Commonwealth veterans salute during the unveiling ceremony of the Battle of Gapyeong Commemorative Monument after its restoration at Gapyeong, South Korea, April 24, 2026. (Alejandro Carrasquel/Stars and Stripes)
SEOUL, South Korea — Eight veterans of the Korean War arrived from Commonwealth countries in time to mark the 75th anniversary of a crucial battle of the war and their historic contribution.
Approximately 2,500 troops from Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, with support from the U.S. and South Korean armies, held back 10 times their number at the Battle of Gapyeong on April 23-25, 1951.
The Commonwealth troops held back the Chinese Spring Offensive and spared Seoul from recapture by Communist forces.
A total of 26 veterans and their families arrived as guests of South Korea on April 22 in Seoul to pay tribute at the War Memorial and visit the Commonwealth Monument in Gapyeong, about 40 miles northeast of the capital.
Saturday, they visited Panmunjom, the truce village inside the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas.
Former 2nd Lt. Richard de Villeneuve Kidwell of the U.K. 61st Light Regiment Royal Artillery, was on his first post-war visit to Korea.
“When we were first here during the war, there was nothing in Korea. Now, it’s so built up and vibrant,” Kidwell told Stars and Stripes at the memorial. South Korea’s success is a “great achievement,” he said.
Kang Yoon-jin, vice minister of the South Korean Ministry of Patriots and Veternas Affairs, salutes Ronald John Foyle, a Korean War veteran from Canada, during a 75th anniversary event at Seoul, South Korea, April 24, 2026. (Alejandro Carrasquel/Stars and Stripes)
United Kingdom and Canadian veterans visit the Korean War Memorial during the Ministry of Patriots and Veteran Affairs anniversary event at Seoul, South Korea, April 24, 2026. (Alejandro Carrasquel/Stars and Stripes)
United Kingdom and Canadian veterans shake hands during the Ministry of Patriots and Veteran Affairs event at Seoul, South Korea, April 24, 2026. (Alejandro Carrasquel/Stars and Stripes)
During the visit, the veterans were awarded Ambassador for Peace Medals following a screening at the Ambassador Seoul Pullman hotel of an video produced with artificial intelligence-based restoration technology.
The country today was made possible by the 22 member states of the United Nations that sent troops to defend it during the war, Kang Yun-jin, vice minister of the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs, told Stars and Stripes on Friday before the awards ceremony.
Most foreign troops in the Korean War were from the U.S. and the ministry is planning to invite U.S. soldiers in September, Kang said.
Ronald John Foyle, a former able seaman in the Royal Canadian navy, recalled patrolling alongside the U.S. fleet, and assisting with repatriation efforts near the 38th parallel.
“We picked up 27 orphans, and we brought them on board,” he said Friday before the award ceremony.
U.N. Command deputy commander Lt. Gen. Scott A. Winter of the Australian army addressed the gathering during an appreciation dinner that followed.
“Every day the officers and soldiers of the United Nations Command reflect on their shared sacrifice in the names who went before us and the commitment that we must hold into the future to maintain the right, the sacrifice, and the importance of their mission in 1951, which is just as important in 2026 and beyond,” he said.
