Korean War veteran Park Hak-su passes national flag to younger Marine; flag to be carried to Seoul liberation ceremony on Sept. 19

Marine Corps Commandant Ju Il-seok delivers a commemorative address at the 76th anniversary ceremony marking the victory of the Incheon Landing Operation, held Tuesday at Sangsang Platform in Jeomulpo-gu, Incheon. [Yonhap]
Marine Corps Commandant Ju Il-seok delivers a commemorative address at the 76th anniversary ceremony marking the victory of the Incheon Landing Operation, held Tuesday at Sangsang Platform in Jeomulpo-gu, Incheon. [Yonhap]

The Marine Corps co-hosted the 76th anniversary ceremony marking the victory of the Incheon Landing Operation with Incheon Metropolitan City on Tuesday, using the occasion to signal its push toward what it calls a "quasi-fourth service" status. It was the first time in 16 years — since 2010 — that the Marine Corps had taken the lead in organizing the event.

The ceremony began with a wreath-laying at the General Douglas MacArthur statue in Incheon's Jayu Park before moving to the Wave Hall at Sangsang Platform. The Marine Corps said the event was intended to "prepare for the transition to a quasi-fourth service structure by inheriting the history of victory, while honoring the veterans who were the driving force behind the landing operation." The quasi-fourth service framework would allow the Marine Corps to remain formally under the Navy while operating with a level of independence comparable to the Army, Navy and Air Force.

Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back, in a commemorative address read on his behalf by the director of the personnel welfare office, said the veterans' "noble sacrifice and dedication are an undying light that brightly illuminates today's free and prosperous Republic of Korea." He added that the government would "steadfastly pursue the reorganization into a quasi-fourth service structure, so that the Marine Corps — which has always stood at the forefront whenever the nation has called, including at the scene of the Incheon Landing Operation — can build capabilities befitting its status and mission."

Marine Corps Commandant Ju Il-seok also pledged that the corps would "remember the footsteps of victory achieved by our sunbae Marines, build the status and capabilities befitting the quasi-fourth service reorganization, and realize a 'patriotic and loyal Marine Corps' trusted by the nation and its people."

A highlight of the ceremony was a flag-passing ritual in which Korean War veteran Park Hak-su, a first-generation Marine, presented a Taegukgi — the South Korean national flag — to Second Lieutenant Yoo Hyun-seok, a platoon commander in the 6th Company of the 12th Battalion. In his remarks, Park said he was reminded of "the comrades who landed at Incheon together 76 years ago, sharing life and death," adding that he hoped younger Marines would "carry on the will of their predecessors and firmly protect the freedom and peace of the Republic of Korea."

The flag received by Yoo is set to be carried in a relay on Sept. 19 by active-duty Korean and US Marines along with members of the Marine Corps Veterans Association, traveling from Wolmido to Seoul City Hall. It will then be presented at the 76th anniversary ceremony marking the victory of the Seoul Liberation Operation, to be held the same day at Seoul City Hall Plaza.

The 6th Company of the 12th Battalion traces its lineage to the 6th Company of the Marine Corps' 2nd Battalion, which hoisted the Taegukgi over the Central Government Building — the former Japanese Government-General building — during the recapture of Seoul in 1950. The unit carries the nickname "Central Government Building Battalion."

The Marine Corps has been holding a series of September victory commemoration events since Aug. 29 under the theme "Great Victory! Together with the People." The series is set to conclude with the 76th anniversary Seoul Liberation Operation ceremony at Seoul City Hall Plaza on Sept. 19.

The Marine Corps said it plans to "continue honoring the sacrifice and dedication of veterans through major victory commemoration events throughout the year, and to carry on the history of victory and the spirit of patriotic loyalty achieved by sunbae Marines."


rimsclub@heraldcorp.com