On August 15, 1961, 19-year-old Conrad Schumann was sent to guard the Berlin Wall, which, on its third day of construction, was little more than patches of barbed wire. That day, he witnessed sad scenes of families that were separated by the wall and found himself the target of vitriol from West Germans protesting the wall’s construction.
At around 4 p.m. that afternoon, Schumann saw trucks arrive with material to make the wall even stronger and — panicked by the idea of being “enclosed” within East Germany — he decided to make a break for it by leaping over a low string of barbed wire and into West Germany.
Schumann’s leap over the wall was captured by a photographer at the scene. Dubbed the “Leap Into Freedom,” it remains one of the most iconic images of the Cold War to this day.
Korean War Veterans Association and the Chosin Few Association honor the 73rd Anniversary of the Korean War Armistice !
TODAY IS THE 73RD ANNIVERSARY OF THE KOREAN WAR ARMISTICE AGREEMENT- July 27, 1953
Today is the 73rd anniversary of the signing of the Korean War Armistice Agreement that put into effect a ceasefire to 3 year long Korean War. The ceasefire did not end the war since it was not a peace treaty. So, essentially, North and South Korea are still technically at war.
The Korean War Armistice Agreement was signed at 10 AM on the morning of July 27, 1953 at Panmunjom in Korea. But the ceasefire would not go into effect until 10 PM of July 27, 1953. This meant that fierce fighting would continue on the front lines for 12 more hours.
I interviewed many Korean War veterans who were on the front lines on that fateful last day of the Korean War. They recall that it was like no other day. Everything that could be fired was fired by both sides and there was tremendous amounts of artillery and mortars fired throughout the day and into the night. They recall that the night sky was lit up as bright as daylight. A Korean War veteran, told me, everything was being fired and “All hell broke loose!”
I also asked many veterans, what it was like right after 10 PM on July 27, 1953, when the ceasefire went into effect. They told me there was an abrupt and eerie silence.
Since the Armistice Agreement was not a peace treaty and merely a ceasefire, the Korean War technically never ended. The Korean War veterans described that for many days, weeks, and months following the ceasefire, there was a constant uneasiness and full state of alert. There was a sense that North Korea could start the war all over again. This feeling still exists today.
The Korean War started on June 25, 1950 and the ceasefire went into effect on July 23, 1953. There was an enormous sacrifice of lives to save South Korea. For the United States, over 36,000 Americans were killed and 8,000 still missing from the Korean War. America and 20 other United Nations sent troops and medical aid during the Korean War.
South Korea is the only country in world history, for which 21 countries came to defend and save. I believe that it was by God’s grace and by the great courage and sacrifice of all who served, that South Korea was saved.
All that South Korea has become is possible because of the sacrifices of all who served in the Korean War.
May God always bless all of our Korean War veterans, families of killed and missing in action, Korea Defense Veterans, and all active duty service members still serving in Korea today.
Millions of Koreans like me, living in freedom is the greatest legacy of all who served, and sacrificed to defend South Korea. Many generations of Koreans will live in freedom because of these heroes. We, Koreans are forever grateful to have been saved from the grips of North Korea’s communist regime.
I sincerely hope that Korea and all Koreans around the world, will never forget these great heroes and greatest defenders of our freedoms.
South Korea has risen from the ashes of war and continues to prosper in freedom and economic success as a testament and legacy of all who sacrificed to save South Korea and its people from communism.
Let us always honor and remember these heroes who made all this possible for South Korea and its people.
With everlasting gratitude, love, and respect to all who served and sacrificed their lives in the Korean War to save my family and the people of South Korea, Susan Kee – Honoring Korean War Veterans
BACKGROUND ON THE KOREAN WAR ARMISTICE AGREEMENT: (excerpt from wikipedia)
“The Korean Armistice Agreement was signed by U.S. Army Lieutenant General William Harrison, Jr. representing the United Nations Command (UNC), North Korean General Nam Il representing the Korean People’s Army, and the Chinese People’s Volunteer Army.The armistice was signed on July 27, 1953, and was designed to “insure a complete cessation of hostilities and of all acts of armed force in Korea until a final peaceful settlement is achieved. No “final peaceful settlement” has been achieved yet. The signed armistice established the Korean Demilitarized Zone (de facto a new border between the two nations), put into force a cease-fire, and finalized repatriation of prisoners of war. The Demilitarized Zone runs not far from the 38th parallel, which separated North and South Korea before the war.
The signed armistice established a “complete cessation of all hostilities in Korea by all armed force” that was to be enforced by the commanders of both sides. Essentially a complete cease-fire was put into force. The armistice is however only a cease-fire between military forces, rather than an agreement between governments. No peace treaty was signed which means that the Korean War has not officially ended.
The armistice also established the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). The DMZ was decided to be a 2.5-mile (4.0 km)-wide fortified buffer zone between the two Korean nations. The Demilitarized Zone follows the Kansas Line where the two sides actually confronted each other at the time of the signed armistice. The DMZ is currently the most heavily defended national border in the world.” (source: wikipedia)
Researching the city of Berlin and my family history. I learned something new this morning….
PHOTO: The village sign for Berlin (Seedorf) in Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of about 600. Credit: flamenc, CC-BY-SA-3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
No, we’re not talking about East and West Berlin! That’s past history. Germany’s other Berlin is in fact older than the German capital city. The Schleswig-Holstein former village of Berlin (pop. 600) was first documented in 1215, making it older than the much larger and better-known Berlin, whose name was first recorded in 1244, seven years after that of its sister town, Cölln, on the opposite side of the Spree River. The two towns formed Cölln-Berlin in 1432, before later merging under the Berlin name.
There are seven communities in Germany named Seedorf (“lake village”), but the Seedorf in Kreis Segeberg, Schleswig-Holstein is where we find the former village of Berlin. Today Berlin is the second-largest district in the municipality of Seedorf, after Schlamersdorf. Known as Seedörp in the local dialect, Seedorf has a population of 2,186 (2024).
The “Klein Berlin” (Little Berlin) has several streets named after well-known streets and avenues in “Big Berlin”. These include the main thoroughfare called “Unter den Linden”, as well as others named “Kurfürstendamm”, “Potsdamer Platz”, “Potsdamer Straße”, “Lichterfelde” and “Heerstraße”. A stone marker (Berliner Kilometerstein) at Potsdamer Platz displays the distance to the German capital city, 357 km (222 mi) to the south.
The area around Berlin and Seedorf is a scenic landscape making up part of the Holsteinische Schweiz (Holstein Switzerland) nature reserve. There are campgrounds and tourist accommodations that attract visitors mostly in the summer months. Many are also drawn by the unusual Berlin name and the local Seedorfer See (Lake Seedorf).
Anyone have any special memories that they can think of with family friends whether it be a meal out or Kaffee und kuchen what’s the family growing up? One of my memories is going out with my one of my best friends and her mother who was like my mom I miss her dearly. We grew up in Germany together, and then she moved to Maryland. We all love to hit the coffee shop to. “ bumble “ as they say in Germany the mall which is basically window shopping in English and seeing what each store has to offer her favorites were Nordstrom and as I write this, the other two I had in my head and I completely went ghost… anyway back to my point well I I was thinking about her the other day and the coffee shop we would go to in Maryland, which basically from what I’ve heard they are all closed …
While browsing Amazon for things that I need at the house and my Italian coffee that I usually drink which is lava Crema gusto I found the Caribou coffee that I would share fond memories with over with these two I was gonna go for a workout this morning. I don’t know where you’re reading this from but here in New Jersey.
We’ve been getting a lot of hot weather and according to my friend who invited me out for a walk today said she was gonna go out for a walk before the day gets like Satan‘s hell. lol I told her I would go with her but this morning I’m just breathing… reminiscing and taking some time for me thinking of those fond memories wishing the two of them were here today…
You must be logged in to post a comment.