On 27 July 1992, on the 39th anniversary of the armistice of the Korean War, a Korean War memorial was unveiled in Dove-Myer Robinson Park, Parnell. The memorial was a gift from the people of South Korea to New Zealand, was funded by businesses in Pusan, and was erected in collaboration with the New Zealand Korea Veterans’ Association. The 2 x 1.7 m granite stone that forms the centrepiece of the memorial came from Kapyong.
The memorial stone is inscribed with the Korean characters for “Lest We Forget”. The text of the dedicatory plaque is given in both English and Korean. The English text reads: “To commemorate those members of the New Zealand Services who served in Korea 1950-1953 in defence of the principles of the charter of the United Nations”. The accompanying roll of honour lists the names of the 43 New Zealand servicemen who died during the war. The memorial was blessed by Padre Patrick Parr, who had served as a chaplain in Korea.
Another plaque at the foot of the monument acknowledges the organizers and donors and is surmounted by the badges of the NZ Army and Royal NZ Navy.
Sources: ‘Grateful Korea Says it in Granite’, NZ Herald, 28/7/1992, p. 2; K Force Despatches, vol. 22, December 1992, front cover and pp. 6-9.
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