Gül, briefed by officials there, laid a wreath at the Turkish section of the memorial. He also placed roses on the graves of the Turkish martyrs.Noting that Turkey not only fought for its own territory but rushed to help those persecuted in other territories, Gül said may the soldiers rest in peace.
“Approximately 15,000 Turkish troops came here and fought in the Pacific, which is very far from Anatolia. One thousand Turkish soldiers were killed. Turkey is very proud today of the Turkish soldiers who fought in Korea. I am very pleased that the Korean people have not forgotten the sacrifice of the Turks. I am always proud of the Turkish Armed Forces [TSK] and I thank them because the TSK has for years worked to ensure peace in foreign countries as well as in our own country,” Gül said.
A number of Korean War veterans visited the memorial cemetery with Gül. Osman Özsoy said he fought in the war for two years. During this time, he was injured while serving on a reconnaissance team but returned to the front 25 days later.
Noting that the cemetery is adorned with beautiful flowers, Gül added that the memorial cemetery resembles heaven and that he believes South Korea takes good care of the fallen Turkish soldiers.
In South Korea with his wife, Hayrünnisa, Gül at the end of his visit signed the Book of Honor. Around 11,000 soldiers were buried in the memorial cemetery from 1951 to 1954. About 2,300 of them are from Belgium, Colombia, Ethiopia, Greece and the Philippines. Some of the countries repatriated their soldiers, among them Thailand, the US, France and Norway. Currently, there are 281 Australian, 378 Canadian, 44 French, 117 Dutch, 34 New Zealander, 1 Norwegian, 36 Korean, 11 South African, 462 Turkish, 885 British and 36 American and four unknown soldiers as well as 11 non-combatants. Each grave has an epitaph of the person’s background.
