SEOUL, 22 September 2015 – Philippine Embassy officials, led by Ambassador Raul S. Hernandez, Korean war veterans and government officials gathered at the War Memorial of Korea on Tuesday, 22 September 2015 to mark the 65th anniversary of the PEFTOK landing in Busan at the start of the Korean War (1950-53).

Some 80 participants, including Director General Park Jong-wang of the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs, Maj. Gen. Chang Kwang-hyun, Senior Member of the UN Command Military Armistice Commission, Chi Kap-chong, chairman of the UN Korean War Allies Association and War Memorial Director Ko Suk-gu, joined the wreath-laying ceremony at the Galleries.

The celebration was organized by the Philippine Embassy's Defense and Armed Forces Attaché in Seoul Col. Francis L. Lardizabal.

In brief remarks, Director General Park credited the Philippines for having been the first Asian country to send troops to bolster the UN forces defending South Korea. He noted the heroism of the 7,420 officers and men of the Philippine Expeditionary Forces to Korea (PEFTOK) who served in Korea from 1950 to 1955, in particular in battles in Yultong and Hill Eerie, among others.

Ambassador Hernandez recalled the day 1,400 men of the 10th Battalion Combat Team (BCT), the first of five Philippine BCTs, arrived at Busan port on 19 September 1950, remarking that the Philippines, still recovering from the destruction of World War II, extended unconditional support to South Korea in response to the United Nations' appeal for international assistance.

This act of camaraderie and solidarity shown then by the Philippines forms the immutable and enduring foundation of the unbreakable bond between our two countries," Ambassador Hernandez said, underscoring the country's unburnished pride for our historic role 65 years ago and gratitude to Korea for 66 years of loyal and steadfast friendship through thick and thin.

For over six decades, the Philippines and South Korea have nurtured this kinship, through similar experiences as developmental states and champions of democracy, through constant and ever more frequent exchanges in fields as varies as politics, security, trade, education and socio-cultural cooperation," he said in his brief remarks.

Less than three months after the North's attack on 25 June 1950 against the South, the Philippines deployed troops overseas for the first time in history on 19 September 1959, thus becoming the first Asian country and the third UN member state (after the United States and Great Britain) out of 16 to send combat troops to the Korean War.

Excluding the United States and South Korea, the Philippines accounted for 112 of the total 3,000 soldiers killed in action from among the 15 other UN Command forces – a relatively small figure given the Philippine Army's experience fighting Communist rebels. The other Filipino casualties were 313 wounded and another 16 men remain officially missing-in-action.

The previous week, Ambassador Hernandez participated in the 65th Incheon Landing Operation Commemoration Ceremony Tuesday, 15 September 2014. The Philippine booth displayed traditional costumes, displayed historical photos of the PEFTOK troops and gave out tourism materials.
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