On the side of a lonely hill in South Korea’s lovely Gapyeong Valley lies a memorial to the brave soldiers of both Australia and New Zealand who came from Down Under to fight for the freedom of South Korea over 50 years ago:
The 3rd Royal Australian Regiment (RAR) and the 16th Field Regiment of the New Zealand Artillery were tasked organized as part of the British 27th Commonwealth Brigade which was also reinforced with a platoon of American tanks.
The Australian and New Zealand soldiers are also known as ANZACs which refers back to both nations’ World War I history as the Australia and New Zealand Army Corps that fought and died in on the cliffs of Gallipoli as well as in the farm fields of western Europe on the allied frontlines. Australian and New Zealand soldier would fight together again in the hills of Korea where many of them like their ANZAC forefathers in World War I made the ultimate sacrifice to defend the freedom of a country and its people far from their homes. The memorial to honor these soldiers is located in the vicinity of quite possibly the ANZACs most heroic combat action during the Korean War, The Battle of Kapyong:
During the battle the Australians found themselves surrounded by a vastly numerically, superior Chinese force. They fought there way through the Chinese onslaught and backed by New Zealand guns and American tanks the Australians eventually launched a successful counterattack that crushed the Chinese enemy, which helped change the tide of the Korean War.
The ANZAC Memorial today is located near the very hills the Australians defended which is now little more then farmland along a small single lane country road which is about a 10 minute drive from the Canadian Korean War Memorial:
The first memorial that can be seen at the site is the memorial honoring the sacrifices of the Australian Defence Force soldiers:
The memorial was actually quite large but looked a bit old compared to other memorials I have seen:
Here is what the plaque on the memorial had transcribed in honor of these heroic soldiers from Australia:
The Australian Memorial also had a newer plaque on display that featured both a full scale map of the Korean War along with a map depicting the combat actions during The Battle of Kapyong:
The New Zealand Memorial on the other hand was much smaller then the Australian one:
The New Zealand Memorial is actually one of the smallest ones I have seen in honor of nations that fought in the Korean War. Why this is I don’t know. Anyway here is what the plaque on the memorial had transcribed in honor of the soldiers from the Land of the Long White Cloud:
Something I did not like about this memorial was how unkempt it was. There was weeds and garbage lying around which really took away from the experience of visiting the site:
The way I look at these memorials in Korea is how would a returning Korean War veteran feel to visit a memorial that is overgrown with weeds, trash lying around, and can’t even sit on the picnic table at the memorial built in your honor because it is about to fall down:
These memorials in Korea are usually maintained adequately, but occasionally I do find memorials like this one, which are in massive need of cleaning and repair. I know Korea can do better then this because every time I have been to the Taskforce Smith Memorial for example, it has been in immaculate condition. Maybe some of you Aussies and Kiwis out there reading this can contact your embassy to request to get the site cleaned and repaired. All the brave Kiwis and Aussies that served during the Korean War at least deserve a properly maintained memorial.
Overall during the Korean War, Australia suffered 311 killed in action and 1,230 wounded. New Zealand had 40 soldiers killed in action and 79 more wounded. The heroics of these soldiers are also honored at the British Commonwealth Memorial located in the very middle of Gapyeong City. For all you Australians and Kiwis out there, these memorials are well worth checking out if you love learning about the history of your nations’ involvement in the Korean War. If you are the type like me who likes walking around these old battlefields then the Kapyong Valley really should be a must see anyone because it is a heroic battlefield that also happens to sit in one of Korea’s most scenic valleys. Even if you don’t like these old battlefield tours, you will find something to like in the scenic Kapyong Valley.
December 3rd, 2008 at 2:12 am
It is well worth checking out the memorial along with the rest of the Kapyong Valley in order to visualize what the fight must have been like there in April 1951. Without a doubt the Aussie diggers that fought there were quite heroic.
A good book to read on the Australian involvement in the Korean War is, “Out in the Cold” which was put out by the Australian War Memorial:
http://www.awm.gov.au/korea/intro.asp
December 3rd, 2008 at 7:12 am
Thanks for the article! I interviewed an australian pilot who flew mustangs in the Korea war as support for US troops. He got shot down and was a POW for 2 years, escaped twice but was recaptured, saw many friends die, UK, US and Australian. Very moving story. Thanks for the info! I’ll make sure I go and check out the memorial…