‘Dear son’, the letter returned… Photographs of American soldiers from the Korean War

The United States celebrates November 11th as Veterans Day, a public holiday designated by the federal government.

The United States, famous for its special respect for uniforms, commemorates this day with the purpose of emphasizing dedication to the country and promoting national unity.

In the United States, there are about 27,000 veterans alive across the country who participated in the Korean War, which broke out 76 years ago. Most of them are very old, around 90 to 100 years old.

Korean photographer Rami Hyeon (47) travels across the vast American continent to visit people who are about to die and take pictures. His studio in Fairfax, Virginia, is filled with traces of his hard work.

The collection ranged from military boots, chocolate, radios, and dog tags to the 48 American flags of the 48 states at the time, Korean conversation books, and blood chits for air force pilots (identification cloth used to request cooperation from local residents when crashing into enemy territory).

These are mostly mementos of war veterans. It is said that these items are collected by paying money or donating them when the bereaved family disposes of their personal belongings. In 2022, he drove a camping car and traveled through 40 states in one year. It is said that the distance traveled was about 160,000 km.

The walls are full of photos of American Korean War veterans taken since 2018. Among the photos of a total of 2,500 people, many are black and white. When asked the reason, he explained, "It was to remove color to narrow the difference between the times and to focus on the characters' expressions and eyes."

Then why a photo? Mr. Hyeon emphasized that the war should not be remembered only in terms of major battles, casualties, and statistical figures. In order to leave behind stories of personal experiences and sacrifices, he takes photos and conducts interviews.

He introduced the story of visiting Charlie McGovern, who lives in Maryland, on the 5th (local time) ahead of Veterans Day.

Charlie is 92 years old. Because he was 16 years old during the Korean War, he was unable to participate in the war. On the day his second brother, Lieutenant Milton McGovern, and his third brother, Ensign Jerome McGovern, left for Korea, Charlie, the fourth of five children, went to the airfield to see them off. That was the last time I saw them.

Lieutenant Milton McGovern, a member of the U.S. Army's 1st Cavalry Division, died on January 30, 1951, on a hill near Kimyangjang-ri. News of his second son's death was delivered to an American father. He wrote a letter to his third son in Korea informing him of his brother's death.

This letter, which started with “Jerome, my dear and beloved son, I don’t know how to tell you this news,” was never delivered. On February 15th, when my father wrote the letter, it was five days after Jerome had already died in battle.

Second Lieutenant Jerome McGovern, a member of the U.S. Army's 2nd Infantry Division, died in a battle on a hill near Geumwang-ri. He did not know of his brother's death. The letter his father sent to Jerome was returned with the stamp ‘missing in action’ stamped on it.

Charlie visited Camp McGovern, a U.S. military base in Bosnia named after his older brother, and told the story of his older brothers to soldiers. He also created a website to collect the memories of those who knew his older brothers. Meanwhile, the rusty military trunk that Jerome used returned to Charlie after 60 years, crossing 4,300 km.

Charlie visited Korea, the country his older brothers protected, for the first time in 2019. Seeing that Korea was devoid of war ruins, Charlie asked, “Please don’t forget the 36,000 American soldiers who died on that land.”

Mr. Hyun did not start out looking for American war veterans. His 'Project Soldier' ​​began by taking pictures of uniformed government officials, including soldiers, police officers, and firefighters, in Korea.

Mr. Hyun plans to move his studio to a building with an elevator soon. This is because it is currently on the second floor, so elderly veterans or their families with limited mobility cannot come.

When asked what the goal of his non-profit project was, he answered, "By recording the faces, voices, and personal memories of veterans before they pass away, the next generation will learn the meaning of the Korean War and the veterans' lesson that 'freedom is not free.'"