Winnipeg, MB - Today, Mayor Sam Katz and City Councillors welcomed veterans of the Korean War and members of Winnipeg's Korean community to City Hall for a reception in the Mayor's Foyer, marking the 60th anniversary of the Korean War Armistice.
“It is a pleasure to have this opportunity to honour Winnipeg’s brave veterans of the Korean War,” said Mayor Katz. “Sixty years after Armistice, the Canadian contribution to peace is still being felt overseas, and the South Korean people enjoy a quality of life that many had not thought possible before the defeat of communism there.”
The Canadian government has declared 2013 “The Year of the Korean Veteran.” The Korean War lasted three years and ended on July 27, 1953. Of the nearly 26,000 Canadians who fought, 516 lost their lives.
“South Korea is today a major world economic power and a vibrant democracy,” said Michael Czuboka, Vice-President of the Korean Veterans Association, Unit 17. “Canada helped to save South Korea from conditions that the North Koreans are now experiencing, and the South Koreans are grateful. Many Canadians may have forgotten about the Korean War, but the people of the Republic of Korea continue to remember.”
In July, Mayor Katz participated in a candlelight ceremony at the Korean Veterans Cairn at Brookside Cemetery to remember Canadians lost in the Korean War.