[imText1]A statue of an American naval officer who committed himself selflessly to the cause of Korean freedom has been unveiled in Eunpyeong Peace Park in Seoul.
The statue of Lieutenant William Hamilton Shaw was unveiled at a ceremony yesterday.
Lieutenant Shaw was born to Christian missionaries on June 5, 1922 in Pyongyang. He moved to America after graduating from Pyongyang Foreign High School in 1939.
The Korean War broke out as he was starting his doctorate at Harvard University. At the time, he decided that it was his duty to defend the country of his birth, and set aside his studies to participate in the war. Fluent in Korean, he was immediately assigned to General Douglas MacArthur’s staff and was part of the Incheon Landing in that capacity.
After the Incheon Landing, he remained part of an advance unit and was involved in the Battle of the Kimpo Peninsula, Haengju Mountain Fortress, Shinchon and Mt. Nogo. But then, on September 22, 1950, he died at the age of 29, shot by a Chosun People’s Army sniper during the battle for Nokbeon-ri, a village in Eunpyeong-gu in north Seoul.
Lieutenant Shaw was posthumously awarded an Order of Military Merit by the South Korean government. Commemorating his profound love for Korea, he was buried in Yanghwajin Foreign Missionary Cemetery.
Explaining the reason behind the erection of the statue, a representative of Eunpyeong-gu said, “We wanted future generations to know of his sacred selflessness. We also want this place to become a historical site. That is why we decided to build the memorial park here in Nokbeon-dong, the very area where he died.”
The family of the deceased, including Lieutenant Shaw’s son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren, Minister of Unification Hyeon In Taek, former White House policy advisor Kang Young Woo and a number of serving naval officers attended the unveiling ceremony, which was sponsored by the Ministry of Unification, Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs and Navy and Korea Veterans Association in commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the Korean War.
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