Memorial wall of Ethiopian veterans of Korean War established in Addis Ababa

Addis Ababa, August 6, 2024 (FBC) – A memorial wall engraved with the names of Ethiopian veterans of the 1950-53 Korean War has been established in Addis Ababa to honor their service in supporting the Republic of Korea, Seoul’s Veterans Ministry said Tuesday.

An unveiling ceremony for the wall, bearing the names of 2,482 veterans, took place at the Korean War memorial in the Ethiopian capital Monday, attended by Veterans Minister Kang Jung-ai, according to the ministry.

Ethiopia was among the 22 countries that sent troops or medical support to the Republic of Korea under the U.N. flag during and after the three-year war against North Korea, which ended in a truce.

The ministry said the wall was belatedly installed at the existing memorial site due to the loss of records of the veterans under Ethiopia’s past communist regime.

In July last year, the governments of Ethiopia and the Republic of Korea, alongside the Ethiopian veterans association of the Korean War, began compiling and verifying records to confirm a list of 2,482 veterans.

The ministry plans to conduct further research to add more names to the wall as the Ethiopian veterans association has said more than 3,500 troops took part in the war, ROK’s news agency, Yonhap News Agency, reported on Tuesday.