Korean War Veterans recently visited the battlefields they fought on over 50 years ago. The writer did not concentrate on the most significant part of the story though:

They are the forgotten veterans from what for many is a forgotten war, but the memories remain vivid and they see modern day Korea as proof that the heartbreaks endured 50 years ago were not wasted.

. . . .

It is overwhelming to see what your country has accomplished," said British veteran Frank Fallows, who has come back 32 times since the war. Although some were tired of the heavy traffic in Seoul, they were proud of themselves for helping create a new nation.

Wherever the grandfathers stayed, Korean children surrounded them with curious looks. Some asked the foreigners for autographs, others repeated "one, two, three" after the veterans, trying to learn some English.

It was a totally different scene from 50 years ago when children - mostly orphans - flocked to the sol-diers begging for clothes or food.

http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/SITE/data/html_dir/2004/04/27/200404270034.asp

I am sick and tired of people saying "conservatives don't want change, they are afraid of change and progress. . . " while the single largest attempt at progress recently (and I have always viewed it this way) has been turning a despotic country into a beacon of rennisance in the Middle East. I, a conservative, have supported this change for a long time. Meanwhile I'm derided as being against change and a for status quo. Those who detract against this seem to think they support wonderful enlightened progressive politics, that ironically, prefers reluctance to partake on any difficult long term engagement to make the world a better place.

These veterans made a difference. 35 MILLION people are free today because of their help. There is a country of 35 MILLION fellow human beings that we can called allies, that aren't a threat to us, that are contibuting greatly to the global economy, and thus making improving the standard of living for the whole world.

In 50 years Iraq could be like this. The middle east could be reformed, peaceful, and part of the global economy. A true gift for our children. Yet those who claim to have 'the childrens' interest in mind, who claim we are making an increddible debt for our children, don't seem to consider that conservatives like myself are concerned with what the world will look like in 10 or 50 years. All for the sake of our future.

I'm not asking for agreement, just understanding.

My hat is of to the men and women who fought in the past, to ressurect S.Korea from near total annihilation, who ressurected Europe and Asia from Nazi and Japanese rule, who broke the back of Soviet Union in the cold war, who helped with the many other engagements too numerous to list here, and those that are are attempting the same in Iraq. They may not know it, and they may not think it, but they are saints.

-Jusitn Kelly

(for Raoul: And no I don't mean 'saints' in the catholic/christian way, but in the way that they did something untimately noble and deserve the utmost respect and support)