The Korean Embassy in Israel recently held a ceremony where they
honoured the estimated 4,000 Jewish veterans who fought in the Korean
War effort on behalf of the allies. In particular, four Jewish veterans
were awarded with a special "Peace Certificate of Appreciation.”
The
ceremony took place in the central town of Rishpon at the elegant home
of the Korean Ambassador, KIM Il-Soo. About 120 people attended the
ceremony including Jewish veterans and their family members, as well as
representatives of the 16 states who also sent troops to Korea and
friends of the embassy.
Over the past few years, the embassy has
gone to great efforts to locate the Jewish veterans who participated in
the war and this year tracked down more than twenty Jewish soldiers.
Veterans that were singled out and awarded were Siman-Tov Giron, Salomon
(Shlomo) Sadi, Rudi Meisl and the late Jack Goldman who was represented
by his daughter Shoshana Dann.
The
ceremony featured the moving personal story of a heroic American
veteran, Leonard Wisper. During the war, Wisper’s unit was attacked
heavily by enemy troops and he suffered severe injuries. As he bled on
the hill, he prayed and vowed to come closer to G-d if he survived the
attack.
Wisper was taken to a bunker by Chinese soldiers where
he was kept captive with three other wounded American soldiers. When a
grenade was thrown into the bunker, he had the presence of mind to grab
the grenade and throw it outside just before it detonated, thus saving
all of their lives. Wisper is now an ultra-orthodox Jew living in
Bnei-Brak. He was awarded with a special medal of merit by the US Army
as well as a medal from the Korean government
The
ambassador and military attaché showed huge gratitude to the Jewish
soldiers that helped restore and preserve the freedom and democracy of
South Korea. In a moving speech, the veterans were referred to as
brothers.
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