Maj. Gen. Michael Tucker, center, commander of the 2nd Infantry Division, bows his head during a ceremony Friday at Camp Red Cloud in South Korea marking the first anniversary of the sinking of the Cheonan warship. Forty-six South Korean sailors were killed in the attack, which investigators blamed on a torpedo from a North Korean submarine. (Jon Rabiroff/Stars and Stripes)
Hundreds of U.S. servicemembers attended ceremonies Friday marking the first anniversary of the March 26, 2010, sinking of the South Korean warship Cheonan in the Yellow Sea and the deaths of 46 of its sailors.
The gatherings at Camp Red Cloud and Camp Casey in the northernmost area of South Korea featured speeches, a video presentation, a roll call of those killed and the playing of taps. Investigators determined the Cheonan was brought down by a torpedo fired by a North Korean submarine. North Korea has denied responsibility for the sinking.
Maj. Gen. Michael Tucker, commander of the 2nd Infantry Division, said prior to the ceremonies, “It’s important that the Korean people know … that we remember their fallen as well as we remember our own.
“Many of our soldiers here today were not here last year, and I want them to understand what the North Koreans did to these innocent sailors who were simply doing their job on patrol in South Korean waters,” he said. “Our soldiers are very accustomed to loss because we are in these wars in Iraq and Afghanistan… It’s important for them to identify with the losses the South Koreans have suffered.”
Maj. Gen. Michael Tucker, center, commander of the 2nd Infantry Division, bows his head during a ceremony Friday at Camp Red Cloud in South Korea marking the first anniversary of the sinking of the Cheonan warship. Forty-six South Korean sailors were killed in the attack, which investigators blamed on a torpedo from a North Korean submarine. (Jon Rabiroff/Stars and Stripes)
U.S. servicemembers bow their heads in memory of 46 South Korean sailors killed a year ago when the Cheonan warship was sunk in the Yellow Sea. Hundreds attended ceremonies marking the first anniversary of the sinking at Camp Red Cloud and Camp Casey in the northernmost area of South Korea Friday. (Jon Rabiroff/Stars and Stripes)
Taps are played at the conclusion of a ceremony at Camp Red Cloud in South Korea marking the first anniversary of the March 26, 2010 sinking of the Cheonan warship and the deaths of 46 of its sailors. (Jon Rabiroff/Stars and Stripes)
