Presidential Proclamation 2019:
“In 1953, the Korean Armistice Agreement ended more than 3 years of brutal fighting against communist expansionism and tyranny on the Korean Peninsula. On National Korean War Veterans Armistice Day, we honor the brave patriots who secured freedom and democracy in the Republic of Korea, and we pay tribute to the more than 23,600 Americans who were killed in action and the more than 103,000 who were wounded in that conflict.
“The dedication stone at the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., bears the inscription: ‘Our Nation honors her sons and daughters who answered the call to defend a country they never knew and a people they never met.’ The memorial includes an honor roll of Americans killed in action and those missing in action, and its unique design features statues of a patrol crossing a Korean rice paddy. These figures represent the heroes of our Armed Forces who valiantly served in the Land of the Morning Calm and fought on battlefields such as Inchon, the Pusan Perimeter, and the Chosin Reservoir. Today, this hauntingly beautiful memorial stands as an enduring reminder of what it costs to defend and preserve the democratic principles, we hold dear.”