Dongwoo Park, Former US Deputy Assistant Secretary for Disability Policy under the Obama Administration, Leads the Fullerton Korean War Memorial Project

Korean War Veterans and the Role of the KLO
Ma Seon-hong (then an Army lieutenant), a veteran who dedicated himself to safeguarding freedom as a catalyst for the historical success of the Incheon Landing Operation, laid a wreath at the Korean War Memorial in Fullerton.

Ma Seon-hong, who will turn 100 in April, despite his advanced age, visited the memorial and expressed his profound emotion, saying, "I feel deeply moved when I recall the war."

◇KLO and the Incheon Landing Operation
During the Korean War, the KLO (Korean Liaison Office) carried out special missions to blockade ports in areas occupied by North Korean forces and to prevent the southward advance of North Korean and Chinese forces.

The success of the Incheon Landing Operation was decisively influenced by the activities of the KLO operatives. US Navy Ensign Clark, Korean Army Colonel Gye In-ju, Navy Ensign Yeon Jeong, and Choi Gyu-bong of the KLO successfully carried out the coded command, "Illuminate the Palmi Island Lighthouse."

In particular, the KLO soldiers illuminated the lighthouse even while sustaining gunshot wounds, leading to the successful Incheon Landing Operation. Their dedication and courage greatly contributed to the protection of democracy.

◇Fullerton Korean War Memorial Committee Secretary General
Park Dong-woo, former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Disability Policy under the Obama administration, explained the motivation behind the establishment of the memorial.
In 2009, when I was appointed as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Disability Policy under the Obama administration in Washington D.C., I noticed that there was not a single name of a fallen soldier on the Korean War Veterans Memorial. I thought that remembering the souls of the Korean War heroes, commemorating their names on the memorial who defended liberty with their bodies, was necessary to comfort their souls."
Image in the text
▲ This memorial, which includes the names of the fallen soldiers who had been forgotten by everyone, with 5 star-shaped monuments, embodies the passionate and creative ideas of Deputy Assistant Secretary Park Dong-woo. On November 11, 2021, after 68 years, a memorial with the names of 36,591 fallen American soldiers was erected, commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Korea-US alliance in a way befitting the national dignity. © Disability Awareness Newspaper

This memorial, which includes the names of the fallen soldiers who had been forgotten by everyone, with 5 star-shaped monuments, embodies the passionate and creative ideas of Deputy Assistant Secretary Park Dong-woo.

On November 11, 2021, after 68 years, a memorial with the names of 36,591 fallen American soldiers was erected, commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Korea-US alliance in a way befitting the national dignity.

The role of Deputy Assistant Secretary Park Dong-woo, who dedicated himself to the miraculous construction of the memorial, should be recorded as a symbolic page in the history of promoting Korea-US friendship.

Deputy Assistant Secretary Park Dong-woo expressed his deep respect and gratitude for Ma Seon-hong's wreath-laying ceremony at the memorial that day.
Source: KLO, Standing at the forefront of the fight for national liberation and unification!: Disability Awareness Newspaper - https://www.dpi1004.com/4370