Silver Star returns to Korean War hero

A late South Korean veteran who was awarded the U.S. Silver Star Medal for his role in a 1950-53 Korean War battle in 1952 has recently been reissued the medal posthumously after it went missing decades ago, officials said Wednesday.

Late Army Staff Sgt. Nam Woon-soo was given the U.S. honor, as well as the Chungmu Order of Military Merit from the South Korean government, in 1953 for playing a key role in the Battle of White Horse Hill in what is the current border town of Cheorwon County, Gangwon. 

During the battle, Nam crawled his way up to the entrance of the enemy's position and destroyed it, making a decisive contribution to neutralizing enemy firepower. It was one of the Korean War's most fiercely fought battles between the U.S.-backed South Korean forces and the communist troops from China.

After the medal went missing somehow, Nam had expressed frustration and regret before his death in 1997.

His bereaved family later asked the South Korean government to reissue the medal, but the request was denied on grounds that it was issued by the U.S. government.

In February this year, the family filed a request with the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission for help in getting the medal reissued. The agency has since cooperated successfully with the Eighth U.S. Army, the National Archives of Korea and the South Korean Army to get it reissued.

Recently, the medal arrived in South Korea from the U.S. Department of Defense, and the civil right commission held a ceremony at the Daejeon National Cemetery on Wednesday to hand the medal over to the deceased hero, officials said.

"We are grateful to the U.S. government for reissuing the Silver Star Medal after 73 years. It is deeply meaningful to be able to bring closure to the long-held sorrow of a hero who dedicated himself to his country and his surviving family," Jung Il-yeon, chairperson of the commission, said during the ceremony.

"Moving forward, we will make sure to provide due recognition and treatment befitting such service to the nation," he said.

Yonhap