27 July 2024 marks the 71st Anniversary of the Korean War Armistice, a war many refer to as “a forgotten war”. The South Korean Embassy hosted a memorial event on Friday 26 July 2024, honouring those who answered the United Nations’ call to aid South Korea.
The Republic of Korea Ambassador Dong-Han Yang hosted the anniversary event at Bays Hill Air Force Memorial and Mobile Deployment Wing (formerly Swartkop Air Force Base) in Pretoria. In attendance were ambassadors and military attaches from some of the other countries which answer the UN’s call, such as Argentina, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, South Africa, Thailand, Turkiye and the United States. The South African Delegation was led by Major General S. Dlomo, South African Air Force General Officer Commanding Air Command.
The event was further attended by current and former members of the SAAF’s No.2 Squadron, the Flying Cheetahs, which provided 826 personnel to the UN Forces in Korea. Family members and descendants of Korean War veterans were also present, along with some members of the public.
The ceremony began with the joint unfurling of South Korean and South African flags, followed by a last call. A moment of silence began with a flyover of a single Harvard aircraft from the SAAF Museum. Leading the ceremony, the SAAF Chaplain honoured the fallen, along with the attendees, in a sombre joint call, “We will never forget, we will never forget, we will never forget.”
The wreath laying ceremony saw the various ambassadors and their respective attaches lay floral wreaths inside the memorial hall. The end of the ceremony was marked by a flyover from a SAAF Alouette III, which cast rose petals over the ceremony gathering.
South African forces arrived at Suyeong Airfield in Busan on 16 November 1950, after a 13 706 km journey by sea. No.2 Squadron first saw combat three days later on 19 November 1950, partaking in the bombing of North Korean military camps and supply posts north of the Cheongcheon river. No.2 squadron would fly a total of 12 067 sorties, undertaking missions such as close air support, rear interdiction and strategic bombing in Operation Strangle and Operation Saturate. The missions were carried out over two years, eight months and 15 days, until combat missions concluded on 27 July 1953.
Throughout the war, eight South Africans would be captured as prisoners of war, and 37 South Africans would make the ultimate sacrifice and never return home.
As part of ongoing support for veterans of the Korean War, the Korean Ambassador awarded a total of 19 Scholarships to descendants of South African Veterans.
