Mayor Mark Begich remarks
Korean War 50th Anniversary event
1 p.m.; July 27, 2003; Anchorage Park Strip

Thank you, Berkeley Ide, for your kind introduction and for your service to your state and nation.

Thanks also to the many Alaska veterans here who courageously served their nation in Korea, in World War II, in Vietnam, in the Gulf, and elsewhere around the world.

And welcome and thanks to the men and women still serving in our nation’s military. We are proud of each of you.

Several times a year, Americans are called upon to reflect on our nation’s greatness. From Independence Day earlier this month to Memorial Day, we rejoice in love of country, we celebrate the value of public service, and we honor your sacrifice.

Here in Alaska, we take special pride in our ties to the armed forces. We proudly claim more than 70,000 men and women who wore the uniform of our country’s military – one of the highest percentages in the nation.

My own family has a special kinship with Alaska’s military. In the early 1960s, my father was superintendent of schools on Fort Richardson. A decade later, when he was serving his nation as Alaska’s third United States congressman, his airplane disappeared over the Gulf of Alaska. It was the military which spent weeks searching for my father’s lost plane. My family will be forever indebted to those brave Alaskans for their service.

Today we honor the service and sacrifice of Americans who served 50 years ago in what has been called the “forgotten war” – in Korea.

Half a century ago, our country joined South Korea and other allied nations to defend the principles of liberty and democracy on the Korean Peninsula. Their service was at a terrible toll – more than 36,000 troops died in combat and more than 100,000 were wounded.

But we know their sacrifice was not in vain. Today, millions of South Koreans live in freedom, and the terrible excesses of the North Korean regime have been largely contained.

For Alaska, South Korea is one of our closest commercial and cultural neighbors and thousands of Korean-Americans proudly call Alaska home.

On this 50th anniversary of the Korean Armistice, let us remember the scripture which tells us: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the sons of God.”

Let us remember and honor the brave Americans and their family members who served on the Korean Peninsula 50 years ago to help make our country the land of the free and the home of the brave.

Thank you, and may God bless America.