Perth Korean War Memorial Unveiling on 27 July 2023

 

On Thursday 27 July 2023 I had the privilege of attending the unveiling of the Perth Korean War Memorial in Kings Park.  The date was chosen as it was the 70th anniversary of the cessation of hostilities on the Korean Peninsula. 

Close to 1000 people attended, including Korea’s Ambassador to Australia, His Excellency Kim Wan Joong, members of the Perth Korean War Memorial Committee, the Premier of W.A., other parliamentarians, representatives from the Australian Army, Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force, Korean War veterans and their families, members of Perth’s Korean community and other community members.


The Perth Korean War Memorial is in the Tobruk Memorial Precinct of Kings Park, and it is a very peaceful setting. The peace was disturbed deliberately by an RAAF flyover of three Pilatus PC-21 aircraft from the Training School at RAAF Base Pearce. This flyover arrived exactly at 11am and the planes flew right over the newly installed memorial. The Royal Australian Air Force was flying sorties in Korea within a week of the invasion of South Korea and the RAAF flyover was to commemorate the service of the West Australian RAAF personnel who participated in these missions and in eight cases did not return.

There was another disturbance during the dedication ceremony while the Premier of W.A., Roger Cook, was giving his address when a flock of white corellas flew around the area for several minutes. The Memorial was officially unveiled by the Ambassador, the Premier, several Korean War Veterans, (from both Western Australia and Korea), the ex-Premier and other dignitaries.

Photo from www.bgpa.wa.gov.au

The Perth Korean War Memorial lists the names of 1,673 servicemen and women who were born in Western Australia and served in the Korean conflict. 34 of these were killed in Korea with another six servicemen still classified as missing in action.

                              

My family revisited the Korean War Memorial two days after its official opening and the Memorial was already in use with a Korean father using the information there to explain what happened in the Korean War to his teenage son. Our visit was so a young family member could remember her relative who died in Korea and lay her own flowers for Toby Millwood. 



Without the crowds the Perth Korean War Memorial was a peaceful place for reflection.  This time the only birds singing their song was a lone kookaburra. The Perth Korean War Memorial Committee have ensured that the West Australians who went to fight on the Korean Peninsula in ‘the forgotten war’ are remembered in their home state. Lest We Forget.

 

References

https://www.bgpa.wa.gov.au/about-us/information/news/3049-korean-war-memorial.

 Accessed 1 August 2023.

 

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