sacrificing spirit of Gen. Walker forever by erecting his statue in Taegu,’’ Seo said.

``He saved this country from North Korea’s attempt to communize it.’’ Gen. Walker commanded U.S. and South Korean ground troops in the early months of the war. He died in a jeep accident near Uijongbu in Kyonggi Province on Dec. 23, 1950, as his vehicle tried to pass several stalled South Korean vehicles, Seo said. When the general died, the South Korean soldier driving the vehicle was publicly criticized, with some even demanding he be executed, Seo recalled.

But it never happened as the U.S. military authorities concluded the accident as a simple traffic accident. Seo said that Walker successfully secured Nakdong River near Taegu as a launch pad for Gen. Douglas MacArthur to make a great infiltration into Inchon during the war, which led to the recovery of the south.

The 73-year-old chairman hoped that Walker’s statue would help younger Koreans learn the true meaning of U.S. forces stationed on the peninsula, by saying that (South) Korea would have been devastated by the communist forces without U.N. or U.S. forces help. Seo is now discussing with officials of the Taegu City government where the statue will be placed. A probable candidate site is near the city’s war memorial, according to the officials. yoonwonsup@koreatimes.co.kr 11-23-2005 17:32

[mike]

This is great! Every Korean War book talks about Gen. Walker, not as much as Douglas Macarthur. I also remember reading about him dying in a traffic accident.

I must say there are some excellent Korean groups that do hard work for America. The Korea-U.S. Alliance Friendship Society and Korea America Friendship Association (KAFA) are two of them. KAFA pays for Americans to take FREE cultural trips to great sites throughout South Korea.

Mike