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Meet The Woman Who Has Dedicated Her Life To Honoring Korean War Vets
Susan Kee speaks with a Korean War veteran.
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Courtesy Susan Kee
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Today, the U.S. honors the 1.5 million men and women who gave their lives to protect American freedoms. It’s a day cherished by Americans who have benefitted from the service of our nation's soldiers.
For Susan Kee, 55, whose parents were saved by American soldiers during the Korean War, it’s another day to remember the gratitude she has dedicated her life to expressing.
The U.S. aided South Korea in winning the three-year battle for independence against their neighbor to the north. If not for those troops, Kee says, her life would have been entirely different.
“All who served and all who sacrificed their life in the Korean War are responsible in having given me my life and my freedom,” she said. “Without America’s help, South Korea would have been lost to North Korea’s Communist tyranny.”
Susan Kee
Susan Kee has dedicated her life to honoring Korean War veterans.
Susan Kee at approximately two or three years old, at her house in Seoul, South Korea around 1969.
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Courtesy Susan Kee
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Susan Kee (second from left) with her kindergarten class visiting the national cemetery in Seoul, South Korea, praying at Korean War fallen grave.
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Courtesy Susan Kee
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Susan Kee with a Korean War veteran.
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Courtesy Susan Kee
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Susan Kee with a Korean War veteran.
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Courtesy Susan Kee
)
A gravestone at the cemetery of the unknowns, buried at Punch Bowl Cemetery in Hawaii. Susan Kee visits every year to pay her respects.
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Courtesy Susan Kee
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Susan Kee
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Courtesy Susan Kee
)
More than 36,000 American soldiers lost their lives fighting in the Korean War. To this day, almost 7,800 men and women are still listed as missing or unaccounted for.
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Kee has worked to document the stories of Korean War veterans, and has been a staunch advocate for the continued search for those who went “missing during the course of action” — some for more than 70 years.
Facing their families can be emotional and complicated.
“I see indescribable pain in their face,” Kee said. “They show me pictures of who in their family is missing. I feel so deeply sorry that I am the one in front of them and not their loved one, but I also try to express just how grateful I am.”
Kee has documented the accounts of hundreds of veterans. Based in Phoenix, she has worked with Gold Star families in L.A. and across the country. She says she is fueled by gratitude for soldiers who gave their lives for her family.
“I’m grateful for a brave people who would go to an unknown country to fight for a people they have never met,” she said. “What their loved ones did was for mankind and for humanity and there is no greater hero to me.”
Next summer, the national Korea War Veterans Memorial will debut “The Wall of Remembrance” at the National Mall in Washington D.C. The wall will list the names of 36,574 American service members who gave their lives defending the people of South Korea.
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You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
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