Veterans, dignitaries and community members gathered at the Ambassador of Peace war memorial in Burnaby July 27 to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Korean War Armistice.
The ceremony honoured veterans and committed to remember the war and those who served.
The Korean War began June 25, 1950 when North Korea invaded South Korea. An estimated 3 million people died during the war. More than half of the deaths were civilians.
The ceremony in Burnaby paid tribute to the 516 Canadians who died in the war and the more than 1,000 who were wounded. More than 26,000 Canadians served in Korea.
During a moment of silence, attendees turned towards the city of Busan in South Korea where most of those who died in the war are buried in the United Nations Memorial Cemetery.
After the armistice, about 7,000 Canadians served in peacekeeping duties in Korea.
The ceremony included anthem singer, bugle major Chris Ahern, youth speakers and a wreath-laying.
Sen. Yonah Martin, whose 2013 bill became the Korean War Veterans Day Act to designate July 27 as a day of remembrance, also attended, along with other local, provincial and national politicians and international diplomats.
Violinist Tom Su played hymn Amazing Grace and beloved Korean folk song Arirang.
“With each passing year, the roll of surviving veterans of this war gets shorter,” Premier David Eby said in a news release. “It is our duty to remember their service and their sacrifice, and to acknowledge the importance of an international order in which aggression is challenged, and a peaceful resolution to conflict is sought.”
