Several veterans who served in the Korean War were honoured this morning, March 28, ahead of the 75th anniversary of the start of the military campaign.
B.C. Senator Yonah Martin, a former teacher at Coquitlam’s Scott Creek Middle, decorated 11 heroes with a King Charles III Coronation Medal for their overseas efforts and for advancing education about the war that ran from June 25, 1950, to July 27, 1953.
The bilingual ceremony, in English and Korean, was held at the Royal Canadian Legion in Coquitlam and included honour guard from Coquitlam and Burnaby RCMP; it was also attended by the consul general of Korea in B.C. as well as Burnaby South-Metrotown MLA Paul Choi, B.C.’s parliamentary secretary for Asia-Pacific Trade.
The recipients made a difference in their community and Canada with their service and have inspired Canadians, Martin said. “We owe our lives to them.”
In total, Martin, a Conservative senator appointed by former prime minister Stephen Harper, has presented 30 medals to individuals in B.C., Alberta, Ontario and Quebec.
Below, the names of the recipients who got a medal in Coquitlam:
- Edwin Adye, Korean War veteran
- Ralph De Coste, Korean War veteran
- Ian Daniel, Ukrainian and Korean wars educator and humanitarian
- Ron Foyle, Korean War veteran
- Doug Germaine, Korean War veteran
- Thomas Gucake, three-time Afghanistan War veteran
- Jai Boong Kim, Korean War veteran
- Tae Young Kim, Korean War veteran
- Woo Seok Lee, Korean War veteran
- Leo Valentine, Korean War veteran
- Alice Wong, former MP
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