A memorial plaque honoring University of Rochester alumni who died in the 1950-53 Korean War is displayed on a wall inside Wilson Commons, the university's student center in Rochester, New York.AHN HAI-RI
Ahn Hai-ri
The author is an editorial writer at the JoongAng Ilbo.
Lester Shade, Spiro Peters, Charles Langtry and George Dykema Jr.
I encountered these four names during a recent visit to Rochester, New York. All were University of Rochester alumni who died while serving during the 1950-53 Korean War. Their names appear beneath the words “Freedom Is Not Free” on a memorial plaque inside Wilson Commons, the university's student center.
Nearby, Veterans Memorial Grove commemorates students, alumni and faculty who died serving in World War I, World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War.
I had known Rochester primarily as a prestigious university that produced 12 Nobel laureates, including economist Richard Thaler. Yet what struck me as a Korean visitor was not its academic achievements but its remembrance of those who never returned. The university newspaper also publishes individual stories of fallen alumni around Memorial Day.
Among them was Peters, a World War II veteran who enrolled at Rochester hoping to pursue an education after military service. Recalled during the Korean War, he served aboard a B-29 bomber shot down by antiaircraft fire in September 1952. His remains were never recovered.
Langtry's story was similarly heartbreaking. After leaving military service, he worked at a Chevrolet dealership before re-enlisting in the Marines. His wife and two daughters, then 6 and 3, learned months after his aircraft was shot down that he was missing.
These were strangers to me. Yet learning about their lives rather than merely reading casualty figures brought tears to my eyes. It also left me ashamed.
Korea's prosperity and freedom rest partly on sacrifices made by Americans like Peters, who abandoned ordinary dreams to fight for a country they barely knew. Korea's transformation into an economic powerhouse demonstrates to surviving veterans and bereaved families that those sacrifices were not meaningless.
But have Koreans fulfilled even their minimum obligation of gratitude? I cannot confidently say yes.
That question returned when I watched Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul's remarks during the National Assembly's defense audit on Monday.
Responding to an opposition lawmaker urging caution over transferring wartime operational control from the United States to Korea, Kang asked, “Can we trust American troops if war breaks out with North Korea?”
The Defense Ministry explained the following day that Kang intended to emphasize mutual trust rather than express distrust of American forces. But as bilateral relations continue to strain, why would a defense minister make remarks that could undermine confidence in the alliance?
U.S. President Donald Trump, who frequently complains that Korea benefits disproportionately from U.S. protection, claimed in August that Seoul had rejected a U.S. request to deploy forces to the Strait of Hormuz.
Whether Washington is justified in demanding compensation for American sacrifices during the Korean War and the continuing U.S. military presence is another question. Nevertheless, unnecessary remarks by the President Lee Jae Myung administration and Democratic Party (DP) politicians suspected of anti-American leanings provide ammunition for accusations that Korea is freeloading.
Consider the Garden of Gratitude established outside the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts under Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon.
Ahead of May's local elections, DP campaign official Ko Min-jung accused the project of turning public space into a site of ideology and conflict. Last year, party spokespeople criticized it as militaristic and dependent on foreign powers, even calling it “totalitarian merchandise.”
Criticism of the location and cost was legitimate. But such language seemed to belittle the sacrifices of those who fought to defend Korea. To veterans, it could feel like a rejection of their lives.
Can we really complain if others call us ungrateful?
Walking through Highland Park near Rochester's River Campus, I encountered another memorial, this one dedicated to Vietnam War veterans. An inscription recorded that approximately 20,000 people from Rochester, then a city of 330,000, served in the Korean War. Of those, 165 died.
That is the United States whose sacrifices we should remember.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
