AURORA | Few cities around the world could create and celebrate a Korean War memorial reflecting the nuance of the conflict that in so many ways matches the character of the U.S city home to the site.
Aurora did.
That was one of the key messages repeated Monday when nearly 200 elected and government officials, veterans and community members with links to nations all over the planet met at the former Fitzsimons campus to unveil The UN Heritage for Korean War Memorial at General’s Park.
“It really is a reflection of what Aurora is and how Aurora cares,” said former Army Air Force medic Bernie Rogoff, 95, a veteran of the Korean War and beyond.
The memorial project, more than 10 years in the making, was dedicated and open to the public at 9:20 a.m., 73 years to the minute of when an armistice pact was signed, bringing an unofficial and precarious end to the three-year Korean War.
The war fueled the growing Cold War at the end of the 1940s, drawing 22 nations into the battle between budding communism in North Korea and democracy in South Korea.
Those nations that answered the international call included India, the Philippines, Turkey, Colombia, Ethiopia and Thailand, beyond South Korea and the United States.
The North Koreans, who invaded South Korea June 5, 1950, were backed by China and the Soviet Union.
More than 178,000 military personnel from around the globe were killed in the conflict, another 566,000 were injured during the war. As many as 3 million civilians were killed, historians estimate.
More than seven decades after the conflict began, its scars and impact remain visible in North and South Korea and across the globe, the Associated Press pointed out during international coverage of the anniversary. The scarred include those whose lives of separated families and survivors continue to carry memories of loss and longing.
Although the fighting first ended with the armistice agreement, the traces the war left behind serve as enduring reminders of the past, ensuring that history is not only remembered but passed onto future generations, Korean officials said this week.
The flags of the contributing nations at stone monuments along the sprawling Aurora memorial mirror people from the nations that have immigrated to Aurora and now call it home. Aurora has long been home to one of the largest municipal populations of Korean-Americans and immigrants in nation. The city currently has the sixth-largest Korean community among American cities, according to Census records.
While the Korean War was tied to the growing, global political war between communism and democracy, the conflict has long been regarded as an epic in global community camaraderie among hugely disparate cultures, countries and communities, much like Aurora.
In the shadow of World War II, the war touched lives across Aurora, and the nation, for years during and after the conflict ended.
The memorial, and the war, have a “personal” link for Mayor Mike Coffman, he said during the dedication ceremony.
His father was a Korean War veteran, an infantry soldier, Coffman said.
So many fellow soldiers in his unit were killed or injured during his father’s tour of duty that he worked his way up to master sergeant in record time as his fellow soldiers were felled.
“In the span of one year he was promoted four times,” Coffman said.
Peter Seung Woo Lee, board chairman of the United Nations Heritage for Korean War, also pointed out how the war was a turning point in international cooperation, and a reflection of the importance of such recognition today.
Consul General of the Republic of Korea Lim Jung-taek said the memorial was much more than stone and metal. It is a place of remembrance that honors the sacrifice of Korean War veterans. And it is a lasting legacy preserving the history of freedom and peace safeguarded together by Korea, the United States and all the nations that participated under the United Nations banner.“
A variety of supporters credited the vision of former Aurora Mayor Steve Hogan, years ago, for the project. Hogan, who died in 2018, pressed for such a memorial for years before his death.
But the memorial would never have been completed, and established in such a world-class fashion, had it not been for the persistence of Hogan’s wife, Becky Hogan, according to other memorial principles, including former Aurora Chamber President Kevin Hougen and former Councilmember Nicole Johnston.
“She’s the reason we’re here today,” Hougen said.
Hogan, who was adopted as a Korean by an American family, said the mission and purpose of the memorial inspired and drove the project.
“I just knew we had to get it done,”she said.
The memorial sits on a large park-like space in what’s called General’s Park on the southeast corner of the Anschutz Medical campus at Peoria Street. The area was carved out by the city years ago as the former Army base was decommissioned and converted to a sprawling medical, hospital and research campus.
The total cost of the memorial was $950,816, according to memorial details. Adams County Open Space provided a grant for $625,050 and the UN Heritage for Korean War provided $315,766 toward the memorial’s construction. About 150 people made individual donations.
The memorial board and committee are now seeking additional donations to cover annual maintenance costs, estimated at about $50,000 a year. Donation details are available by emailing to: honorkwvets@gmail.com.
Adjacent to a pond and fountain, the circular monument includes a variety of features intertwined on a garden path, offering interpretive features pointing out the potential power of international cooperation and highlighting some of the leaders and service members who made the quest for South Korean freedom possible.
“Freedom is not free,” Lee said during the dedication. “Welcome to your memory.”