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| Aroostook Republican Photo/Lisa Wilcox Front, Peter Miesburger of the Caribou VFW addressed the crowd that gathered during the ceremony to commemorate the Korean War armistice at the Honor Roll memorial in front of the Caribou fire station on Saturday. Other participants in the ceremony included, from left, second row, Korean War Veterans Association member Norman Bourgoin, and Korean War veterans John Noble, Nelson Sleeper and Joel Theriault; back row, KWVA members Lawrence Gallop, Fred Berube, Floyd Belmain and Harold Jandreau. |
By Lisa Wilcox
Staff Writer
CARIBOU — On June 25, 1950, the Korean War began when 75,000 North Korean soldiers crossed the 38th parallel to invade South Korea. By July of that year, the United States of America had entered the war on behalf of the South Koreans.
After three years of negotiation and battle that brought a death toll of more than four million people total — 40,000 of which were American soldiers — an armistice was reached and the Korean War ended on July 27, 1953.
The U.S. commemorated the 60th anniversary of the Korean War armistice this past Saturday. Ceremonies honoring those who served and those who lost their lives were held nationwide, including in Caribou at the Korean War Honor Roll monument in front of the fire department on High Street.
Members of the Korean War Veterans Association Chapter 292 of Presque Isle were present at the ceremony, along with representatives of other veterans’ organizations.
Bea Paquin of Caribou, an Army nurse during the war, was honored, and certificates were presented to Korean War veterans John Noble and Joel Theriault. A wreath to honor those who lost their lives was laid and a mournful bugle rendition of “Taps” ended the ceremony.
Afterward, a gathering for coffee and doughnuts was held at the Caribou VFW so that those who participated in the ceremony could get together and reflect on their experience during the war and honor those who served.
“I was a nurse for four years, four months and 10 days, but who’s counting?” Paquin, whose late husband Joe was also a Korean War veteran, remembered. “For all that time, we couldn’t go across the street without an armed guard. It was quite the time.”
Members of the KWVA were handing out artificial roses of Sharon, the South Korean national flower which has been adopted by the group as a symbol of remembrance. Recipients displayed the tiny white flowers on their lapels in honor of the war’s veterans.
“The VFW hands out poppies,” Lawrence Gallop, a KWVA member from Fort Fairfield, said. “We have our roses.”
The average age of surviving Korean War veterans is early- to mid-80s. Often referred to as “The Forgotten War” because of its lack of media attention, the Korean War ended with South and North Korea still divided. The two countries remain so to this day, but the war has been heralded over the years as a huge success as South Korea is viewed as one of the most prosperous nations in the world.
